What stocks are due for a split?

Context

Whether a stock is “due for a split” is ultimately a board-level decision and can’t be predicted with certainty from data alone. What we can do is screen for stocks that historically are more likely to consider splits: large, successful companies whose share prices have run up significantly and trade at relatively high absolute prices.

The selected filters are designed exactly for that.

Screening Filters

1. Market Cap ≥ $10,000,000,000 (≥ $10B)

   • Purpose: Focus on large, established companies.
   • Rationale:
     • Stock splits are far more common among mid- to large-cap companies, especially well-known “household name” firms.
     • Smaller or micro-cap companies may also split, but those events are less meaningful as a signal of success and more often related to listing requirements or other issues (including reverse splits).
     • By requiring a market cap above $10B, the screener targets companies with scale, liquidity, and institutional following—the typical profile of firms that split to keep shares “accessible” to a broad investor base.

2. Price ≥ $300

   • Purpose: Identify higher-priced stocks where a split could be more likely.
   • Rationale:
     • Companies usually split when the absolute share price becomes “too high” for their target investor base or when they want to improve liquidity and accessibility.
     • A price floor of $300 captures stocks where:
       • The price is already substantially above the common “comfortable” retail range (e.g., $50–$150), and
       • A split (e.g., 2-for-1, 3-for-1, etc.) would bring the post-split price into a more typical trading range.
     • This aligns directly with the idea of being “due” for a split, since low-priced stocks have little need to split.

3. Moving Average Relationship: PriceAboveMA200

   • Purpose: Ensure the stock is in a sustained uptrend rather than just briefly spiking.
   • Rationale:
     • The 200-day moving average is a widely used measure of long-term trend.
     • Requiring the price to be above the 200-day MA helps filter for:
       • Stocks in a longer-term bullish trend, not just volatile or mean-reverting moves.
       • Companies whose elevated prices reflect sustained strength, making it more plausible that management might consider a split as part of capital markets strategy.
     • This avoids including names whose price is high only due to short-lived spikes or recent rebounds.

4. 1-Year Price Change ≥ 40%

   • Purpose: Capture stocks that have had strong recent performance.
   • Rationale:
     • Many splits come after a period of strong performance, when the stock has appreciated significantly over the prior year(s).
     • A minimum 40% increase over the past year focuses the search on:
       • Stocks that have had a notable run-up, often the catalyst for share prices becoming “too high” in absolute terms.
       • Companies where management may want to signal confidence and reward shareholders, with a split often used in conjunction with bullish narratives.
     • This helps distinguish between merely high-priced, slow-moving stocks and those that have recently surged and are now potential split candidates.

5. Region: United States

   • Purpose: Restrict results to U.S.-domiciled companies.
   • Rationale:
     • You asked about the “US market.”
     • Corporate behavior around stock splits (typical price ranges, frequency, signaling) is region- and market-structure-specific.
     • Limiting to U.S. companies ensures the results reflect the U.S. corporate culture and regulatory environment, where stock splits are relatively common and well-documented.

6. Exchange: XNYS (NYSE), XNAS (NASDAQ), XASE (AMEX)

   • Purpose: Focus on major U.S. exchanges.
   • Rationale:
     • Stock splits of interest to most investors occur primarily on major exchanges like NYSE and NASDAQ.
     • Filtering to these:
       • Excludes OTC or less liquid venues where price behavior and corporate actions can be very different (and often less relevant to mainstream investors).
       • Ensures results are actively traded, listed securities where splits are used as part of investor-relations and capital-markets strategy.

Why Results Match the Query

• The query “stocks in the US market due for a split” is interpreted as:
  “Large, U.S.-listed companies whose share prices have run up strongly, are trading at relatively high levels, and are in sustained uptrends—i.e., typical candidates that management might consider for a stock split.”

• The filters align with that interpretation because they:

  • Focus on large-cap, established U.S. companies (market cap, region, exchange filters).
  • Require high absolute prices where a split would make practical sense (price ≥ $300).
  • Demand strong recent performance and a persistent uptrend (1-year return ≥ 40%, price above 200-day MA), which are common backdrops for splits.

So while no screen can guarantee that any given stock will split, these filters narrow the universe down to those that most closely match the typical profile of U.S. companies that often end up announcing stock splits.