This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

HCA Healthcare is a Nashville-based healthcare provider organization operating the largest collection of acute-care hospitals in the United States. As of December 2025, the firm owned and operated 190 hospitals and over 2,500 outpatient facillities across 19 states and a small foothold in the United Kingdom.

HCA Healthcare is one of the largest hospital companies in the U.S. As of the end 1Q26, it operated 189 hospitals, 119 freestanding surgical centers and 30 freestanding endoscopy centers. The company is headquartered in Nashville.

The flood of earnings reports continues this week, with about 1,500 public companies reporting results for their last quarter. The April jobs report also will come out. Last week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq both rose 1%. Year to date, all three indices are in positive territory, with the DJIA up 3%, the S&P 500 higher by 6%, and the Nasdaq up by 8%. On the earnings calendar, highlights for the week include Palantir on Monday; AMD, Shopify, Arista Networks, Pfizer, and Anheuser-Busch on Tuesday; Walt Disney, Marriott, Uber, CVS Health, DoorDash, and Warner Bros. Discovery on Wednesday; McDonald's, Airbnb, Shell, and Cloudflare on Thursday; and Toyota on Friday. On the economic calendar, new data is pending on the labor market. Job Openings and New Home Sales will be reported on Tuesday; private payrolls report data from ADP on Wednesday; and the April Nonfarm Payrolls report on Friday. Turning to economic data, gas prices remain elevated and rose eight cents last week, hitting an average of $4.12 per gallon for regular gas. The Atlanta Fed GDPNow forecasts calls for GDP growth of 3.5% in the first quarter, up from the 1.2% forecast given just last week. The Cleveland Fed Inflation Nowcast calls for CPI of 3.6% in April and 3.9% in May. The CPI print was 3.3% in March. Mortgage rates moved higher last week, up seven basis points, with the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage now at 6.30%, according to FreddieMac. The next Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is on June 17, with odds at 7% for a rate cut. President Trump's nominee to be the next Fed chairman, Kevin Warsh, has been voted through on the Senate side. The next step is to be confirmed by the House of Representatives. Jerome Powell's term as chairman expires on May 15, but he will remain on the FOMC as a governor. Taking a deeper dive into performance so far in 2026, a leading industrialized global stock market index, the ETF EFA, is up 6% year to date, and the leading emerging market ETF (EEM) is up 17% year to date. U.S. growth stocks are up 1% year to date based on the IWF ETF, while value stocks (IWD) are up 9%. Crude oil prices continue to be volatile. On Friday, oil was at $103 per barrel, up 77% year to date. In other asset classes, AGG bonds are down 1%, gold is up 6%, and Bitcoin is down 11%. The U.S. dollar is flat, tracking DXY. The VIX Volatility Index was at about 17 on Friday, below its historical average of 20. Turning to sector performance, the list from first to worst so far in 2026, as of April 24, is Energy (+31%), Materials (+13%), Industrials (+12%), Consumer Staples (+11%), Real Estate (+11%), Utilities (+10%), Communication Services (+10%), Information Technology (+8%), Consumer Discretionary (+3%), Financials (-4%), and Healthcare (-6%). By comparison, the S&P 500 is up 6% year to date.