Stability is great, but low-volatility stocks may struggle to deliver market-beating returns over time as they sometimes underperform during bull markets.

Luckily for you, StockStory helps you navigate which companies are truly worth holding. That said, here are three low-volatility stocks that don’t make the cut and some better opportunities instead.

Marqeta (MQ)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.14

Founded by CEO Jason Gardner in 2009, Marqeta (NASDAQ: MQ) is an innovative card issuer that provides companies with the ability to issue and process virtual, physical, and tokenized credit and debit cards.

Why Are We Cautious About MQ?

1. Software offerings aren’t resonating in this new AI paradigm as its revenue declined by 2.8% annually over the last three years
2. Steep infrastructure costs and weaker unit economics for a software company are reflected in its low gross margin of 69.4%

Marqeta’s stock price of $4.75 implies a valuation ratio of 3.8x forward price-to-sales. To fully understand why you should be careful with MQ, check out our full research report (it’s free).

Skechers (SKX)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.81

Synonymous with "dad shoe", Skechers (NYSE: SKX) is a footwear company renowned for its comfortable, stylish, and affordable shoes for all ages.

Why Do We Avoid SKX?

1. Weak constant currency growth over the past two years indicates challenges in maintaining its market share
2. Estimated sales growth of 7.3% for the next 12 months implies demand will slow from its two-year trend
3. Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 4.4% for the last two years

Skechers is trading at $61.43 per share, or 14.4x forward P/E. Dive into our free research report to see why there are better opportunities than SKX.

Mercury Systems (MRCY)

Rolling One-Year Beta: 0.85

Founded in 1981, Mercury Systems (NASDAQ: MRCY) specializes in providing processing subsystems and components for primarily defense applications.

Why Should You Dump MRCY?

1. Absence of organic revenue growth over the past two years suggests it may have to lean into acquisitions to drive its expansion
2. Revenue growth over the past five years was nullified by the company’s new share issuances as its earnings per share fell by 28% annually
3. Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned

At $46.34 per share, Mercury Systems trades at 66x forward P/E. Read our free research report to see why you should think twice about including MRCY in your portfolio.

Stocks We Like More

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2024 U.S. Presidential Election sent major indices to all-time highs, but stocks have retraced as investors debate the health of the economy and the potential impact of tariffs.

While this leaves much uncertainty around 2025, a few companies are poised for long-term gains regardless of the political or macroeconomic climate, like our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 176% over the last five years.

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-small-cap company Exlservice (+354% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today for free.