Three Laggards Sit Out the S&P 500's Record Run
On Holding, Grocery Outlet and Birkenstock all closed higher on Aug. 21 yet remain far from their recent highs, even as the S&P 500 tracker settled at $765.72 near records.
MarketBeat named On Holding (ONON), Grocery Outlet (GO) and Birkenstock (BIRK) as beaten-down stocks trading well below recent highs despite solid fundamentals, with the three closing at 30.02, 11.60 and 35.64 respectively on Aug. 21, 2026, while the S&P 500 tracker SPY finished at $765.72.
The S&P 500 is running at records, and a handful of consumer names never got the invitation. On Holding, Grocery Outlet and Birkenstock all sit well below their recent highs, and all three finished the Aug. 21 session higher without closing much of that gap.
The benchmark backdrop makes the disconnect plain. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) closed at $765.72, up 0.41% on the day from a prior close of $762.60, with a session range of $764.17 to $767.85. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) ended at $713.44, up 0.35%. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) did the heavy lifting, adding 0.89% to $532.22. Those are the closing marks as of 20:00 GMT on Friday, Aug. 21, 2026; the market is shut.
Where the three laggards actually closed
On Holding (ONON) finished at 30.02, up 0.40% from a prior close of 29.90, having traded between 29.91 and 30.36. It was the mildest move of the group and, notably, a smaller gain than the S&P 500 tracker managed on the same session.
Grocery Outlet (GO) was the standout, closing at 11.60 after a 4.41% advance from 11.11. The stock ranged from 11.06 to 11.65, meaning it shut the day near the top of its band \u2014 the kind of close that suggests buyers were still working at the bell rather than fading into it.
Birkenstock (BIRK) ended at 35.64, up 3.15% from 34.55, inside a 34.82 to 36.40 range. Unlike Grocery Outlet, Birkenstock gave back part of its intraday move, settling below the session high.
The bull case, as laid out by MarketBeat, rests on the argument that fundamentals, margins and revenue trends at these three companies have held up better than the share prices imply \u2014 that the drawdowns reflect sentiment and positioning rather than a deterioration in the underlying businesses.
What a single strong session does and does not prove
A 4.41% day is a real move, but it is one day. The distinction that matters for anyone weighing these names is whether the buying reflects a durable re-rating or a bounce off a depressed base. Beaten-down stocks are, by construction, volatile in both directions: the same low expectations that make a recovery powerful also make sharp one-session rallies routine and frequently reversible.
The more informative signal is relative. On a day when the broad index added 0.41%, Grocery Outlet did roughly ten times that and Birkenstock several times over, while On Holding essentially matched the tape. That spread within a supposedly homogeneous group of \"beaten-down consumer names\" is a reminder that the three are not interchangeable. They sell different things to different customers with different cost structures.
Three very different businesses under one label
On Holding is a performance footwear and apparel brand competing in the most crowded corner of consumer discretionary, where growth is priced aggressively and any deceleration is punished. Birkenstock sells a heritage product with an unusually distinctive design and pricing power tied to brand scarcity rather than technical performance. Grocery Outlet is not a brand story at all \u2014 it is a discount grocery operator whose economics turn on opportunistic inventory buying and store-level execution.
Birkenstock sells a heritage product with an unusually distinctive design and pricing power tied to brand scarcity rather than technical performance.
Grouping them works only in one respect: each has fallen materially from its recent high while the index made new ones. The reasons behind those declines are not shared, and neither are the catalysts that would reverse them. A footwear brand recovers on unit growth and gross margin; a discount grocer recovers on comparable-store sales and inventory availability. An investor who buys all three on the strength of the same headline is making three separate bets.
The gap between price and fundamentals is a thesis, not a fact
The premise that margins and revenue trends justify higher valuations is a claim about the future, not a settled measurement. Markets routinely mark down companies whose reported numbers still look fine, because the reported numbers are backward-looking and the price is not. Discount retail faces the question of whether trade-down behavior is a cyclical tailwind or a structural squeeze on ticket size. Premium footwear faces the question of whether elevated growth rates can persist as brands mature and wholesale channels normalize.
Neither question is answered by a single up day. What the closing data does establish is the starting point: 30.02 for On Holding, 11.60 for Grocery Outlet, 35.64 for Birkenstock, all three trailing an index that closed at $765.72 near its highs.
What to watch from here
The next earnings reports are the real test. For each name, the specific figures worth checking against the bull case are gross margin direction, revenue growth versus the prior comparable period, and \u2014 for Grocery Outlet in particular \u2014 comparable-store sales, since a discounter's whole model depends on traffic converting to baskets.
Also worth watching is whether the relative strength persists. If these three continue to outpace the index on up days and hold better on down days, the rotation into value-priced consumer exposure is real. If Friday's gains fade back toward the prior closes of 29.90, 11.11 and 34.55, the more likely explanation is a technical bounce inside a downtrend.
Records at the index level tend to obscure how narrow the leadership underneath can be. A market can print all-time highs while large slices of the consumer complex sit far from theirs. That divergence is either an opportunity or a warning, and the difference between the two usually shows up in the next set of financial statements rather than in the tape.
Key facts
- On Holding (ONON) last close: 30.02, +0.40%, as of Aug. 21, 2026, 20:00 GMT
- Grocery Outlet (GO) last close: 11.60, +4.41%, as of Aug. 21, 2026, 20:00 GMT
- Birkenstock (BIRK) last close: 35.64, +3.15%, as of Aug. 21, 2026, 20:00 GMT
- S&P 500 tracker (SPY) last close: $765.72, +0.41%, day range $764.17–$767.85
Frequently asked questions
Which three stocks were flagged as beaten down?
On Holding (ONON), Grocery Outlet (GO) and Birkenstock (BIRK). All three trade well below their recent highs even as the S&P 500 has been setting records. The argument for them rests on fundamentals, margins and revenue trends that are said to be holding up better than the share prices suggest.
How did the three perform on Aug. 21, 2026?
All three closed higher. On Holding finished at 30.02, up 0.40%. Grocery Outlet closed at 11.60, up 4.41%, near the top of its 11.06 to 11.65 range. Birkenstock ended at 35.64, up 3.15%, having reached 36.40 intraday before easing back into the close.
How did the broad market close that day?
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF closed at $765.72, up 0.41% from a prior close of $762.60. The Invesco QQQ Trust ended at $713.44, up 0.35%. The Dow tracker DIA gained the most at 0.89%, finishing at $532.22. All figures are as of 20:00 GMT on Aug. 21, 2026, with markets closed.
Do these three companies compete with each other?
No. On Holding sells performance footwear and apparel, Birkenstock sells heritage-design footwear built on brand scarcity, and Grocery Outlet is a discount grocery chain. The only thing they share is a substantial decline from recent highs. Their recovery catalysts and risks are entirely separate, so buying all three is three distinct bets.
Does one strong session mean the downtrend is over?
Not on its own. Beaten-down stocks are volatile in both directions, and sharp single-day rallies off a depressed base are common and often reversed. The more meaningful test is whether the relative strength persists across multiple sessions and whether the next earnings reports confirm the margin and revenue trends underpinning the bull case.
What specific metrics should investors check next?
Gross margin direction and revenue growth versus the prior comparable period for all three, plus comparable-store sales for Grocery Outlet, since a discount grocer's model depends on traffic converting into baskets. For the footwear brands, unit growth and wholesale channel behavior matter most. Reported numbers are backward-looking; prices already reflect expectations.
Sources
Photo: Ron Lach · Pexels Licence — source
