Value Stocks Surpass Growth as Tech Titans Lead the Way
Value stocks have outperformed growth stocks in 2026, and some tech stalwarts are leading the charge. The Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF has produced a 19.8% return year to date, while the Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF is up only 9%. One of these value leaders is Micron Technology, which has surged more than 250% this year.
Micron's explosive growth is due in part to its role in the memory supercycle. A shortage of memory has driven prices up, and the company is benefiting from a surge in demand for AI infrastructure. It takes years to build new foundries to increase supply, so the imbalance between supply and demand is likely to persist.
Cisco Systems is another tech stock that's helping lead the value pack. The stock is up more than 40% on the year and has benefited from strong networking cycle driven by AI workloads and network traffic. Orders from telecom customers surged 30% last quarter, and enterprise orders were also up a robust 21%.
Texas Instruments is another company seeing strong growth in its data center business, with revenue expected to double this fiscal year. The industrial segment's revenue was up 30% last quarter, driven by growing demand for factory automation and smart grids.