Bank of America Names 5 Bullish Stocks After $2 Trillion Selloff

Bank of America Looks Past the AI Trade

Bank of America has thrown its weight behind five bullish stock picks it says can hold up better than the technology trade that has dominated Wall Street this year. The list lands in the middle of a rough stretch for US equities, and safer ground has been hard to find while the market reprices its dominant theme. Money that left technology needed somewhere to settle, and the usual refuges have offered thin cover. On November 5, an AI-led crash erased roughly $2 trillion in market cap from US stocks within the first hour of trading, one of the sharpest single-session shocks of 2026. The panic had a political trigger: investors feared that the newly Democratic-controlled Congress could slow the buildout of the AI data centers that have carried the market's gains all year. With that trade suddenly in doubt, the bank's analysts went looking for names that do not depend on it. Their five selections are framed as places where earnings do not hinge on data center spending, a bet that value can be found away from the trade that set off the drop. The early scorecard is mixed. Only two of the picks have outperformed the S&P 500 so far this year, while three of them are down in 2026 even as the wider US market is up more than 10%. The gap is the point. A defensive list drawn up after a $2 trillion shock has to work in both directions, protecting capital if the selloff extends and still participating if equities stabilize. The bank's answer is to spread the bets across live entertainment, banking, telecom, defense and consumer names rather than concentrate them in a single theme. Whether that mix holds will be tested by the same force that produced it, the market's re-rating of the AI trade.

MSG Entertainment Leads at 48%

Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) is the standout name on the list, and the only one delivering a rally of any scale. Its shares have climbed close to 48% in 2026, a run helped by headline concerts such as Harry Styles dates, and Bank of America expects its Christmas Spectacular to add another leg, with more shows scheduled and advance ticket sales running ahead of past seasons. U.S. Bancorp (USB) has risen nearly 18%, and the bank argues earnings can grow as older assets reprice and fee income builds, though the turnaround still depends on the wider economy holding up. The lender's earnings lever is the rate environment: as older loans and securities reprice higher, income follows, provided credit stays clean. The remaining three names have a harder case to make. AT&T (T) has slipped more than 6% even though it stays the bank's leading US telecom selection. For a telecom incumbent, the pitch is steadier cash generation rather than growth: improving cash flow, the dividend and a $34 price target that the shares have yet to reflect. L3Harris (LHX) has fallen about 7%. Bank of America backs the new chief executive's execution discipline and international sales push, but the defense contractor now faces fresh scrutiny over its possible role in Friday's nationwide US flight stoppage on November 13. Krispy Kreme (DNUT) has lost roughly 2.5% despite a recent rebound. The doughnut chain has spent the year working through a turnaround, and the share price has only begun to respond. Analyst Sara Senatore said keeping earnings guidance despite rising costs was “the clearest evidence yet that the turnaround savings are durable.”

Pick	Ticker	2026 performance
Madison Square Garden Entertainment	MSGE	Up nearly 48%
U.S. Bancorp	USB	Up nearly 18%
AT&T	T	Down more than 6%
L3Harris	LHX	Down about 7%
Krispy Kreme	DNUT	Down roughly 2.5%

A Scorecard With Two Winners

Only two of the five picks have actually beaten the S&P 500 this year, and the pattern says something about what protection looks like in this market. MSGE and USB earn from their own drivers, sold-out live events and loan repricing, not from the AI theme. The three laggards all carry a company-specific overhang: a share price that ignores a $34 target at AT&T, defense scrutiny at L3Harris, and cost pressure at Krispy Kreme. For traders who want to act on these calls outside regular market hours, stock perpetuals, derivatives that track individual shares, now offer around-the-clock access to US equity exposure. This list's own record is the more sobering guide: no Buy rating protects a portfolio from a second leg down.