July 7 of this year Space exploration technologies (NASDAQ: SPCX) is one of the new members Nasdaq-100added just 15 trading days after its record public debut under the new fast-track entry rule. There are approximately $800 billion in funds that track this index, so each of them should have done so buy sharesand this mechanical demand grabbed a lot of headlines.
Here’s something to keep in mind: A stock may meet the criteria for inclusion in a prominent index, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a good buy. Forced buying by passively managed funds can inflate the price of newly opened, highly valued stocks in the short term, but history is littered with hyped index additions that later turned out to be disappointing investments. Instead of chasing a rocket, I’d direct patient investors to three quieter Nasdaq-100 players in the consumer world that are doing some really interesting things right now.
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1. Keurig Dr Pepper: The beverage giant reinventing itself
Neat Dr. Pepper (NASDAQ: KDP ) is in the midst of the boldest reimagining of its short life. It completed an estimated $18 billion acquisition of Dutch coffee company JDE Peet’s this spring and plans to split into two focused, separately traded businesses by the end of 2026: a global coffee company and a North American soft drinks company. The logic is that investors often value a focused business more than a large one, so the separation of two somewhat disparate units could bring surface value that is now buried.
I would weigh that against the debt the company took on to buy JDE Peet’s, which significantly increased the leverage of the combined company. It’s a trade-off: real transformative potential combined with a balance sheet that now has less room for error.
2. O’Reilly Automotive: The compounder is hiding in plain sight
O’Reilly Automotive (NASDAQ: ORLY ) is selling auto partswhich sounds as exciting as Tuesday. But the company is such a sustainable producer that it is quietly building wealth. As people keep older cars on the road longer, they need to buy more parts to fix them, making O’Reilly’s business relatively resilient as household budgets tighten.
Image source: Getty Images.
The company held a 15-for-1 stock split in 2025, lowering its price per share to make it easier for smaller investors to buy whole shares or trade its options, and it continues to expand, including increasing its presence in Mexico, where it now has more than 120 stores.
3. DoorDash: Not just about dinner anymore
Most people still think DoorDash (NASDAQ: DASH ) as an app that brings burritos or burgers to their door. What I find more compelling is how far he has pushed his business beyond restaurants. The acquisition of Deliveroo in late 2025 expanded its reach across Europe, and it now claims some of the fastest growth rates among other US grocery and retail players. It’s also building a real ad business and testing offline delivery to keep costs down over time.
The honest counterweight: DoorDash is spending heavily in 2026 to consolidate its technology and fund those bets, which will likely put more pressure on its bottom line in the near term, even after a record-breaking 2025. The stock isn’t cheap compared to today’s earnings, but those buying now are buying for the long-term.
Takeaway for investors
SpaceX’s arrival on the Nasdaq-100 may be a major milestone, but index membership only tells you that the company is big, not that its stock is attractively priced. Keurig Dr Pepper, O’Reilly Automotive, and DoorDash all offer a few things that SpaceX doesn’t currently have: established businesses, track records you can actually verify, and a clearer picture of how they make money. Neither is a risk-free investment — one has debt, one has a high price and the third carries big expenses — but in July, I think these three deserve a closer look than the stocks everyone’s talking about.
As for SpaceX itself, I would wait. Let the initial hype wear off and give the company a few quarters as a public company to prove its numbers first.
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Micah Zimmerman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a position in DoorDash and recommends it. The Spotted Fool has a disclosure policy.
