How do you pick a stock to pitch in an interview?

Pick a name you can genuinely differentiate on, not the mega-cap every candidate pitches — a mid-cap with a clean, explainable story and two or three identifiable drivers is ideal. Criteria

• you can state consensus and where you differ
• there are dated catalysts in the next few quarters
• the business model is simple enough to explain in two sentences, so the time goes to the thesis
• ideally it sits in or near the sector of the team you are interviewing with, but a well-argued out-of-sector pitch beats a shallow in-sector one. Avoid names where your only edge is 'I use the product,' and avoid anything you cannot defend three follow-up questions deep.