(This is ” The Best Stocks in the Market ,” brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — There are two mega-cap stocks left on the list. It looks like one of them will fall off. Another is the No Man’s Land trend. But you probably own both, or at least see them on screen. Sometimes you look at something and have to conclude that it passes. The two stocks we’re introducing today are currently on the list of the best stocks on the market, but they haven’t earned the right to stay there recently. Buyers are giving up on high prices. Sellers regularly show up and take control. Apple (AAPL) and Alphabet (GOOG) aren’t doing very well at the moment, but I’ll take a look anyway. If tech investors decide to move towards quality or safety within the sector given the current market environment, both could be awarded. These are the epitome of stable earnings, but given Alphabet’s current spending on data center capex and Alphabet’s ecosystem lock-in, Apple is probably seen as more defensive than Alphabet. Sean also provides his usual high-level Best Stock stats. Let’s try this. Sector Leaderboard As of March 23, there are 179 names on “The Best Stocks in the Market” list. Top Sector Rankings: Top Industries: Top 5 Best Stocks by Relative Strength: Sectors to Watch: Mega Caps Sean — I’m not trying to pat myself on the back here, but this column has written about 1 Mag 7 stock in the past year (AMZN, currently not on the list). We strive to offer all stocks with decent settings that no one is paying attention to. Today we change things up and shine a spotlight on the world’s most important stocks. There are currently two megacaps on the list, and both are in difficult situations if you look at the charts. Neither needs any introduction, but I’ll start by explaining some of the latest basics so Josh can go through the technical process for these two. Apple, Inc. (AAPL): Apple delivered a strong performance in the first quarter of 2026, posting record revenue of $143.8 billion, up 16% year-over-year, and record operating cash flow of nearly $54 billion. AAPL derives approximately 80% of its revenue from hardware and 20% from software. This is what I would like to see in a HALO environment. The services sector continued its steady growth, with revenue up 14% year-over-year to $30 billion, with record highs across advertising, music, payments, and cloud. On the AI front, development is centered around Apple working with Google to co-develop foundational models that will power future Apple Intelligence capabilities. Apple is leaning toward partnerships rather than developing Frontier models entirely in-house, which bodes well for future cash flow. Josh — I have personally considered this name as an investment for a long time. Therefore, what I am about to say is from the point of view of prospective buyers. This name is facing a big test and we will see if this name really holds up. This stock has been at a new high since December and after losing momentum, it is now exactly at the 200-day position. Downhill there is no real demand, just steady pressure. For traders, this level must be maintained. If we break below this, we will likely consider a move into the low $230s. The story will then move from a “healthy regression” to a change in trends. downward trend. bad. Bounces from these levels will be even more interesting, but we don’t know yet. It shows you what you need to be aware of at the moment and explains what you should be careful about. Alphabet, Inc. (GOOG): Sean — Alphabet hits its 2025 cap with annual revenue exceeding $400 billion for the first time as Gemini becomes increasingly embedded in every major product area, including search, cloud, YouTube, and other betting areas. Gemini 3 is currently driving significantly longer search queries and higher engagement, and enterprise rollout has been great, with over 8 million paid seats sold in just four months. In the Waymo space, the self-driving division has completed a $16 billion funding round, completed more than 20 million fully autonomous trips, and is currently operating in six cities. In terms of 2026 guidance, the biggest number is capital expenditures. $175 billion to $185 billion is predicted for the year, nearly double the $91.4 billion spent in 2025, and is focused entirely on AI computing, data centers, and cloud capacity. This level of infrastructure spending will accelerate depreciation and likely compress margins, but management is clearly betting on AI as GOOG’s core growth engine for the long term. The cloud backlog jumped 55% quarter-over-quarter to $240 billion, and it’s easy to see why executives are spending this much. Josh — This graph sucks. We do not buy setups like this for trades as they are basically directionless and below short-term moving averages. While this trend holds true in the long term, the short-term damage is real. This is a bust as a short-term setup. The stock price is below its $318 level in the 50th and is currently trying to maintain its recent range of $298-$299. If that fails, there is room for a fall towards $200 and $260. But just because the chart isn’t giving you anything doesn’t mean you can’t make money on the long side. Something could be announced that completely changes stock sentiment, and a rally could occur out of nowhere. Speculating on such things is not technical analysis. So I would like to point out that if you have an underlying reason to buy, risk management will be very important in case you are wrong or premature. For investors, 200 days is a big level. For traders, this is below the broken medium-term support until the 50-day can be regained. We couldn’t be happier to come back and tell you that Google is reset and ready to take on new heights. Based on the evidence we have, we can’t do that right now. 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. 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