The S&P 500 includes over 500 companies spanning multiple sectors, featuring numerous profitable enterprises with solid fundamentals that merit serious consideration from investors. This breadth offers compelling prospects for those prepared to look beyond headline-grabbing stocks and dig deeper into their analysis.
Using Validea’s extensive evaluation system that draws from 22 distinct investment approaches, we’ve pinpointed ten S&P 500 firms displaying strong foundational qualities that look especially appealing given their current market prices. Our assessment combines proven strategies from investment legends like Warren Buffett’s emphasis on sustainable competitive moats and robust capital efficiency, Peter Lynch’s focus on fair pricing relative to growth potential, and Benjamin Graham’s insistence on adequate downside protection.
These companies might not dominate financial news cycles the way prominent tech giants do, but they excel in the core areas that fuel sustainable wealth building over time. They produce steady cash generation, maintain healthy financial structures, hold defendable market positions, and trade at reasonable levels compared to their underlying business value. Such qualities position them to provide steady performance for investors who prioritize fundamental strength and maintain a methodical, value-oriented investment approach.
Here are the top 10 most fundamentally sound stocks within the index using our guru models as of August of 2025.
| Ticker | Company Name | Price | Market Cap ($mil) | PE Ratio | Price/ Sales | Relative Strength | Price/ Book | Price/ Cash Flow | Dividend Yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHM | PULTEGROUP INC | $129.96 | $25,641 | 9.7 | 1.5 | 57 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 0.7% |
| XOM | EXXON MOBIL CORP | $107.60 | $458,725 | 15.3 | 1.4 | 42 | 1.8 | 8.1 | 3.6% |
| UHS | UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES INC | $178.51 | $11,360 | 9.4 | 0.7 | 34 | 1.6 | 6.0 | 0.5% |
| MRK | MERCK & CO INC | $82.71 | $206,592 | 12.8 | 3.3 | 29 | 4.2 | 9.8 | 3.9% |
| CMCSA | COMCAST CORP | $32.94 | $121,621 | 5.4 | 1.0 | 36 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 3.9% |
| PAYC | PAYCOM SOFTWARE INC | $221.49 | $12,460 | 30.0 | 6.4 | 80 | 6.9 | 21.7 | 0.7% |
| GWW | WW GRAINGER INC | $982.07 | $46,975 | 24.8 | 2.7 | 55 | 12.8 | 20.8 | 0.9% |
| QCOM | QUALCOMM INC | $156.59 | $168,886 | 15.1 | 3.9 | 43 | 6.2 | 12.8 | 2.2% |
| RMD | RESMED INC | $288.28 | $42,208 | 30.3 | 8.2 | 75 | 7.1 | 25.8 | 0.8% |
| WFC | WELLS FARGO & CO | $77.89 | $249,516 | 13.4 | 3.1 | 81 | 1.5 | 9.2 | 2.1% |
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