Top 10 Small-Cap Scores — March 2026

Every month, we run our fundamental screening model across 2,200+ small-cap stocks and publish the 10 highest-scoring results. These are the highest scoring small-caps from the March 2026 data cycle — the names that score best across growth, quality, stability, governance, and valuation, the five pillars of our 100-point system.

This list is a starting point for research, not a buy recommendation. High scores indicate strong fundamentals relative to peers. Whether a stock is worth buying depends on factors our model does not capture: your risk tolerance, portfolio allocation, investment timeline, and qualitative judgment about the business.

Here are the top 10 scores for March 2026.

The Top 10

Individual Stock Summaries

1. COE — China Online Education (Score: 95)

COE leads the March rankings on the back of explosive revenue growth and strong margin expansion. The company's online tutoring platform has seen accelerating user growth following regulatory easing in China's education sector. Revenue growth above 40% YoY combined with improving gross margins pushed its Growth and Quality sub-scores to near-maximum levels.

View COE full analysis and metrics

2. LIFE — aTyr Pharma (Score: 94)

aTyr Pharma's high score reflects an unusual combination for a biotech: strong cash position relative to burn rate, minimal dilution history, and a clinical pipeline with near-term catalysts. The company's lead candidate, efzofitimod, is in Phase 3 for pulmonary sarcoidosis. The Stability score is elevated because aTyr raised capital at favorable terms, giving it an estimated 12+ quarters of runway.

View LIFE full analysis and metrics

3. CHA — Chagee Holdings (Score: 92)

Chagee is the largest premium tea chain in China, and its fundamentals are striking: gross margins above 60%, revenue growth exceeding 50% YoY, and a recently completed IPO that left the balance sheet flush with cash. The Valuation score is the only area where CHA does not excel — at a P/S above 8x, the market is pricing in continued hypergrowth.

View CHA full analysis and metrics

4. EXOD — Exodus Movement (Score: 92)

Exodus operates a self-custody cryptocurrency wallet and has quietly built one of the more profitable businesses in the crypto infrastructure space. Revenue is driven by in-app exchange fees, and gross margins exceed 85%. The company is cash-flow positive with zero debt. The Governance score benefits from high insider ownership — the founding team retains a significant equity stake.

View EXOD full analysis and metrics

5. SPRY — ARS Pharmaceuticals (Score: 91)

ARS Pharmaceuticals commercializes neffy, the first needle-free epinephrine product for anaphylaxis. The product addresses a genuine unmet need (needle phobia is a documented barrier to epinephrine auto-injector use), and early commercial uptake has exceeded expectations. Revenue is ramping sharply from a low base, and the company carries a solid cash position to fund the commercial launch.

View SPRY full analysis and metrics

6. AIRO — AIRO Group (Score: 92)

AIRO Group provides aviation services and has posted consistent revenue growth alongside improving margins. The company scores well on Stability (low debt, positive operating cash flow) and Governance (insider ownership above 15%). The Growth sub-score reflects mid-20s revenue growth that is durable rather than speculative.

View AIRO full analysis and metrics

7. PNRG — PrimeEnergy Resources (Score: 91)

PrimeEnergy is a small energy producer with an unusually conservative balance sheet: minimal debt, high insider ownership, and consistent cash generation from oil and gas operations. The company does not have the growth profile of a tech name, but it scores highest in the Stability and Governance categories. At a P/S below 1x, the Valuation score is also strong.

View PNRG full analysis and metrics

8. MATH — Metalpha Technology (Score: 90)

Metalpha provides structured financial products for digital assets. The company has grown revenue rapidly as institutional demand for crypto yield products has increased. Gross margins are high (above 70%), and the business has reached profitability. The main risk — and the reason the score is not higher — is regulatory uncertainty in the digital asset space.

View MATH full analysis and metrics

9. CGEN — Compugen (Score: 90)

Compugen is a clinical-stage biotech using computational biology to discover drug targets. The company has multiple partnered programs (including with Bayer) that provide non-dilutive funding. Its score reflects a strong cash position (10+ quarters of runway), low dilution history, and a pipeline with multiple upcoming data readouts. The Growth score is moderate because revenue is primarily from partnerships rather than product sales.

View CGEN full analysis and metrics

10. CARL — Carl Icahn Enterprises (Score: 90)

Icahn Enterprises is a diversified holding company controlled by Carl Icahn. The score reflects the holding company's value-oriented portfolio, low leverage at the subsidiary level, and a high distribution yield. The Governance score benefits from Icahn's significant personal ownership stake. The discount to net asset value provides a Valuation tailwind.

View CARL full analysis and metrics

How Scores Are Calculated

Our scoring model evaluates each stock across 8 fundamental metrics, grouped into 5 categories:

Each metric is scored relative to sector peers, then weighted to produce a composite score out of 100. The system is intentionally tilted toward Stability (30%) because, in our research, the number one predictor of permanent capital loss in small-caps is running out of cash.

All fundamental data is sourced from public filings. You can verify any company's reported financials directly through SEC EDGAR, the primary repository for 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K filings from U.S.-listed companies.

For a complete explanation of the model, visit our How It Works page.

What the March Data Shows

A few patterns stand out in this month's results.

Healthcare and Technology Dominate — For a Reason

Three of the top 10 are healthcare names; three are technology. This is not random. Both sectors tend to produce the high-margin, capital-light business models that score well on Quality and Stability. A software company or a royalty-generating biotech can run on relatively little capital once the core product is built. Our model rewards that structure.

Energy and consumer names can score highly too — PNRG and CHA both demonstrate that — but the path to a 90+ score differs. PNRG gets there through Governance and Valuation. CHA gets there through Growth and Quality. Knowing which categories drove a score tells you more than the score number alone.

High Scores Across Different Business Models

The range of business types in this list is worth noting. COE is a Chinese edtech company. EXOD is a crypto wallet. CARL is a holding company managed by one of the most famous activists in market history. These businesses share almost nothing operationally. What they share is a balance sheet discipline and financial profile that our model identifies as favorable relative to small-cap peers.

That breadth is intentional. The screener is not a sector-specific tool. It surfaces fundamentally strong companies wherever they appear in the small-cap universe. What you do with that starting list — including deciding whether a given sector fits your mandate — is your job, not the model's.

Score Dispersion Narrows at the Top

The gap between rank 1 (95) and rank 10 (90) is only 5 points. That narrow band at the top is typical. The distribution of scores across all 2,200+ stocks is wide — many names score below 40 — but the top decile clusters tightly. Small differences in sub-scores separate companies that are all, by our metrics, fundamentally strong.

How to Use This List

This list is a pre-filter, not a stock pick. Here is what that means in practice:

1. Start here, do not stop here. A high score tells you the fundamentals are strong relative to peers. It does not tell you about management quality, competitive dynamics, regulatory risk, or whether the stock is right for your portfolio.

2. Check the sector context. A 92-scoring tech stock and a 92-scoring energy stock got there via different paths. Look at the sub-scores to understand which categories are driving the number.

3. Look at the trajectory. Is the score rising, stable, or declining? A stock that scored 85 three months ago and 92 today has improving fundamentals. A stock that scored 95 and dropped to 90 may be deteriorating.

4. Combine with qualitative research. Read the earnings calls. Understand the product. Check the competitive landscape. Our model captures the numbers; you need to assess the narrative. Investopedia's guide to fundamental analysis is a useful primer if you are building out a research process.

5. Mind the liquidity. Some small-caps on this list trade with low average volume. Wide bid-ask spreads and low liquidity can make entry and exit more expensive than the score implies.

If you are newer to small-cap investing, our guide on how to find undervalued small-cap stocks walks through how to combine quantitative screens like this one with the qualitative work that follows.

The goal of our screener is to narrow the universe of 2,200+ stocks to a manageable list of names worth researching in depth. If even one of these 10 stocks leads you to a well-researched investment that you would have otherwise missed, the system has done its job.

Sector Distribution This Month

Healthcare and Technology continue to dominate the top ranks, which is consistent with the pattern we have observed all year. These sectors tend to have more companies with the high-margin, high-growth profiles that our model rewards. For a deeper look at how healthcare stocks score, read our Healthcare Sector Analysis.

Explore Further

• Browse all 2,200+ stocks in our stock screener — try free for 30 days
• Learn about the 8 metrics behind the score
• Read individual stock deep dives linked above
• Understand how to read a SmallCap Score

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Scores reflect data as of March 31, 2026. Scores update as new fundamental data is filed. Past scores do not predict future performance. This is not investment advice.