The American health insurer, under first-year CEO Gail Boudreaux, finds itself playing catch-up following the recently approved acquisition of Aetna by CVS and the pending Cigna/Express Scripts deal. But it rolls out its own pharmacy benefit manager in 2019 and is likely looking to bulk up with an acquisition.

The drugmaker formerly known as Valeant has a shot at making 2019 a banner year. Lucrative dermatology products are nearing Food and Drug Administration approval, debt concerns are fading, and there’s significant sales growth among its gastrointestinal products, led by irritable bowel syndrome drug Xifaxan.

Boston Properties will see cash flow soar as tenants move into its skyline-dominating and almost fully leased Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. It should rise further as vacant Midtown Manhattan office spaces welcome new occupants in the coming year. One possible hurdle could be competition from Hudson Yards, a development being built by Related and Oxford Properties on New York City’s West Side. *Note: Estimated FFOPS growth (USD) rather than EPS growth

The world’s largest cannabis producer benefits from fast-emerging global demand for legal cannabis-based products for both medical and recreational use. The Canadian company, which operates in 11 countries, is expanding in Germany and may enter other markets, including Spain, Denmark, and Australia. Its partnership with alcoholic beverage company Constellation Brands gives it an advantage over rivals.

The exit of CEO Les Moonves and a settlement with controlling shareholder National Amusements Inc. (NAI) raises the prospects of a sale for the network. While NAI won’t initiate merger talks, a deal with Viacom Inc. is not off the table. CBS has had success in its streaming efforts and is poised to build more momentum in 2019, in part from gains in retransmission and content licensing.

The British electric and gas utility continues to lose market share and will take a hit from caps on home energy bills set to go into effect in England, Scotland, and Wales in late 2018. The company’s future hinges on its bets on “connected homes” and alternative energy. In the short term, a dividend cut and asset sales look likely.

With liquefied natural gas shipping terminals in Louisiana and Texas, Cheniere Energy finds itself in a sweet spot as rising demand, particularly in Asia, keeps LNG prices aloft, even in the offseason. It’s even somewhat insulated against China’s threat of retaliatory tariffs by long-term contracts that safeguard its cash flow.

Victor Li, son of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, has been steering CK Asset in a new direction since taking over from his father in May. To lower the property developer’s exposure to a correction in Hong Kong, he’s expanded overseas, paying $1.3 billion for UBS’s London headquarters and bidding $9.5 billion for Australian gas pipeline giant APA Group. Core profit jumped 20 percent when CK reported earnings in August.

With its purchase of Sky Plc, the largest U.S. cable operator is on the cusp of transforming itself into a global distributor with more than 50 million subscribers. While the acquisition is a gamble, it opens up the possibility of launching a global streaming platform to rival Netflix Inc.’s. Comcast is well-positioned to withstand wireless’s 5G broadband rollout thanks to its own ultrahigh-speed offerings. Still, pressure remains to report strong internet gains over the next few quarters.

It was a question of when, not if. By uniting Energy Transfer Partners with Energy Transfer Equity in August, founder Kelcy Warren has made the natural gas and propane company a far more formidable player. The change lowers capital costs and boosts project returns, setting Energy Transfer up for what’s likely to be a year of aggressive expansion.

Key court rulings are expected in 2019 concerning the constitutionality of directing Fannie’s and Freddie Mac’s profits to the Department of the Treasury, as well as the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The companies’ post-financial crisis reforms, including risk transfers to private investors, smaller balance sheets, and a new uniform mortgage-backed security, may give the Trump administration the ammunition to argue for returning the companies to private ownership. A downturn in housing markets would test the resilience of the government-sponsored enterprises and disrupt the push for privatization. *Note: Total assets and 12-month sales data are combined Fannie/Freddie figures; 1-year total return is an average of the two.

GE’s recent CEO swap-out gave its beleaguered stock a bump, but the road to recovery will be long. After making a badly timed bet on demand for power generation equipment—and paying a heavy price—the conglomerate appears intent on accelerating asset sales from GE Capital and narrowing its overall focus.

The drugmaker helped turn once-fatal HIV into a manageable chronic ailment and developed a cure for hepatitis C, becoming a $100 billion company along the way. Even though Gilead’s drug pipeline won’t deliver again until 2020 and its revenue has slipped, a pending leadership change and bursting coffers put near-term growth within reach.

The British retail property REIT has been battered by the growth of e-commerce. It’s fighting back, reducing costs and debt while focusing investment on premium outlets and revamping malls to enhance the shopping experience. Those efforts should help as retail real estate values stabilize. *Note: The figure titled 12-month sales reflects Hammerson’s 12-month net rental income.

Spurred by trade tension and the threat of additional tariffs, Harley is adding production outside the U.S., bringing it closer to the emerging markets it’s targeting. The problem: It has no experience designing and building the smaller, lightweight bikes favored throughout Asia. An Asian manufacturing partner could make all the difference.

Formed in 2016 through the merger of clinical trial contractor Quintiles and data and technology company IMS Health, Iqvia may show its full potential in 2019. Although it already leads the contract health research market, the recent acquisition of new clients and a widening range of services are setting it up for a year of serious organic growth.

Since the 2016 merger with Tyco, conglomerate Johnson Controls’ stock has dramatically underperformed its industrial peer group. It’s looking for a big cash boost from the pending sale of its power unit, which makes batteries for vehicles and brings in 24 percent of revenue. Activists are sure to push for further action if 2019 doesn’t bring better results in its core HVAC and building systems businesses.

Trucking giant Knight-Swift is poised for revenue and earnings growth that’s likely to outpace those of its peers through 2019. Gains will be driven by two factors: management’s ability to find operating efficiencies and limited truck driver availability. Greater demand for trucking is rapidly pushing up revenue per mile.

Kroger is seeing some positive results from a plan unveiled a year ago to adopt technological and data-driven efforts to connect with customers and reduce investments in new stores. Partnerships with U.K. online grocer Ocado, Alibaba’s Tmall, and other sellers have paved the way for the next wave of growth.

Will L Brands turn business around in 2019? Returning to its historical sales peak is unlikely at Victoria’s Secret, but watch for moves to improve the product lines and marketing at Body By Victoria and Pink. Moving to fix merchandising issues—the product mix isn’t right—would be a positive sign and a first step toward recovery.

Lennar’s acquisition of CalAtlantic Group Inc., the largest ever in the U.S. homebuilding industry, strengthened its position as the No. 2 U.S. homebuilder (behind D.R. Horton) and increased its market share in 24 of the top 30 markets. Across the sector, share prices have been hurt by rising home prices and interest rates. Demand and Lennar’s “Everything Included” program, which features digital-ready, green luxury homes, should support sales.

Next year will be critical for Manulife and new CEO Roy Gori. The insurer in June announced a big cost-reduction program, and it’s in the process of streamlining its legacy businesses in the U.S. and Canada. The company’s strong presence in Asia, which provides most of its growth, is a huge advantage as the region’s middle class surges.

The $23 billion acquisition of Andeavor will make Marathon the largest American refiner and second-largest fuel retailer. Buying a premium asset near the top of the refining cycle is definitely a risk. And Marathon’s previous major acquisition, the $15.7 billion MarkWest Energy Partners LP deal in 2015, set back its stock for more than a year. But there are strong tailwinds for U.S. refiners right now, including access to cheap shale crude and natural gas. The combined company boasts geographical and equipment advantages.

After a year of drama, including the failed Qualcomm Inc. deal, NXP is eager to reignite growth. Underperformance may be short-lived—a $5 billion share buyback could boost earnings. Autos and industrials, underpenetrated markets with a need for chips, present an opportunity.

Leaving behind a shaky 2018, when its stock had fallen 50 percent by the end of June, the company is expected to rebound in early 2019. Once the world’s No. 2 seller of lightbulbs, Osram is now focused on specialty lighting for autos, entertainment, and the health-care sector. These businesses are promising, delivering $2.3 billion in sales in fiscal 2017. It announced in August that it’s shedding the loss-making Lighting Solutions and Systems unit.

Prudential is composed of three separately regulated and managed businesses in the U.K., the U.S., and Asia. It announced in March that it would spin off its U.K. business by 2020, signaling the breakup of the company. Group management is based in London, and there will be even less of a rationale for this once the U.K. business breaks free. The closer the uncoupling comes, the more investors are likely to value the U.S. and Asian operations separately.

The world’s second-largest independent tobacco leaf dealer has been busy buying stakes in companies and forming joint ventures in emerging markets. The strategy is to sprinkle its expertise in agronomy over these businesses while expanding into such areas as liquids for vaping and Canadian cannabis.

Investors have lost their enthusiasm for Range Resources, an oil and natural gas exploration and production company, since its 2016 purchase of Memorial Resources. Range’s share price has fallen from a high of $46.45 in June 2016 to $17.16 on Oct. 18. Management’s commitment to spending its cash more efficiently, boosting productivity, and shedding some assets to cut debt may renew optimism.

Prospects for continued high oil prices and Rosneft’s capacity to raise production—it pumped 5.7 million barrels a day in the second quarter—bode well for the Russian oil giant. A lean cost structure, weak ruble, and steady output will allow the company to reduce debt and reassure investors, who will also embrace the $2 billion share buyback program. Expanded U.S. sanctions remain a risk.

SoftBank’s $100 billion tech fund may slow the pace of its investments. An impending test will be whether Chairman Masayoshi Son can pull off a 3 trillion yen ($26.3 billion) mobile IPO to help finance the tech fund. The merger of subsidiary Sprint Corp. with T-Mobile is another pending deal that may save SoftBank from taking on more debt.

Losing Walmart usually isn’t a good thing, and Synchrony will lose the Walmart store-card program next year. Its expanded deal with PayPal—which includes the recent purchase of almost $8 billion worth of consumer loans— and growth in its Amazon.com card business will help soften the blow. The company may also lose its deal with Walmart’s Sam’s Club. It recently renewed contracts with Lowe’s Cos. and J.C. Penney Co.

Tableau, known for its chart applications and analytics dashboards, is broadening its product line to include data cleanup and machine learning tools, enabling it to compete in the wider data-warehousing and reporting market. That’s sure to boost sales. Demand for the company’s established products will remain strong.

Teva has a drug pipeline full of growth opportunities starting in 2019. Austedo, a possible treatment for Tourette’s syndrome for which trial data may come in the first half of next year, represents a potential $1 billion-plus opportunity. Ajovy is one of the most significant migraine advances in decades. These launches may help offset the loss—worth about $2 billion—of exclusivity for Teva’s best-selling Copaxone, a drug for multiple sclerosis.

Vodafone is set to become the largest fixed/mobile carrier in Europe if its deal with Liberty Global is approved. The company will have to cope with rising competition and weakening revenue growth. A new CEO—Nick Read succeeded Vittorio Colao in October—also complicates the picture. Nevertheless, patience may pay off as Vodafone commands strong mobile network quality and has already developed significant capabilities to bundle its services.

Lagging revenue growth, major account losses, and cuts in client spending are adding up to trouble for the advertising giant’s new CEO Mark Read. WPP needs to revamp its business model to catch up with main rivals Omnicom, Interpublic, and Publicis, and to repel competition from technology consulting firms like Accenture and Deloitte. Getting a good price for its Kantar data unit is essential to reduce debt and provide funds for targeted acquisitions.

After a streak of acquisitions, Xylem has become a tech-driven leader in equipment and services for water and wastewater utilities. The stock price has underperformed in the past year, after doubling in the four years prior. Margins may improve materially in 2019 as robust order intake converts to sales and incremental investment ends. A large federal infrastructure spending bill could provide further upside.