What Are The Boring Stocks With ‘Tech-Like Returns?’

An investor recently posed a simple but striking question in Reddit’s r/stocks forum: What are the “‘boring’ stocks with tech-like returns?”

“Everybody is chasing the next AI hype,” they said, mentioning companies like Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), Rocket Lab  (NASDAQ:RKLB) and even semiconductors. When someone mentions semiconductors, they typically refer to companies that design or manufacture these chips, like Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD), or Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).

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Plenty of Reddit users responded with names most mainstream investors overlook. These weren’t meme stocks or hot IPOs, but legacy industrials, auto parts retailers, and HVAC firms.

“Before the most recent sell-off Berkshire was at 194% in 5 years,” one investor noted about Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK, BRK.B)). “Sitting at 165% right now. Better than all the Mag 7 except Nvidia and Meta (NASDAQ:META). Boring as hell and doing rock solid.”

Several mentioned Parker-Hannifin (NYSE:PH), which specializes in motion and control technologies. Others highlighted Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR), Eaton Corp. (NYSE:ETN), and Trane Technologies (NYSE:TT) as industrials that quietly beat the S&P 500 over long periods.

One user summed up the appeal by asking: “How many people on the planet took a sh*t this morning, and/or turned on the heat or AC?” The message: boring businesses that keep infrastructure running are everywhere, and often profitable.

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Another favorite was Comfort Systems USA (NYSE:FIX), which installs HVAC systems. One investor called it “very well-performing” and compared it to IES Holdings (NASDAQ:IESC), which has outperformed the market over the past 10 years by 32.69% on an annualized basis, producing an average annual return of 43.61%.

Comfort Systems itself has outperformed the market over the past five years by more than 51% on an annualized basis, producing an average annual return of 65.31%.