Why Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) Should Be Your First Stock Pick in 2026

Happy (almost) new year, everyone. 

Now is the time to rest, reflect, and enjoy the holiday season with friends and loved ones. So — does that mean we take a short break from investing?

Nope — thankfully, we can end on a high note — and one that won’t divert you from merriment. We just have to hone in on a simple, straightforward ticker that’s going to be easy to research. 

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Thankfully, Fresenius Medical Care (NYSE: FMS) caught my eye quite quickly. This German business has been operating since 1996 and deals primarily in dialysis services and products.

At WallStreetZen, we use a proprietary model that leverages 115 unique factors to evaluate roughly 4,600 stocks on a daily basis. The top 5% are given a Zen Rating of A — equivalent to a Strong Buy rating. These stocks have provided an average annual return of 32.52% since the early 2000s.

Right now, FMS ranks in the top 2% of the stocks that we track — in fact, it’s ranked 80th overall.

Let’s dig into why it earns such an elite status. 

First, let’s look at the bigger picture behind that rating. Each Zen Rating is made up of 7 Component Grade ratings — and these can let us know what a stock’s particular strengths are. So, where does Fresenius shine?

For one, it ranks in the top 9% for Safety — and this is driven in large part by an ongoing 13-quarter earnings beat streak. Despite an established pattern of outperformance, the stock has only seen modest gains in 2025 — having rallied by just 8.85%, to be exact.

We also have a pretty solid balance sheet on our hands — in terms of Financials, FMS ranks in the 70th percentile — in other words, equivalent to or better than 70% of stocks, or in the top 30%.

However, the true kicker here is the appealing mix of value and growth. The average stock is currently trading at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 44.83x — FMS, however, is trading at a P/E of just 16.93x. It also happens to be trading at a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of just 0.35x, indicating that it is severely undervalued relative to growth prospects. This puts FMS in the top 6% of stocks for Value.

So, what about those growth prospects? Well, Fresenius’ earnings are forecast to grow at a pretty exceptional rate of 48.25% per year — more than four times as fast as its industry average. When it comes to the Growth Component Grade rating, FMS is in the top 4%.

Since we already mentioned earnings expectations relative to industry, it’s also fair to note that this is the 5th highest-rated stock in the Medical Care Facility industry, which has an Industry Rating of A.

Finally, we have our Artificial Intelligence Component Grade rating. It’s based on the findings of a neural network trained on two decades of market data. The goal here is to identify likely outperformers — and in this category, FMS ranks in the top 6% of stocks.

So, there you have it — this is a pretty well-rounded package, and it’s trading at a very steep discount. We have solid growth prospects, a pretty healthy balance sheet after a slew of promising acquisitions in the past couple of years, and a solid track-record of outperformance. If you’re looking for a long-term, buy-and-hold pick, you’ve found it.

—> Click here to research FMS

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