August 2026 Stock Watch List

As I'm writing this blog post, it's currently Tuesday, July 14th. The temperature here in Central Wisconsin is set to reach a high of 94 degrees Fahrenheit later today, with a heat index above 100 degrees! In fact, there's a heat advisory in place until tonight. Needless to say, I'll be drinking even more water than usual and spending much less time outside.

Now that August is only a couple of weeks away, I will be highlighting some of the picks on my watch list for next month. Let's jump into it!

Stock #1: Accenture plc (ACN)

The first stock on my watch list for August 2026 is Accenture plc. For my investment thesis, curious readers can peruse my recent listicle with Treading Softly on The Dividend Kings.

Basically, ACN takes care of the most important business functions for over 9,000 clients in 120 countries. These include finance/accounting, human resources, supply chains, and marketing/sales. Despite meaningful geopolitical disruptions, the mid single-digit percentage topline growth (+5.6% to $18.72 billion) in Q3 2026. ACN's adjusted EPS jumped 8.9% to $3.80 during the quarter.

The company's recent launch of Accenture Edge to target the $240 billion addressable market of middle-market companies ($300 million to $3 billion in annual revenue) is a significant growth opportunity. By offering ready-to-deploy solutions that package their large-enterprise expertise for smaller clients, this is poised to drive topline growth for years to come. 

Along with a $9 billion acquisition budget for FY 2026, ACN is insulating its business against AI automation of traditional consulting services. Aside from being supported by its free cash flows, the company also leverages an AA- S&P credit rating that provides a low cost of capital for acquisitions.

This is why I'm confident that the company can put up 6% to 7% annual adjusted EPS growth over the next several years.

ACN's 4.8% dividend yield is also well-covered. That's supported by an adjusted EPS payout ratio poised to be in the upper-40% range for FY 2026. This should allow for 8% to 10% annual dividend growth over the next few years, which is very compelling when mixed with ACN's generous starting income.

GNG Research

At the current $135 share price, shares are trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of just 9.3. This is a fraction of the FAST Graphs 10-year average P/E ratio of 25.7 and my fair value multiple of 20 (a $291 fair value per share estimate). That implies shares are priced at a 54% discount to my fair value estimate. When using the $347 fair value per share estimate of my friends over at GNG Research, the discount to fair value is an even more striking 61%.

Stock #2: Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN)

The next stock on my watch list for next month is Amazon.com, Inc. Interested readers can find my investment thesis in a May Seeking Alpha article.

The gist is that AMZN sits at the intersection of numerous growth tailwinds, including a thriving e-commerce/Ads/subscription business, quickly growing AWS sales, and a soaring customer silicon business. 

Further e-commerce retail growth is going to be made possible by a combination of price competitiveness (the average prices of products offered on Amazon in Q1 2026 decreased versus Q1 2025), expansion of its massive selection (it added 600-plus new notable brands in Q1 2026), and leaning even more into convenience (perishable sales were up 40x year-over-year and Rufus agentic AI shopping assistant active users were up 115% while engagement was up nearly 400%).

AWS's backlog almost doubled over the year-ago period (+92.6%) to $364 billion (excluding a $100 billion deal with Anthropic in April) in Q1 2026. Sequentially, this was up 49.2% from Q4 2025.

And even though AMZN's chips business is mostly for AWS, the roughly $50 billion annual run rate would be the third biggest on the planet if it were its own business, trailing only NVIDIA and Broadcom. Of the portion sold to other customers, the annual run rate surpassed $20 billion in Q1 2026 (a triple-digit percentage year-over-year growth rate).

AMZN's balance sheet is also spectacular, with an AA S&P credit rating and a stable outlook. For these reasons, operating cash flow per share is forecasted to grow by 25%+ annually over the medium term.

At the current $247 share price, the stock is also trading at a forward 12-month P/OCF ratio of just 12.9. This is far below the FAST Graphs 10-year average P/OCF ratio of 23.5 and 36% under my $384 fair value per share estimate (a fair value P/OCF ratio of 20).

Stock #3: BlackRock, Inc. (BLK)

The third stock on my watch list for August 2026 is BlackRock, Inc. Readers can find my investment thesis in my April Seeking Alpha article.

Basically, BLK is fundamentally thriving. Robust market performance in its higher-fee public markets book and client demand for international iShares ETF exposure are driving fee expansion. Organic base fees grew 8% in Q1 2026, which was the highest first quarter growth in the past five years and seventh straight quarter over the 5% target.

As corporate profits continue to expand over time, this will also drive further assets under management/revenue/adjusted diluted EPS growth for BLK. The potential for alt-inclusive 401(k) options to begin launching in 2027 could represent a catalyst for the company in terms of significantly higher fees over time (even with relatively modest allocation to private alternatives in target-date funds).

That's why solidly double-digit percentage annual adjusted diluted EPS growth over the next few years is arguably the base case for BLK. The balance sheet is also a fortress, with an AA- S&P credit rating and a stable outlook. Combined with an adjusted diluted EPS payout ratio poised to be in the low-40% range in 2026, this makes the 2.2% dividend yield reasonably secure.

GNG Research

The stock is also a decent value. At the current $1,025 share price, BLK is priced at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of 17.5. That's less than the 10-year average P/E ratio of 20.7 and is 12% below my $1,169 fair value per share estimate (a fair value multiple of 20). Relative to the GNG Research fair value per share estimate of $1,253, the discount is even more pronounced at 18%.

Stock #4: Domino's Pizza, Inc. (DPZ)

The next stock on my watch list for next month is Domino's Pizza, Inc.

Having just added this position to my portfolio earlier this month, this one is a newcomer for me. I have observed DPZ for years and covered it several times in my time at The Motley Fool. A major positive to me is that 99% of the 22,000-plus Domino's stores are owned by independent franchisees. Since franchisees fund the capex for new store openings and day-to-day operations, the parent company maintains a very efficient, capital-light profile. 

This allows for corporate cash flow to be recycled into share buybacks, dividends, and into R&D for their digital-ordering ecosystem. That is what enabled DPZ to be one of the best long-term performers in the stock market up until the stock price's peak just a few years ago. As the franchise network grows, the supply chain volume of the dough and ingredients distribution business also grows, creating operating leverage.

While DPZ's growth has slowed down from the sky-high pandemic pace, it remains respectable. The FAST Graphs analyst consensus is for diluted EPS to compound at around 9% annually over the next few years. 

The interest coverage ratio leaves a bit to be desired at 5.3x in Q1 2026, but it was an improvement over 5x in Q1 2025. It's also worth noting that the capital-light business model affords it more flexibility than most companies in this regard.

DPZ's 2.6% dividend yield is arguably sustainable, too. The diluted EPS payout ratio is likely to register in the low-40% range in 2026. That should leave plenty of room for 10%+ annual dividend growth for the foreseeable future.

DPZ's valuation is also quite appealing. At the current $310 share price, the stock is trading at a forward 12-month P/E ratio of only 15.5. This is much lower than the FAST Graphs 10-year average P/E ratio of 30.3 and is 23% below my $401 fair value per share estimate (a fair value P/E ratio of 20).

Stock #5: NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA)

The fifth stock on my watch list for August 2026 is NVIDIA Corporation. This one has been no stranger to my watch list in 2026. As such, I would refer interested readers to my July 2026 Dividend Stock Watch List blog post for the sake of brevity.

GNG Research

Concluding Thoughts:

There you have it. Applying my currently planned allocations, my weighted average net dividend yield will be just above 2.1% (I'll add a small stake in an existing high-quality income stock to bump this up to 2.3% or 2.4%). Once again, I believe this basket of stocks provides a solid mix of market-beating income, exceptional value, and double-digit percentage blended earnings/OCF growth potential.

Discussion:

Are any of ACN, AMZN, BLK, DPZ, or NVDA on your watch list for August 2026?

If not, what stocks are you watching in the coming weeks?

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment below!