Breakup Stocks Outpace the S&P 500 With Conglomerates Lagging

Pared down spinoffs are having a renaissance as the pace of their stock gains against multi-industry companies quickens. That’s led even the parent of the New York Rangers and Knicks to weigh a breakup.

Investors are increasingly rewarding single-portfolio businesses for their easy-to-understand structure with better valuations. So far in the first quarter of 2026 a gauge of US spinoffs is beating the S&P 500 Index by the widest margin since 2020.

The outperformance has been powered by some of the benchmark’s best performers, led by eye-popping gains for Sandisk Corp., Qnity Electronics Inc. and electric power firm GE ...