This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Mid Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. The market capitalization range for U.S. mid-caps typically falls between $1 billion and $8 billion and represents 20% of the total capitalization of the U.S. equity market.

The first-quarter earnings season has been sensational. Many companies knocked it out of the park when delivering earnings and revenue numbers that well beyond expectations. With reports now in from about 96% of S&P 500 companies, earnings have climbed a staggering 29% from last quarter. Information Technology, up 56%, and Communication Services, up 51%, have led the pack. At the bottom are Healthcare, down 3%, and Energy, down 1%. With earnings season essentially over, we have had a chance to look at trends. In particular, we watch for companies that raised guidance as we view that action as a likely catalyst for market-beating returns in the quarters ahead. It's even harder for companies to raise guidance during uncertain economic times, as vision is murky. The following is a partial list of companies in Argus' Fundamental Universe of Coverage where management raised its outlook during the 1Q26 reporting season.

While the large cap indices make all-time highs day after day, there are technical cracks everywhere else. This includes secondary indices, sectors, industries, and individual stocks. We have talked about poor market breadth, and perhaps the only thing we can say is that most money is invested in the mega-cap indices, so there is no problem until there is. We hear it's different this time -- and for now it certainly is. How long the AI party will last is unknown. So as we always do, we'll leave it up to price. The NYSE and the Dow Jones have not exceeded their February all-time highs (ATHs). The S&P MidCap 400 (MDY) was last at an ATH on May 6, followed by a bearish engulfing candlestick and a potential false breakout. The S&P Small Cap 600 (SML) also peaked on May 6, has been down for four of the past five days, and is sitting on important short-term support at its 21-day exponential moving average. The Nasdaq 100 has 19% of its issues at ATHs, the S&P 500 has 8%, the MDY 5%, and the SML 4%. Some 8% of the QQQ's holdings are at 52-week lows, 9% of the S&P 500 and the MDY, and 5% of the SML. The QQQ has 20% of its issues at a one-month high, the S&P 500 has 12%, the MDY 7%, and the SML 6%. Yet 24% to 27% of the issues in the four indices are at one-month lows. Since the spike began, the number of 52-week highs on the S&P 500 peaked at 51 on April 17 and has fallen to 35, while the number of new lows has climbed to 43. Coming out of the April 2025 slide, we saw 57 new highs more than three months into the rally. But during early stages of other recent recoveries, the number has been in 80 to 120 issues.

ONEOK Inc. is one of the largest energy midstream service providers in the United States, connecting supply basins with key market centers. It owns and operates one of the nation's premier NGL systems and is a leader in the gathering, processing, storage, and transportation of natural gas and refined products. ONEOK's operations include a 50,000-mile integrated network of NGL and natural gas pipelines, processing plants, fractionators, and storage facilities in the Mid-Continent, Williston, Permian, and Rocky Mountain regions. The company now has four business segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids, Natural Gas Pipelines, and Refined Products and Crude. The company is a component of the S&P 500 and currently employs about 6,300 people.