1 Small-Cap Stock to Own for Decades and 2 We Ignore

1 Small-Cap Stock to Own for Decades and 2 We Ignore

Kayode Omotosho

Mon, February 16, 2026 at 1:32 PM GMT+9 3 min read

In this article:

•                                       StockStory Top Pick 
  

  CART

  +9.21%

 MAT  

 +3.91%  

 

 

 SOUN  

 0.00%  

Investors looking for hidden gems should keep an eye on small-cap stocks because they’re frequently overlooked by Wall Street. Many opportunities exist in this part of the market, but it is also a high-risk, high-reward environment due to the lack of reliable analyst price targets.

These trade-offs can cause headaches for even the most seasoned professionals, which is why we started StockStory - to help you separate the good companies from the bad. That said, here is one small-cap stock that could amplify your portfolio’s returns and two that could be down big.

Two Small-Cap Stocks to Sell:

Mattel (MAT)

Market Cap: $5.12 billion

Known for the creation of iconic toys such as Barbie and Hotwheels, Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT) is a global children’s entertainment company specializing in the design and production of consumer products.

Why Do We Pass on MAT?

Lackluster 3.1% annual revenue growth over the last five years indicates the company is losing ground to competitors

Ability to fund investments or reward shareholders with increased buybacks or dividends is restricted by its weak free cash flow margin of 9.4% for the last two years

Diminishing returns on capital from an already low starting point show that neither management’s prior nor current bets are going as planned

Mattel is trading at $16.46 per share, or 12.3x forward P/E. To fully understand why you should be careful with MAT, check out our full research report (it’s free).

SoundHound AI (SOUN)

Market Cap: $3.13 billion

Born from the idea that machines should understand human speech as naturally as people do, SoundHound AI (NASDAQ:SOUN) develops voice recognition and conversational intelligence technology that enables businesses to integrate voice assistants into their products and services.

Why Does SOUN Worry Us?

Gross margin of 39.7% reflects its high servicing costs

Competitive market means the company must spend more on sales and marketing to stand out even if the return on investment is low

Negative free cash flow raises questions about the return timeline for its investments

SoundHound AI’s stock price of $7.48 implies a valuation ratio of 14.6x forward price-to-sales. Check out our free in-depth research report to learn more about why SOUN doesn’t pass our bar.

One Small-Cap Stock to Buy:

Instacart (CART)

Market Cap: $9.53 billion

Powering more than one billion grocery orders since its founding, Instacart (NASDAQ:CART) is an online grocery shopping and delivery platform that partners with retailers to help customers shop from local stores through its app or website.

Why Is CART a Top Pick?

Prominent and differentiated platform culminates in a premier gross margin of 74.4%

Excellent EBITDA margin of 27.7% highlights the efficiency of its business model, and it turbocharged its profits by achieving some fixed cost leverage

Free cash flow margin expanded by 14.4 percentage points over the last few years, providing additional flexibility for investments and share buybacks/dividends

 






Story Continues  

At $35.84 per share, Instacart trades at 6.6x forward EV/EBITDA. Is now the right time to buy? See for yourself in our comprehensive research report, it’s free.

High-Quality Stocks for All Market Conditions

If your portfolio success hinges on just 4 stocks, your wealth is built on fragile ground. You have a small window to secure high-quality assets before the market widens and these prices disappear.

Don’t wait for the next volatility shock. Check out our Top 6 Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 244% over the last five years (as of June 30, 2025).

Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,326% between June 2020 and June 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today.

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