(This is ” The Best Stocks in the Market ,” brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — I could be wrong, but I think real estate stocks are worth another look for investors without exposure to the sector. In my opinion, the combination of immunity to AI (for the most part, or at least for now) and the next Federal Reserve Chairman having a single mandate directly from the president bodes well for this group. They’re cheap, unloved, and, as Sean shows, they tend to act better than you think. There are several on our list of the best stocks on the market. We’ll talk about them after we compile the meta-stats as usual… Sector Leaderboard As of February 17th, there are 228 names on the list of best stocks in the market. Top Sector Rankings: Top Industries: Top 5 Blue Chip Stocks by Relative Strength: Sectors to Watch: Real Estate Sean — I wrote about Welltower (WELL) and Ventas (VTR) last November. These two are among the best real estate stocks of the past few years focused on the healthcare industry. Since we wrote that, VTR is up 14% and WELL is up 13%, both outpacing the S&P 500 and real estate sector’s 2% and 8% gains, respectively. Since interest rates skyrocketed in 2022, real estate has entered a full-fledged ice age. There’s debate over what interest rates will be for the rest of the year, but real estate stocks are still thawing. Last Friday, 16% of the sector hit a 52-week high, putting it behind utilities and energy and tied with consumer staples. Take a look at some of the best charts on our list from sectors that seem to be coming back to life. Realty Income Corp. (O): Sean — Realty Income owns more than 15,500 properties across 92 industries in the U.S. and Europe and specializes in net-leased commercial real estate. They focus on many industries spanning retail, industrial, gaming, and data centers. ‘Monthly Dividend Company’ lives up to its nickname and literally pays dividends every month, currently at 5 handles on an annual basis. Q3 2025 showed the company firing on all cylinders. Investment amount was $1.4 billion, full-year earnings guidance was raised to $4.25 to $4.27 per share, fiscal year 2025 investment outlook increased to $5.5 billion, and portfolio occupancy reached 98.7%. Josh — This is way overbought at 78 RSI. Sometimes these things need to be chilled for better entry. But I like it. Especially if you go back five years on the chart, you can see a long-term downtrend breaking in real time. If it were me, I would either bring the price back down or take some time to consolidate the price to some extent in this new range and let it settle down. In both cases, the trade stop is at $60, which is the previous resistance level that has already been tested as support. I think investors can spend $58, but I’m not going to tie them down any more than that. Iron Mountain, Inc. (IRM): Sean — Iron Mountain has evolved from records management (do you even have an old Iron Mountain box in your garage?) to a global infrastructure business that combines physical storage and data center solutions. IRM offers an impressive annualized yield of 3.3%. Q4 2025 was an overall record performance, with revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and AFFO (think adjusted funds from operations, like free cash flow for REITS) up 17% year-over-year. The data center business was the main player, posting 39% revenue growth in the fourth quarter, with high-growth segments collectively driving revenue growth of over 30%. Management’s 2026 outlook is for revenue to increase 12% and adjusted EBITDA to increase 13%. Josh — Iron Mountain has the same parabolic movement as Realty Income. Before you want to take a position, you need to resolve the push or take your time. RSI is 77, which is too hot. Traders will want to monitor how the stock behaves near the bottom of the breakout gap around $103 to $104. The line in the sand is $100. I think it will hold up, but that’s where the momentum is lost from the setup. Prologis, Inc. (PLD): Sean — Prologis dominates industrial real estate with 1.3 billion square feet of logistics facilities in 20 countries and serving 6,500 customers. This company is interesting because it has moved beyond traditional warehousing into data centers and renewable energy, and it pays a decent dividend of 3%. Q4 2025 saw strong leasing momentum with 228 million square feet signed for the full year and portfolio occupancy approaching 96%. Guidance for 2026 is FFO (funds from operations) of $6.00 to $6.20 per share, same-store net operating income growth of 5.75% to 6.75%, and data center power pipeline expanding to 5.7 gigawatts. Josh — I’ve always loved the story of this company. Technically, it has been good for a while now. Unlike O and IRM, this is a gradual increase rather than a vertical spike. I want to train you to look for situations like this instead of those. Yes, you can make money from both, but we are considering probability here. PLD has just made a series of highs and lows, hitting a new high near $140. The price is trading above the rising 50-day around $130, and the 50-day is accelerating. Momentum is solid, but there is no growth, and RSI is in the mid-60s. The ride remains methodical and without any euphoria. The $135-$136 area represents the latest breakout zone and should provide initial support in the event of a pullback. The 50-day rally around $130 is the more important trend line. As long as the price remains above that level, the intermediate uptrend will be maintained. A decisive break below the 50-day mark would suggest a change in the nature of the movement. I used to check it every Friday for a weekly closing gut check. Simon Property Group, Inc. (SPG): Sean — Simon Property Group owns luxury shopping malls, premium outlets, and mixed-use properties in North America. Q4 2025 generated record real estate FFO of $4.8 billion for the year, with $3.5 billion returned to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The occupancy rate has reached 96.4%, the base rent has increased by 4.7%, and the current dividend yield is at a very high level of 4.6%. Disclosure: (none) All opinions expressed by CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, its parent or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated on television, radio, the Internet, or another medium. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, tax, or legal advice or a recommendation to purchase any securities or other financial assets. The content is general in nature and does not reflect your unique personal circumstances. 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