The steadiest stocks in the market, ranked.
Ticker Nerd's model re-ranks roughly 4,600 US stocks every trading day, and the 1,500 big and liquid enough to trade are eligible here. These 25 score highest on its Volatility factor right now. How violently the share price moves in ordinary weeks.
Every score is a percentile across the whole US universe we cover — a 92 beats 92% of it. How the model was built and blind-tested is on the methodology page; what each factor means is on the factor glossary.
| Ticker | Company | Mkt cap | Rank | 1w rank Δ | Revisions | Value | Momentum | Quality | Accruals | Issuance | Growth | Volatility | Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Johnson & Johnson Drug Manufacturers - General | $610.4B | 76.1 | −9.2 | 48.7 | 88.8 | 92.8 | 92.7 | 57.6 | 49.2 | 53.2 | 99.9 | 0.4 | |
Merck & Co., Inc. Drug Manufacturers - General | $360.4B | 81.2 | −1.0 | 54.0 | 99.3 | 93.5 | 98.7 | 71.7 | 41.4 | 38.8 | 99.9 | 0.6 | |
Roper Technologies, Inc. Software - Application | $38.6B | 60.9 | +1.6 | 88.3 | 70.6 | 37.9 | 49.6 | 44.1 | 57.7 | 56.2 | 99.9 | 6.1 | |
General Dynamics Corp. Aerospace & Defense | $91.1B | 94.2 | +0.1 | 90.9 | 94.3 | 73.7 | 79.6 | 68.0 | 85.0 | 46.8 | 99.8 | 2.9 | |
Graco, Inc. Specialty Industrial Machinery | $13.6B | 72.4 | +3.1 | 67.1 | 66.6 | 39.1 | 86.3 | 56.7 | 76.7 | 55.5 | 99.8 | 12.4 | |
United Therapeutics Corp. Drug Manufacturers - Specialty & Generic | $23.0B | 81.4 | +1.0 | 39.3 | 98.8 | 73.0 | 90.8 | 64.0 | 86.9 | 45.4 | 99.8 | 9.0 | |
Bristol Myers Squibb Co. Drug Manufacturers - General | $123.3B | 95.4 | −4.0 | 59.2 | 99.9 | 86.6 | 92.1 | 65.1 | 93.4 | 67.8 | 99.7 | 2.1 | |
Incyte Corp. Biotechnology | $22.6B | 90.1 | +1.6 | 47.4 | 98.3 | 82.5 | 97.0 | 46.4 | 72.1 | 85.5 | 99.7 | 9.0 | |
McDonald's Corp. Restaurants | $171.6B | 63.4 | +0.4 | 54.3 | 60.5 | 31.7 | 88.2 | 44.7 | 92.7 | 62.7 | 99.7 | 1.5 | |
Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc Biotechnology | $13.5B | 99.2 | −0.2 | 69.2 | 98.7 | 91.5 | 85.1 | 78.5 | 82.7 | 94.0 | 99.7 | 12.5 | |
W.W. Grainger, Inc. Industrial Distribution | $63.7B | 76.4 | +0.5 | 84.4 | 48.8 | 87.5 | 87.7 | 36.6 | 69.7 | 47.8 | 99.6 | 4.2 | |
Quest Diagnostics, Inc. Diagnostics & Research | $26.6B | 93.4 | +0.6 | 92.2 | 64.3 | 81.1 | 79.7 | 60.6 | 80.0 | 68.8 | 99.6 | 7.9 | |
AbbVie, Inc. Drug Manufacturers - General | $500.7B | 94.3 | −1.8 | 61.8 | 87.3 | 92.5 | 84.5 | 90.2 | 60.8 | 79.3 | 99.6 | 0.4 | |
Paychex, Inc. Software - Application | $39.8B | 77.9 | +1.6 | 59.2 | 68.7 | 49.8 | 73.3 | 62.1 | 93.3 | 71.9 | 99.5 | 6.0 | |
Sysco Corp. Food Distribution | $39.3B | 76.9 | +0.1 | 77.2 | 85.3 | 67.0 | 79.6 | 49.9 | 55.1 | 51.6 | 99.5 | 6.0 | |
Chubb Ltd. Insurance - Property & Casualty | $138.8B | 71.3 | +4.2 | 86.1 | 33.8 | 84.5 | 61.9 | 23.4 | 68.0 | 87.7 | 99.5 | 1.8 | |
VeriSign, Inc. Software - Infrastructure | $27.9B | 70.2 | +1.9 | 67.3 | 59.2 | 79.3 | 82.0 | 71.6 | 44.4 | 41.8 | 99.4 | 7.6 | |
Gentex Corp. Auto Parts | $4.4B | 84.1 | −0.9 | 55.7 | 90.0 | 34.1 | 91.7 | 53.0 | 87.3 | 71.7 | 99.4 | 24.3 | |
Allegion Plc Security & Protection Services | $13.4B | 67.0 | −1.6 | 73.7 | 46.0 | 49.3 | 90.2 | 32.0 | 82.5 | 52.8 | 99.4 | 12.5 | |
Royalty Pharma Plc Biotechnology | $34.3B | 87.1 | +0.4 | 92.6 | 84.6 | 98.4 | 76.2 | 63.1 | 32.9 | 48.5 | 99.4 | 6.7 | |
Gilead Sciences, Inc. Drug Manufacturers - General | $195.4B | 96.8 | +1.6 | 86.0 | 98.9 | 81.7 | 96.1 | 97.7 | 50.3 | 52.3 | 99.4 | 1.3 | |
NVR, Inc. Residential Construction | $16.6B | 39.4 | +2.2 | 51.9 | 47.7 | 16.5 | 80.9 | 46.8 | 80.3 | 19.6 | 99.3 | 11.1 | |
McKesson Corp. Medical Distribution | $116.9B | 90.0 | +3.5 | 75.2 | 82.9 | 80.9 | 75.2 | 54.4 | 71.5 | 81.6 | 99.3 | 2.3 | |
RTX Corp. Aerospace & Defense | $250.9B | 95.2 | +0.8 | 94.0 | 81.1 | 85.6 | 75.8 | 66.0 | 91.1 | 51.0 | 99.3 | 0.9 | |
FTI Consulting, Inc. Consulting Services | $4.0B | 79.3 | 0.0 | 63.5 | 91.3 | 42.7 | 70.1 | 69.2 | 55.3 | 69.8 | 99.3 | 25.7 |
Today’s snapshot only — the list rotates as the scores move. Click any ticker for its full page: rank against every factor, analyst price targets, financials and news.
What these low-volatility stocks look like up close.
Figures for the 25 listed names, from the same data behind their stock pages.
14 of the 25 names with analyst coverage this month carry a Buy-or-better majority.
Cheapest on trailing P/E: GNTX at 11.1×, CB at 12.4× and BMY at 12.5×.
Highest forward dividend yields: PAYX at 4.3%, BMY at 4.2% and MCD at 3.1%.
This page is one list. Monday covers the whole market.
Computed off the Friday close and sent before the US open.
Market Radar reports the week’s largest rank changes across roughly 4,600 US stocks and the factor behind each one. The names above will rotate as the scores move — the Radar is how you hear what changed.
Questions people ask about low-volatility stocks.
- What are the best low-volatility stocks right now?
- As at 15 Oct 2026, the top-ranked low-volatility stocks on Ticker Nerd's systematic factor model are Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK), Roper Technologies, Inc. (ROP). The full top 25 is the table on this page, re-ranked every trading day. A rank is general information, not personal advice.
- How does Ticker Nerd pick the best low-volatility stocks?
- Nobody picks them. A factor model scores roughly 4,600 US stocks every trading day on families like value, momentum, quality and growth, and this page is one fixed cut of that ranking. The research process behind the model — point-in-time data from 2005, locked test windows, logged rejections — is published on the methodology page.
- Are low-volatility stocks a good investment?
- That depends on the price paid and on your circumstances — this page is general information, not advice. What the data says as at 15 Oct 2026: of the 25 listed names with analyst coverage this month, 14 carry a Buy-or-better majority, and every rank above is a percentile across roughly 4,600 US stocks.
The same model, other cuts.
Every list reads the one ranking — the stock screener index has the complete set.