Motley Fool Money – “3 Stocks We Love in 2026”

Date: December 31, 2025
Host: Travis Hoy (A)
Analysts: Lou Whiteman (B), Rachel Warren (C)

Overview

In this year-end special episode, the Motley Fool Money team skips over the holiday news lull to spotlight three stocks they’re excited about for 2026. Host Travis Hoy is joined by analysts Lou Whiteman and Rachel Warren for a deep dive into their highest-conviction ideas in the space exploration sector and healthcare, followed by Travis’s own “disruptor” pick. The analysts dissect each stock’s risk and reward profile and discuss broader industry trends, making this a rich episode for long-term investors seeking insight into market frontiers.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lou Whiteman: Betting on Space – Rocket Lab (RKLB) & Redwire (RDW)

[00:37-07:55]

The Sector Thesis

• Lou expresses enthusiasm for the space sector, noting its impressive performance in 2025 (the ARK Space & Defense Innovation ETF was up 50%) and pointing to the anticipated SpaceX IPO in 2026 as a likely catalyst for continued excitement.
• Quote: “Even if [SpaceX] come[s] in at half of that [$1.5 trillion] valuation, there’s going to be a lot of discussion, a lot of talk about the potential of space.” – Lou Whiteman [01:17]

Picks:

• Rocket Lab (RKLB)
  • Noted as the leader in the space launch market.
  • “I’d rather own Rocket Lab than SpaceX, even if SpaceX was public.” – Lou Whiteman [01:40]
• Redwire (RDW)
  • A more obscure, higher-risk pick.
  • Manufactures critical space and drone components (solar panels for satellites, etc.).
  • Trades at a fraction (1/30) of Rocket Lab’s price-to-sales multiple, offering a speculative value opportunity.
  • Recently diversified into drones via a major acquisition, potentially paving the way to profitability in 2026.
  • Quote: “No slam dunk. It could go to zero. But I am very intrigued by the opportunity.” – Lou Whiteman [02:36]

Risk & Reward Discussion

• Host Travis probes the risk of boom-and-bust cycles in unprofitable, speculative sectors.
• Lou acknowledges, “It’s a moonshot, baby,” and stresses the need for resilience in companies (“enough ‘there there’ to survive a winter”). He singles out Redwire’s autonomy deal for enhancing cash flow and survivability. [03:22–04:32]
• “We went from crypto winters to potential space winters!” – Travis Hoy [04:01]

Five- to Ten-Year Outlook

• The main use case so far is communications (e.g., Starlink).
• Lou offers two “killer app” candidates: data centers in space (solar-powered, overcoming terrestrial energy limits), and space-based pharma research. However, he predicts the real winner may be a mundane, yet-to-be-identified application that quietly improves lives.
• Quote: “It’s going to be some boring, mundane thing that we’re not thinking about now that’s probably less glamorous than anything I said, but just makes life better in some way.” – Lou Whiteman [06:11]

Investment Criteria in Space

• For Rocket Lab: the successful launch of its Neutron rocket is a crucial milestone.
• More generally: Investors must distinguish between “science projects” and those able to cross the “second hurdle” into long-term profit.
• Quote: “Just because it’s a science project, can it be long term profitable? That is the hurdle I think is going to trip up a lot of these space-based businesses.” – Lou Whiteman [07:44]

2. Rachel Warren: Healthcare Game-Changer – Transmedics Group (TMDX)

[09:14-14:22]

Company Overview

• Transmedics has revolutionized organ transplantation with its Organ Care System (OCS) — the only FDA-approved portable platform for hearts, lungs, and livers.
• The OCS keeps organs functioning (hearts beating, lungs breathing, livers producing bile), allowing better assessment and farther transport.
• Transformation into a fully integrated logistics and services provider (acquired Summit Aviation, now controls its own fleet).
• Recent international expansion (Italy, in partnership with Mercedes Benz).
• Quote: “Surgeons can better assess organ viability and optimize quality before transplantation…their technology really extends the time and distance that organs can travel.” – Rachel Warren [09:56]

Growth Catalysts & Business Model

• Recurring, high-margin revenue from both transplant services and supplies (disposable components for each procedure).
• Market leader: OCS has >50% portable systems market share in the US.
• Early-stage international expansion planned as next leg of growth.
• Near-term drivers: Two major clinical trials (one in lung transplants, another—the largest heart preservation study ever).
• Quote: “They tend to generate very high margin recurring revenue…not just from the transplant fees but also these single-use plastic capsules and perfusion sets.” – Rachel Warren [11:27]

Risks & Volatility

• Highly volatile stock (+560% in last 5 years, but marked by sharp swings).
• Key uncertainties:
  • Core transplant market is limited by donor organ availability.
  • Logistics business can’t scale without cost.
  • Government scrutiny over high costs; potential overhaul of transplant reimbursement (particularly U.S. Medicare).
  • Must prove scalability and success in current/forthcoming trials.
• Quote: “The trials better work out, they better figure out how to scale and add more…infrastructure at cost, and then with the government hanging over…this needs to be a US story.” – Lou Whiteman [15:17]

3. Travis Hoy: Healthcare Disruptor – Hims & Hers Health (HIMS)

[17:04-23:18]

Disruptive Model & Sector Impact

• Telehealth company targeting consumer-friendly solutions—initially in areas like erectile dysfunction, hair loss, and now scaling into weight loss (GLP-1s), testosterone, perimenopause, and “longevity.”
• Expanding into lab testing and building a vertically integrated, direct-to-consumer healthcare platform, resembling the aggregation strategies of Netflix or Amazon.
• Unique use of compounding pharmacies for personalized medications—controversial but legal under certain exemptions.
• Moves outside the insurance system; aims to “pull demand together” and leverage AI for personalized, scalable medicine.
• Quote: “This is one of the real disruptors in the space. And I think they're thinking about healthcare very differently. It looks a lot more to me like Netflix or Amazon, where they're pulling all of the demand together.” – Travis Hoy [17:51]

Challenges & Controversies

• High short interest (~30% of float) underscores market skepticism.
• Scrutiny over GLP-1 business: disputes with drugmaker partners (e.g., Novo Nordisk deal fallout), regulatory gray areas of compounded medications, and evolving patent/shortage status for generics and compounding.
• Regulatory risk remains prominent due to operating in life-critical, highly scrutinized markets.
• Quote: “With Hims and hers, I would just make sure the management team reads the story of Icarus, because there is a real risk of flying too close to the sun here.” – Lou Whiteman [22:36]

Bull & Bear Both Invited

• Rachel: Platform “sticky” even outside of GLP-1 success; legal compounding is a grey area but currently permissible if products differ significantly from branded versions. Multiple tailwinds beyond headline growth business (labs, personalized care, further indications).
  • Quote: “The model is sticky well beyond any success they do or don’t continue to have within the GLP1 space.” – Rachel Warren [19:32]
• Travis: Highlights the potential power of AI in managing complex real-time health data, further differentiating the platform.
• Lou: Notes massive market need for disruption but emphasizes risk, regulatory hurdles, and the necessity of caution.
  • Quote: “There is a path towards success here, but there is a lot of risk if you’re pushing the envelope with people’s health.” – Lou Whiteman [22:43]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Lou Whiteman (on Redwire and Rocket Lab):

  • “I’d rather own Rocket Lab than SpaceX, even if SpaceX was public." [01:40]
  • “No slam dunk. It could go to zero. But I am very intrigued by the opportunity.” [02:36]
  • “It’s a moonshot, baby.” [03:22]
  • “The second hurdle is, can I turn it into a long term profitable business?...That is the hurdle I think is going to trip up a lot of these space based businesses.” [07:44]

• Rachel Warren (on Transmedics):

  • “This is a company that has pioneered a new standard of care for organ transplantation.” [09:23]
  • “They tend to generate very high margin recurring revenue…not just from the transplant fees but also these single-use plastic capsules and perfusion sets.” [11:27]
  • “The broader, the use cases and applications for their system, the more they extend that one way of growth for the business.” [13:37]

• Travis Hoy (on Hims & Hers):

  • “This is one of the real disruptors in the space. And I think they're thinking about healthcare very differently. It looks a lot more to me like Netflix or Amazon...” [17:51]

• Lou Whiteman (on Hims & Hers risk):

  • “I would just make sure the management team reads the story of Icarus, because there is a real risk of flying too close to the sun here.” [22:36]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:37 – Lou on the state and future of the space sector; SpaceX IPO potential
• 01:14 – SpaceX's rumored $1.5T IPO valuation impact
• 02:00–02:45 – Deep dive on Rocket Lab and Redwire stock theses
• 04:32 – Discussion shifts to long-term space sector “killer apps”
• 06:46 – What investors should watch for in space stocks (Neutron rocket, hype vs. profitability)
• 09:21 – Rachel’s pick: Transmedics, organ transplant innovation and business model
• 12:04 – Host probes volatility, “nibbling,” and how to think about holding/adding
• 13:20 – Rachel details the company’s clinical trial catalysts
• 14:22 – Lou raises questions about scaling, reimbursement, policy risk
• 17:04 – Travis presents Hims & Hers as a disruptive healthcare platform
• 19:27 – Rachel on platform stickiness, legal and regulatory backdrop in GLP-1
• 22:13 – Lou’s closing caution on regulatory and ethical risk in health tech platforms

Conclusion & Final Takeaways

• The Motley Fool crew highlights three very different, high-conviction stock ideas for 2026, each with substantial upside but meaningful risk:
  • Rocket Lab (RKLB) and Redwire (RDW): Moonshot space plays with fundamental, but speculative, growth drivers.
  • Transmedics (TMDX): A proven, profitable medtech innovator riding volatile growth and regulatory crosswinds.
  • Hims & Hers (HIMS): The direct-to-consumer healthcare disruptor seeking to break healthcare’s legacy constraints with a tech-forward, aggregation model.
• Common threads: All three stocks straddle the line between breakthrough innovation and the harsh realities of making those innovations truly scale—whether that’s surviving a “space winter,” winning regulatory approval, or achieving mass adoption in a cautious (and skeptical) industry.
• The team encourages listeners to keep these companies on watchlists, carefully weigh risks, and resist being swayed by hype alone.