2 More Stocks to Buy for 2026

Concerns about declining intergenerational mobility have prompted a narrative that US industrial policy and corporate capital will drive an $11.3 trillion “American Dream 2.0” investment wave into AI data centers, manufacturing and research—building on measures such as the $2.2 trillion Build Back Better initiatives and the $280 billion CHIPS Act—presented by analysts Louis Navellier, Eric Fry and Luke Lango alongside their Power Portfolio 2026. They highlight two actionable ideas: Celanese (CE), a low-cost U.S. feedstock chemical and engineered materials play whose shares fell from roughly $150 to $40 after a costly DuPont acquisition and which cut its dividend 95% in 2025 to pay down debt, but is forecast to return to revenue growth in 2026 with gross income rising ~17% to $2.1 billion and a fair value nearer $100 (implying ~140% upside); and Akamai (AKAM), repositioned from CDN leader into a distributed edge-cloud and security platform (4,400 points of presence vs. CloudFront’s ~750) after acquisitions like Linode and Noname Security, trading at ~12x forward earnings with analysts projecting ~18% EPS CAGR through 2027. If Washington-directed demand for reshoring, electrification and edge infrastructure materializes, these names could offer asymmetric returns, though the authors caution outcomes are not guaranteed.

Analysis

The note positions a policy-driven $11.3 trillion investment wave — building on initiatives like the cited $2.2 trillion Build Back Better measures and the $280 billion CHIPS Act — as the macro catalyst to re-shore manufacturing, build AI data centers and accelerate electrification. Celanese (CE) is highlighted as a deep-value industrial: shares fell from roughly $150 to ~$40 after the 2022 DuPont mobility acquisition, management cut the dividend 95% in 2025 to repay deal-related debt, and analysts forecast gross income rising ~17% to $2.1 billion with revenues returning to growth in 2026 and a stated fair value near $100 (~140% upside). Akamai (AKAM) is presented as a discounted tech/edge play trading near 12x forward EPS after flat performance since ChatGPT; management retooled the business with Linode (2022), Connected Cloud (2023) and Noname Security (2024), giving it ~4,400 points of presence versus CloudFront’s ~750 and analysts project ~18% EPS CAGR through 2027. Key risks are execution and timing: Celanese’s recovery depends on cyclical stabilization in automotive and construction demand and successful deleveraging, while Akamai must translate PoP scale into sustained revenue growth amid competition from hyperscalers and in-house CDNs.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Consider a tactical, size-limited position in Celanese to capture the asymmetric upside implied by a ~$100 fair value, but tranche purchases and require visible signs of revenue/profit recovery or material debt reduction before adding materially
• Accumulate Akamai as a value-oriented exposure to edge computing and security given its 4,400 points of presence and projected ~18% EPS CAGR, while monitoring quarterly revenue reacceleration and margin conversion as execution checkpoints
• Monitor implementation and timing of the $11.3 trillion investment thesis and government initiatives (including Build Back Better and CHIPS) as primary catalysts for both names, and avoid assuming policy spending will be immediate or fully allocated
• Employ disciplined risk management — use position sizing, tranche buys, or hedges to protect against continued chemicals cyclicality for CE and competitive displacement or slower monetization for AKAM