3 Top Bank of America Stock Picks That Stand Out for Q3

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3 Top Bank of America Stock Picks That Stand Out for Q3 TipRanks Sun, July 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM EDT 11 min read BAC SPOT F WMT The third quarter is now in full swing, and Wall Street strategists are reassessing where the market goes from here. Recent earnings have largely reinforced confidence in corporate America, while resilient economic data and evolving geopolitical developments continue to shape the investment outlook. TipRanks has entered a new arena in the investing world, powering the index of an ETF based on its unique data now trading under the ticker RANK on the NYSE. RANK tracks the performance of the TipRanks US Momentum Analysts Index , a rules-based index of 50 large U.S. companies. Against that backdrop, Bank of America strategist Anthony Cassamassino believes the broader market environment continues to favor equities, arguing that the forces supporting the current rally remain intact despite the potential for near-term volatility. "BofA's RIC Outlook points to a largely bullish backdrop for the U.S. economy and global equities, with indicators confirming the 'new industrial cycle' remains intact and earnings momentum strengthening. The Global Earnings Revision Ratio has improved to a six‑month high, with particularly strong readings in the U.S. and broad-based upgrades across regions, while the Global Wave of macro data is rising in tandem with the earnings cycle – historically a supportive signal for equity returns. Although valuations and positioning suggest markets may be somewhat overheated in the near term, we think any summer pullback could be a potential buying opportunity," Cassamassino opined. Under that bullish outlook, BofA has tagged three top picks as standouts for the coming quarter. We've used the TipRanks database to look up their details. Here they are, along with BofA's comments. The first BofA pick is Spotify, a Swedish-based tech company that most of us are familiar with. Spotify has gained recognition and popularity as a music-streaming service, and since its founding in 2006 has become a leader in the online streaming niche. The company operates on a subscription model and controls a vast library of music and media for its audience. While the company has long been known for keeping prices down and maximizing its market penetration, at its recent Investor Day Spotify indicated that it is making changes. The company aims to achieve an operating margin consistently above 20% by the end of this decade, and its primary focus will be to derive the greatest possible monetization from every minute a user is listening. This will mean an increase in prices – but more importantly, it means that Spotify will be using its database to determine just what features its users are willing to pay more to experience. It's smart monetization. Spotify has a nearly unparalleled database. The company's streaming service generates more than 3.4 trillion user signals every day, and Spotify is going to put that data to work. Along with resilient demand – users have shown that they want music-on-demand and are willing to tolerate paying for it – this gives Spotify a solid base from which to develop its strategy over the next few years. At its core, whatever changes Spotify makes will be supported by its user base. The company had 761 million total monthly active users (MAUs) in 1Q26, a figure that was up 12% year-over-year. Quarterly revenue came in at over 4.5 billion Euros, for an 8% year-over-year gain, and beat the forecast by 10 million Euros. Spotify's bottom line, the GAAP EPS of 3.45 Euros, was 51 Euro-cents better than had been anticipated. While that guidance disappointed the market, Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich believes it does little to change Spotify's longer-term growth story. In her coverage of SPOT, Reif Ehrlich argues that Spotify's shift from prioritizing user growth to monetizing engagement marks an important turning point for the business. The BofA analyst is also in good company. Wall Street's consensus on SPOT is a Strong Buy, based on 24 analyst reviews that break down into 19 Buys and 5 Holds. The stock is trading at $479.77, and its average price target of $607.22 suggests a 26.5% upside over the next 12 months. (See SPOT stock forecast ) Moving on, we'll look at Walmart, the world's largest traditional brick-and-mortar retailer. The Arkansas-based company was founded in 1962 and recently celebrated its 64th anniversary. Walmart boasts a market cap of nearly $906 billion and operates approximately 10,900 stores across 19 countries. In the fiscal year 2026, which ended in January, Walmart reported $713.2 billion in revenue, making Walmart the world's second-largest retailer by revenue, behind only Amazon. Walmart has a reputation as 'low-end,' catering to lower-income households. That reputation has some basis in fact, but company management notes that the fastest-growing customer segment is households making more than $100,000 annually. Walmart's CEO has noted that lower-income customers – households with less than $50,000 in annual income – continue to use the store, a reflection of its combination of convenience and price. This gets to one of Walmart's greatest strengths, its huge reach. As noted, the company has an enormous network of stores – it's been widely reported that some 90% of the US population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart or a related Sam's Club. The company itself reports that some 280 million customers visit its stores, across the full network, every week. In addition, Walmart has a growing eCommerce branch, and eCommerce sales were up 26% globally in the recently reported fiscal 1Q27. In its fiscal first quarter, Walmart's quarterly revenue came to $177.75 billion, a total that was up 7.3% from the previous year's first quarter and that beat the forecast by $2.91 billion. Walmart reported its bottom line as a non-GAAP EPS of $0.66, which was in line with expectations. The market, however, wasn't impressed with Walmart's guidance. The company projected second-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.72 to $0.74, a touch below Wall Street's expectations, while maintaining its full-year outlook instead of raising it. At the same time, higher fuel and transportation costs continued to weigh on profitability, and with the stock trading at a premium valuation heading into the report, investors had been expecting a stronger outlook. Despite the market's negative reaction, Bank of America analyst Christopher Nardone sees little reason to change his bullish view. He believes Walmart remains well positioned to keep taking market share, pointing to the company's competitive advantages and favorable consumer backdrop. Overall, WMT earns a Strong Buy consensus rating on Wall Street, based on 27 analyst reviews that break down into 26 Buys and just 1 Hold. With the stock trading at $113.90, the average price target of $142.46 points to 25% upside over the coming year. (See WMT stock forecast ) Last up is a Detroit stalwart, Ford Motor. The company was founded in 1903 and has been associated with the Motor City ever since; to this day, Ford maintains its headquarters in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, and the Metro Detroit region is dotted with Ford facilities. The company has a long record of successes – its Model T inline-four engine, introduced in 1908, remained in production until 1941 and was known for its simplicity and versatility; the F-series trucks have been on the market since 1948, and the F-150 has been among the best-selling vehicles in the US, of any type, since the early 1980s. The company released its first-half sales numbers earlier this month, and while total sales were down by 10% year-over-year in Q2, the F-Series trucks maintained their crown as the best-selling truck in the US market, with 357,801 units sold in the first half of this year. Ford's SUVs are also doing well – the Bronco's H1 sales figure of 76,936 units and Q2 figure of 45,739 were both records, and the Q2 number outsold the Jeep Wrangler. The Ford Explorer, which saw an impressive 126,925 units sold in H1, was America's best-selling three-row SUV. In recent years, Ford has been using technology to bolster its sales and service. Specifically, the company in 2021 introduced Ford Pro, which has evolved into Ford Pro Intelligence, a cloud-based fleet management platform designed to streamline the workflow for business vehicle fleets. The platform is used in trucking, in business fleets, and in the rental industry. In 1H26, it grew by 20% year-over-year to reach more than 900,000 active subscriptions. All of this set the stage for Ford's Q1 earnings results. In that period, the company beat expectations on both the top and bottom lines. Revenue, excluding Ford Credit – the financing division, which is accounted for separately from automotive – Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analyst. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment. came to $39.82 billion, up 6.4% year over year and $993.84 million ahead of estimates. On the bottom line, non-GAAP EPS came in at $0.66 per share, up from $0.14 in the year-ago quarter and beating the consensus forecast by $0.47. For BofA analyst Alexander Perry, who covers Ford, there are a host of reasons to back the stock: "We expect continued upward estimate revisions for Ford given: 1) Ford's primary North America market is better positioned compared to Europe/China given a protectionist trade agenda (no Chinese EV disruption), a favorable regulatory environment given the roll off of emission standards programs that allows Ford to produce its highest margin accretive ICE vehicles, and resilient demand despite higher gas prices, 2) mix benefit from shift to higher margin trims at F Blue including off-road & V8 trims, 3) Novelis recovery progressing better than expected, 4) outsized growth in F's high margin software & services business, 5) support from Ford's new battery energy storage business & the scaling of its new EV platform with the launch of an affordable pickup next year." Perry is more optimistic than most of his peers, however. Wall Street's analyst consensus rates Ford a Hold (i.e., Neutral), based on 13 recent reviews that include 2 Buys, 10 Holds, and 1 Sell. With the stock trading at $14, the average price target of $14.77 points to a more modest upside of 5.5% over the next 12 months. (See F stock forecast ) Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts. The content is intended to be used for informational purposes only. It is very important to do your own analysis before making any investment.

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Bank of America projects that the U.S. economy and global equity markets will remain strong in Q3, driven by a new industrial cycle. The global earnings revision ratio has reached a six-month high, strengthening corporate earnings momentum. While there is potential for short-term market overheating, the bank advises using any pullbacks as buying opportunities.

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