A 100-year-old trucking name made Josh Brown's Best Stocks list. How it's beating the market in 2026

The article remains constructive on industrials, highlighting PACCAR, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, and Deere as beneficiaries of AI-driven capex and infrastructure spending. PACCAR is trading at $126 with $130 as the key breakout level and $121-$122 as trader risk, while WAB sits near $263 with a supportive $250-$253 zone and Deere at $595 is viewed as range-bound and less compelling. Fundamental backdrop is positive for PCAR and WAB, but the piece is mainly commentary and technical setup rather than a fresh catalyst.

Analysis

The industrial leadership here is not just a cyclical rebound; it is a capital-spending diffusion trade. PCAR and WAB are better read as picks-and-shovels on freight modernization, dealer/service monetization, and connected-asset software, which means the earnings stream is becoming less exposed to original-equipment volatility and more tied to installed-base annuity economics. That matters because it should compress drawdown severity versus classic industrial cyclicals and keep buybacks/dividend growth supported even if end-market orders wobble.

The second-order winner is the broader ecosystem that sells components, telematics, power management, and maintenance software into fleets and rail networks. If AI is driving a multi-year capex cycle, the market is still underpricing the incremental spend needed to instrument, service, and electrify physical assets; that creates a longer runway for suppliers with distribution density and recurring-revenue overlays. The loser set is more subtle: capital-light logistics operators and truck/load brokers may face margin pressure if fleet owners spend aggressively on new equipment while rate competition remains soft.

From a risk standpoint, PCAR is the cleaner momentum expression because the stock has already digested its prior move and is coiling near resistance; WAB is stronger fundamentally but its price has already discounted more of that good news, so it is more vulnerable to a failed reset if orders merely stay good rather than re-accelerate. DE is the opposite: the setup is more of a mean-reversion candidate than a trend-confirmation story, and until the next few prints prove the cycle has turned, it is vulnerable to being a value trap on any macro disappointment. The key reversal trigger across the group would be a roll-over in infrastructure/data-center capex or a deterioration in freight utilization that forces fleet customers to defer equipment decisions for 1-2 quarters.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Go long PCAR on a confirmed break above the prior ceiling with a 3-6 month horizon; use the 50-day area as tactical risk and target a continuation move as the market prices in parts/services mix improvement.
• Maintain a core long WAB, but add only on pullbacks toward support rather than chasing; the reward is a durable compounder with order visibility, while the risk is multiple compression if investors rotate away from industrial quality.
• Avoid fresh long DE until it re-establishes a higher-low structure; for traders, consider selling upside calls against existing exposure into strength because the current setup has more headline support than technical confirmation.
• Pair long PCAR / short a lower-quality transportation or logistics proxy to express the idea that asset-heavy platforms with after-sales leverage should outperform pure volume-exposed operators over the next 1-2 quarters.
• If industrial breadth deteriorates while semis/utilities keep leading, cut cyclicality exposure aggressively; that would signal the capex narrative is narrowing rather than broadening, which is the main downside risk to the trade.