Motley Fool
The Motley Fool is a privately held financial media and investment advice company based in Alexandria, Virginia. It is known for subscription stock-picking services such as Stock Advisor and for its Fool.com website rather than for sell-side research.
Activity24M
RatingsPrice targetsKey figures
- Stocks covered
- 012M
- Actions
- 012M
- On record
- Dec 2021 – May 2025
Overview
The Motley Fool publishes stock recommendations for individual investors through paid subscription services such as Stock Advisor, alongside free articles on Fool.com. It says 60–70% of its recommendations have historically been successful.
Brothers David and Tom Gardner, with Erik Rydholm and Todd Etter, founded The Motley Fool as an investment newsletter in July 1993. An August 1994 content partnership with America Online built its audience, and in 1997 it moved to its own Fool.com site under an advertising model. After cutting 80% of its staff in three rounds of layoffs during the dot-com collapse, it shifted to subscriptions in 2002 and launched Stock Advisor. It also operates in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.
Milestones
- 1993
Founded as an investment newsletter by David and Tom Gardner
- 1994
Launches content partnership with America Online
- 1996
Publishes The Motley Fool Investment Guide
- 1997
Moves online presence to its own Fool.com domain
- 2002
Shifts to subscription model and launches Stock Advisor
Firm facts
- Type
- Other
- Founded
- 1993
- Headquarters
- Alexandria, United States
- Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
- Tom Gardner
- Website
- fool.com
Research philosophy
The Motley Fool’s approach to investing prioritizes buying and holding quality stocks for long periods of time.
The Motley Fool tells subscribers to hold each stock it recommends for at least five years, to invest only money they will not need over that period, and to build a portfolio of 50 or more of its picks (as of 2026). It advises holding through market declines and letting winners run, and says that for many of its recommendations it also invests its own money, always letting members buy first.
Rating methodology
As of 2026, The Motley Fool recommends holding each stock for at least five years and building a portfolio of 50 or more of its picks, using money that will not be needed during that period.
Most covered24M
| Stock | Rating | Target |
|---|---|---|
 DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.DKS | — | $195 |
Recent actions
| Date | Stock | Rating action | Target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 29, 2025 | DICK'S Sporting Goods, Inc.DKS | Target | $195 | |
| Dec 9, 2021 | SYStryker CorporationSYK | Target | $278 | Rick Aristotle Munarriz |
| Dec 9, 2021 | TFTeleflex IncorporatedTFX | Target | $415 | Alyce Lomax |
| Dec 9, 2021 | ZBZimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc.ZBH | Target | $140 | Anders Bylund |