Back to top

Image: Shutterstock

5 Value Picks Amid AI-Driven Tech Sell-Off & U.S.-Iran Tensions

Read MoreHide Full Article

Key Takeaways

  • Tech upheaval and geopolitical risk are driving renewed focus on value investing and earnings yield.
  • Value investors seek fundamentally strong stocks trading below intrinsic value.
  • HRMY, AGRO, SQM, ANGI and PHIN stand out for high earnings yield and solid earnings growth outlooks.

Major U.S. stock market indices slipped on Feb. 3, as a tech sell-off rippled through Wall Street. Software stocks, already under pressure, took another hit after AI startup Anthropic rolled out new workplace tools, reigniting fears that artificial intelligence may replace—not just support—traditional software models.

At the same time, geopolitics added to the unease. Renewed U.S.-Iran tensions, including reports of a U.S. carrier shooting down an Iranian drone, added another layer of geopolitical risk. In this environment of relatively high rates, tech disruption and global uncertainty, fundamentals matter—making value investing harder to ignore.

Harmony Biosciences Holdings Inc. (HRMY - Free Report) , Adecoagro S.A. (AGRO - Free Report) , Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM - Free Report) , Angi, Inc. (ANGI - Free Report) and PHINIA Inc. (PHIN - Free Report) are a few solid high earnings yield picks for value investors.

Unlocking Value With Earnings Yield Metric

Value investing is a time-tested strategy that focuses on finding assets trading for less than their intrinsic value, allowing investors to buy such undervalued assets at a discount. This approach hinges on the idea that market prices often don’t fully reflect a company’s fundamentals, providing opportunities to benefit from market corrections in the long run.

A key metric for value investors is earnings yield, which offers insight into a stock’s profitability relative to its market price. Earnings yield is calculated by dividing a company’s earnings per share (EPS) by its current stock price (Earnings Yield = EPS/Current Stock Price). This figure represents the profit generated for each dollar invested, effectively serving as the inverse of the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. A higher earnings yield typically indicates that a stock may be undervalued and could provide growth potential, while a lower earnings yield could suggest overvaluation.

Beyond identifying individual stocks, earnings yield also aids in comparing the stock market to fixed-income investments, like 10-year Treasury bonds. If the earnings yield of a market index surpasses the bond yield, it can indicate favorable conditions for investing in stocks over bonds, which is valuable for portfolio diversification.

The Winning Strategy

We have set an Earnings Yield greater than 10% as our primary screening criterion but it alone cannot be used for picking stocks that have the potential to generate solid returns. So, we have added the following parameters to the screen:

Estimated EPS growth for the next 12 months greater than or equal to the S&P 500: This metric compares the 12-month forward EPS estimate with the 12-month actual EPS.

Average Daily Volume (20 Day) greater than or equal to 100,000: High trading volume implies that a stock has adequate liquidity.

Current Price greater than or equal to $5.

Buy-Rated Stocks: Stocks with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or 2 (Buy) have been known to outperform peers in any type of market environment. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Our Picks

Here we highlight five of the 53 stocks that qualified the screening:

Harmony Biosciences is a pharmaceutical company engaged in developing and commercializing therapies for rare neurological disorders.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRMY’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 17% and 27%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current year have moved up by 28 cents over the past 30 days. Harmony Biosciences currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A.

Adecoagro is an agricultural company engaged in farming crops and other agricultural products, cattle and dairy operations, sugar, ethanol and energy production and land transformation. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGRO’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 30% and 452%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current year have moved up by 43 cents over the past 30 days. Adecoagro currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A.

Sociedad Quimica produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients and fertilizers, lithium derivatives and industrial chemicals.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SQM’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 55% and 181%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current year have moved up by $1.55 over the past seven days. Sociedad Quimica currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of B.

Angi operates a digital marketplace that connects homeowners with skilled service professionals, reflecting the expanding reach of the gig economy into essential home services. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANGI’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 3% and 36%, respectively. EPS estimates for the current year have moved up by 16 cents over the past 30 days. Angi currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A.

PHINIA, headquartered in Michigan, is a leader in premium fuel systems, electrical systems, and aftermarket solutions for the automotive industry.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PHIN’s 2026 sales and earnings implies year-over-year growth of 2% and 15%, respectively. EPS estimates for 2026 have moved up by 66 cents over the past 60 days. PHINIA currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 and has a Value Score of A.

Published in