It's that time of year again, when we unwrap the festive investment offerings as part of our annual Christmas tipping competition.
As ever, it’s a friendly contest to see whose share, fund or trade performs best over the coming 12 months – with bragging rights all that's at stake.
This past year saw a US tech stock as the winning tip, just beating an ETF and a pair of FTSE 100 financial sector names, while the previous year it was a crypto ETF and the year before it was Nvidia. Back in 2021 it was a biotech tiddler and in 2022 an inverse ETF shorting a tech fund that were sparkinling on top of the tree by the end of the year.
For 2026, there's a wide range of selections again: there are several AI-linked names that tipsters believe have been largely overlooked, as well as a strong contrarian flavour this time around, with beaten-down consumer names, recovery plays, commodities and one fairly audacious short bet among them.
Once again, we thank all contributors for sticking their heads above the yuletide parapet.
Diageo (LON:DGE) – Danni Hewson, AJ Bell
Starting with the winner from the past year, Danni goes contrarian again with Diageo PLC (LSE:DGE) after what she calls a “stinker of a year” for the drinks group, hit by tariffs, margin pressure and changing consumer tastes.
The arrival of former Tesco boss Dave Lewis as the Guinness, Smirnoff and Johnny Walker maker's new CEO is central to her thinking.
“The market hasn’t yet been convinced that its new boss has the cure for Diageo’s hangover,” she says, but signs of a turnaround or activist pressure could tempt investors back, helped by Guinness momentum and evidence that younger consumers are drinking again.
(Tip price from close on 24 December 1592.5p)
Diageo – Richard Hunter, Interactive Investor
Rather oddly, the second-placed finisher from this year, Richard also backs Diageo, arguing the sell-off has gone too far.
The FTSE 100-listed group still owns 13 billion‑dollar brands across 180 markets, even if its reputation as a core portfolio holding has been dented.
For him, the roughly 34% share price fall over the past year “could well provide an attractive entry point” if management can stabilise performance and restore confidence in what remains one of the world’s largest drinks portfolios.
(Tip price 1592.5p)
Diageo – Michael Hewson, MCH Market Insights
OK, so this is getting weird now. Michael, a newcomer to the contest this year, is our third contestant to back Diageo.
With the shares having slid to ten‑year lows amid inventory issues, changing habits and management missteps, “there's been much discussion about how much further the shares of the Guinness and Johnnie Walker maker can fall,” he notes.
With a dividend yield above 4% and a P/E of around 15, he says the shares now look “cheap”.
(Tip price 1592.5p)
WisdomTree Industrial Metals ETF (LON:INDU) – Ipek Ozkardeskaya, Swissquote Bank
Ipek, who came second this past year in her debut in the competition, opts for a more diversified pick, getting some metals exposure via WisdomTree’s industrial metals ETF, betting on copper, aluminium, nickel and zinc.
She argues that easing monetary policy and AI‑driven industrialisation could lift demand.
“Copper, aluminium and nickel are at the heart of electrification, connectivity and data‑centre build‑outs,” she says. With tight supply and rising structural demand, she believes base metals could enjoy a constructive year as investment cycles accelerate.
(Tip price 1,296.5p)
Short Tesla (Direxion Daily TSLA Bear 1X Shares) – Dan from Financial Wilderness blog
A big bold punt comes from Dan Wilderness, who is short-selling Tesla via a daily inverse ETF. He admits he dislikes shorting “as a concept" but argues valuations no longer make sense after the shares rebounded.
With rising Asian EV competition, margin pressure and ongoing “owner noise risk,” Dan, who came fourth, fifth and third in the past three years, says he is prepared to risk being wrong again.
“Betting against Musk has largely proven a fool’s game,” he says – but he’s taking the gamble anyway.
(Tip price $4.70)
Copper (Global X Copper Miners ETF - LON:COPG) – Chris Beauchamp, IG
Chris, who has a third and two fourth-place finishes in past iterations of the competition, is another metal fan (though not musically, as far as I'm aware).
He picks copper, arguing the metal "has a habit of outperforming just when investors lose interest, and 2026 could be one of those years".
AI infrastructure, EVs and grid upgrades are all copper‑intensive, while supply remains constrained by ageing mines and permitting delays.
Current prices, he says, don’t fully reflect these dynamics. While a sharp global slowdown would pose risks, copper offers an appealing risk‑reward profile for those willing to look beyond the usual commodities favourites.
(Tip price 4187p)
WPP – Peter Higgins, Twin Petes Investing podcast
Peter, known on social media as Conkers3, goes for a contrarian angle with the advertising group WPP PLC (LSE:WPP), pointing to forecasts for global ad spend growth continuing into 2026.
This is another company with a new CEO and a renewed focus on AI and social media, plus he believes the valuation looks compelling.
With the shares down 60% in the past year, now giving a P/E of 9.4 and a near‑10% dividend yield, Pete sees WPP shares as a "recovery stock" offering value ahead of major global events, including the World Cup and US midterm elections.
(Tip price 325.4p)
Equinox Gold – Vince Stanzione, trader and author
Vince returns to Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX), recycling his pick from 2024, which saw a slow burner but saw good gains in 2025 (when his next pick, shall we say, did not produce strong gains).
“Equinox Gold has at last delivered,” he says, helped by an important acquisition, a new CEO and operational momentum.
Profitable, trading on a forward P/E of about 10 and targeting one million ounces of annual production by 2026-27 from its mining-friendly jurisdictions, Vince believes “significant value remains in this mid-tier gold producer – even if gold prices simply trade in a $3,000-4,000 per ounce range”, despite risks such as the suspended Los Filos mine in Mexico due to a community dispute.
(Tip price C$19.96)
JD Sports – Peter Sleep, Callanish Capital
Peter opts for what he calls a “relatively sensible pick” with JD Sports Fashion PLC (LSE:JD., OTC:JDSPY) after a tough post‑Covid adjustment period for consumer stocks. He says JD has managed the slowdown well, expanding through acquisition in the US and buying back shares.
Despite that, the stock has more than halved from its peak and now trades on roughly eight times earnings. For Peter, that offers “good value" rather than speculation going into the new year.
(Tip price 83.48p)
Procept BioRobotics – Kathleen Brooks, XTB
After a fifth-place finish for the past year, Kathleen looks beyond AI infrastructure to its practical applications in 2026, choosing surgical robotics.
“Now we need to start trading the capabilities of AI,” she says, highlighting healthcare as a potentially huge beneficiary, with US names “relatively cheap valuation compared to other sectors of the market".
She picks US‑listed Procept BioRobotics Corp (NASDAQ:PRCT) for prostate treatments and Smith & Nephew PLC (LSE:SN) for its robotic‑assisted joint replacement tools.
We can only let her have one for the competition's purposes, which is going to be Procept (unless she tells me otherwise fairly sharpish), which fell over 50% in the past year but seems to have now found support. With a global shortage of surgeons and measurable clinical benefits, she expects adoption – and growth – to accelerate in 2026.
(Tip price $32.88)
Eaton Corp – Neil Wilson, Saxo UK
Neil backs Eaton Corporation PLC (NYSE:ETC) as an AI‑era “grid tech play", arguing that electricity, not data, is now the real bottleneck.
“You can print money but you can’t print electricity,” says our 2022 winner, back after a one-year break.
With data centres driving surging power demand, Eaton stands out as “arguably the most important grid tech name in the AI space,” says Neil, offering exposure to infrastructure spending rather than the more crowded semiconductor trade.
(Tip price $323.47)
SharkNinja – Dan Lane, Robinhood UK
Eschewing the AI theme, Dan focuses on consumer demand as inflation eases, picking appliance maker SharkNinja Inc (NYSE:SN.). He highlights strong growth, high margins and viral marketing across categories that include air fryers, vacuum cleaners and coffee machines.
“Behind the viral marketing efforts are high-quality products,” he says, adding that international expansion and reduced China exposure help offset tariff risks. If execution continues and buybacks emerge, he sees scope for a strong 2026.
(Tip price $113.24)
Cordiant Digital Infrastructure – Will Gamble at Evelyn Partners
Will, who takes up the mantle for Evelyn this year, highlights Cordiant Digital Infrastructure's (LSE:CORD) buy‑and‑build strategy across European telecoms and broadcasting assets. It has "strong growth drivers" from Emitel in Poland and CRA in the Czech Republic, he says.
Despite "consistent operational outperformance", delivering a 13.5% annualised return since inception, the fund still trades at around a 30% discount to NAV. For Will, that disconnect, combined with consistent operational performance, makes the risk‑reward attractive heading into 2026.
(Tip price 105.88p)
Clear Secure (NYSE:YOU) - Alex Pugh, FreeTrade
"Passwords?! Where we’re going, we won’t need passwords," says Alex, a new entrant this year and clearly a fan of Robert Zemeckis films.
He picks Clear Secure, which makes biometric scans and is expanding into digital identity platform for venues, healthcare and offices, with identity "becoming a new type of infrastructure".
Profitable and raking in cash, he points out that Clear is trading at a discount to earlier post-IPO hype and says if the company can prove digital identity scales beyond travel, if even one adjacent market gains traction, "the valuation could re-rate quickly".
(Tip price $36.17)
Global Smaller Companies Trust (LON:GSCT) - Oliver Haill, Proactive journalist
Last, and hopefully not least (2025 was a bad one after coming second a year earlier), it's me. As is often the case, I have only just come up with my pick as I write this.
As a bid to make sure there's a wide variety of selections, I'm going for an investment trust. I was tempted to go for one of the funds holding SpaceX ahead of a possible IPO in 2026 (including Scottish Mortgage, Schiehallion, and RIT Capital Partners), though these have already received a hefty bump in anticipation.
Instead, I'm going for small cap trust, Global Smaller Companies Trust. As a manager of another trust recently put it rather nicely, "History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes, and at some point I believe we will hear something that sounds distinctly like 2003 or 2009, both years where for no apparent reason the renaissance of the small-cap markets began." GSCT's managers have taken a cautious rather than aggressive approach amidst a market where they see complacency dominate. "Whilst our conservative style of investing is currently not in vogue, we remain confident that it will come back into favour and that it is the right approach to take over the long term."
(Tip price 176.97p)
** Tip prices taken from close on 24 December 2025 **