Goldman Sachs Adds Red-Hot Gaming and Technology Stocks to December Conviction List
The Goldman Sachs Conviction List is a curated list of stocks that the firm’s research team believes are highly likely to outperform the market. It is a tool for investors to identify stocks with strong growth potential, frequently updated to reflect changes in market conditions and company performance. The list aims to pinpoint stocks in which Goldman Sachs analysts have the “highest level of conviction” for outperformance. The list has been known to focus on specific themes, such as artificial intelligence, consumer trends, and sustainability. The Conviction List offers investors a valuable perspective on the stock market, enabling them to identify potential investment opportunities.
Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is the world’s second-largest investment bank by revenue and ranks 55th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations by total revenue. The Wall Street white-glove giant offers financing, advisory services, risk distribution, and hedging for the firm’s institutional and corporate clients. We screen the firm’s Conviction List of top stock ideas each month, identifying new companies added to the list and those removed.
For December, the firm added four new stocks, one of which is an outstanding total return idea for growth and income investors. All four new additions have double-digit upside potential to the Goldman Sachs price targets.
Why we recommend Goldman Sachs stocks
Goldman Sachs is the acknowledged leader in the investment landscape on Wall Street and worldwide. The firm’s top-notch research department continues to provide institutional and high-net-worth clients with the best ideas across the investment spectrum. It is likely to continue doing so for years.
Here are the four new stock additions to the Conviction List for December, along with the analyst’s comments from the research report.
Ares Management
A leader in alternative investments, this company pays a solid 2.74% dividend. Ares Management Corp. (NYSE: ARES) is an alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across various asset classes.
Its segments include:
- The Credit Group: manages credit strategies across the liquid and illiquid spectrum, including liquid credit, alternative credit, direct lending, and APAC credit.
- The Private Equity Group: categorizes its investment strategies as corporate private equity, special opportunities, and APAC private equity.
- The Real Assets Group: manages comprehensive equity and debt strategies across real estate and infrastructure investments.
- The Secondaries Group: invests in secondary markets across alternative asset classes, including private equity, real estate, infrastructure, and credit.
The company has operations across:
- North America
- South America
- Europe
- Asia Pacific
- The Middle East
The Goldman analyst had this to say about the company:
Alex Blostein sees this alternative asset manager delivering one of the most durable 20%+ 2-year EPS growth rates in the sector today. Yet it is trading at a meaningful discount to its historical valuation, with upside potential from inclusion in the S&P 500. Rising private credit concerns and EPS cuts have driven YTD stock underperformance, but earnings estimates appear to have stabilized, and Blostein’s analysis of the private credit market shows no major issues at this time. Going forward, look for fundraising momentum, an improving deployment backdrop, FRE margin expansion and a greater contribution from European-style performance fees to drive a 20%+ fee-related earnings (FRE) growth CAGR and 25% EPS growth CAGR in 2026/2027.
Goldman Sachs has a $188 target price, representing a 20% gain.
Celestica
This is an exciting tech idea and offers a reasonable entry point now. Celestica Inc. (NYSE: CLS) is engaged in designing, manufacturing, and providing hardware platform and supply chain solutions. It delivers supply chain solutions globally to customers in two operating segments.
The Advanced Technology Solutions segment comprises its Aerospace & Defense (A&D), Industrial, HealthTech, and Capital Equipment businesses. Its Capital Equipment business comprises its semiconductor, display, and robotics equipment businesses.
The Connectivity & Cloud Solutions segment consists of its communications and enterprise end markets.
The enterprise end market consists of Celestica’s servers and storage businesses. It offers a range of product manufacturing and related supply chain services to customers across both segments, including design and development, new product introduction, engineering services, component sourcing, electronics manufacturing and assembly, testing, and systems integration.
Goldman Sachs analyst had this to say about the company:
Mike Ng sees the company’s strong engineering capabilities, combined with its ability to quickly and reliably scale production, as a competitive advantage over other ODM and EMS providers in supplying data center equipment. Ng expects CLS to benefit from ongoing capex growth amongst hyperscale and other large AI players, where the company has demonstrated its ability to win customer programs in cutting-edge technology (e.g., 800G and 1.6T networking switches), and gain traction over time in higher-margin ODM server business, relative to its traditional position as an EMS server player.
Goldman Sachs $440 price target would be a 28% gain from current levels.
Keysight Technologies
This top company is a safer way to add some technology and AI to your portfolio now. Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) specializes in the computing, communications, and electronics market. Its portfolio of hardware, software, and services enables customers’ engineering workflows for designing, manufacturing, deploying, and optimizing their products and solutions.
Its segments include:
- Communications Solutions Group (CSG): electronic design and test software, instrumentation, systems, and related services, serving customers across the global commercial communications, aerospace, defense, and government end markets.
- Electronic Industrial Solutions Group (EISG): electronic design, test, and simulation software; optical design and photonics simulation tools; instrumentation; systems; and related services, serving customers across a diverse set of end markets, including automotive and energy, semiconductor solutions, and general electronics. Its product categories include oscilloscopes and digital multimeters.
The Goldman Sachs analyst added this:
Mark Delaney notes that two of KEYS’ largest end markets (wireline/networking and Aerospace & Defense) are experiencing strong demand, driven in part by the data center buildout phase of the AI revolution. Additionally, KEYS’ industrial and wireless businesses are beginning to inflect positively, sustaining the company’s high margins and strong free cash flow generation while enabling KEYS to pursue M&A.
The Goldman Sachs target price for the stock is $232, representing a 17% gain.
Wynn Resorts
This high-profile gaming company remains one of Las Vegas and Macau’s top destinations. Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) is a designer, developer, and operator of integrated resorts featuring hotel rooms, retail space, an array of dining and entertainment options, meeting and convention facilities, and gaming.
The company owns and operates:
- Wynn Las Vegas
- Wynn Macau
- Wynn Palace
- Cotai
- Wynn Mayfair
- Operates Encore Boston Harbor
Wynn and Encore Las Vegas comprise two hotel towers, with a total of 4,748 spacious hotel rooms, suites, and villas.
Encore Boston Harbor features 671 hotel rooms and suites, a spa, 14 dining and lounge venues, a nightclub, and a ballroom and meeting spaces.
Wynn Macau is located in the Macau Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China and features two luxury hotel towers.
Wynn Palace offers 1,706 exquisite rooms, suites, and villas; 14 food and beverage outlets; meeting and convention space; an extensive boutique shopping esplanade; SkyCabs that traverse an eight-acre Performance Lake; a vast collection of rare art; and a spa and salon.
Goldman Sachs said this about the stock:
Lizzie Dove believes the hotel and casino operator is one of the most catalyst-driven stocks in her coverage. The launch of Wynn Al Marjan in the UAE in 1Q 2027, plus WYNN’s best-in-class Las Vegas assets, leverage to higher-income consumers, a strong 2026 Las Vegas event calendar, and an improving backdrop in Macau should drive transformative upside at WYNN. Her EBITDA estimates sit 3% above Street consensus for 2026.
The Goldman Sachs target price for the company is $145, representing a 13% gain.
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