3 FTSE 100 best-sellers I won’t touch with a bargepole

Discovering which shares others are buying and selling can offer valuable insights for investors. They can illustrate trends and generate ideas, helping you spot opportunities or risks early on. With this in mind, I’ve recently been checking out the most bought FTSE 100 stocks among Hargreaves Lansdown investors.

On the Top 10 list were Lloyds (LSE:LLOY), BP (LSE:BP.) and International Consolidated Airlines (or IAG) (LSE:IAG). But these are three shares I’ll be avoiding at all costs.

Here’s why.

Lloyds

Lloyds makes almost all of its earnings from the UK. So with the domestic economy continuing to be difficult, I struggle to see how the Black Horse Bank will generate meaningful revenues and profits growth, as consumers and businesses rein in spending.

I’m also concerned that the Bank of England may heavily slash rates to boost the stagnant economy as inflation drops. This will put a severe squeeze on margins that are already being hit by rising competition.

On the plus side, falling rates will boost the housing market, a critical area of profitability for Lloyds. But on the whole, things are looking less than rosy for the bank, in my view.

Lloyds’ share price is up 72% in 2025, leaving it trading on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13.1 times. This makes it the UK’s most expensive banking share, which in my opinion doesn’t reflect the scale of the long-term challenges it faces.

IAG

The IAG share price has swept 32% higher so far this year, also outpacing the broader FTSE 100’s 19% rise. I also think this run looks frothy in the current climate.

Airline companies are highly cyclical, and so IAG is in danger given weak growth in its major markets. Economic issues aren’t the only red flag, either — the British Airways owner’s transatlantic routes may struggle to grow following political shifts in the US. Tourism to the States has fallen sharply in 2025, in response to Donald Trump’s controversial administration.

These issues add to other, more long-running threats facing airline shares like volatile fuel costs, airport and air traffic control disruptions, and intense competition. IAG shares are cheap, with a forward P/E ratio of 6.6 times. But I’m still not buying.

BP

In better news, IAG can probably expect fuel prices to remain more favourable in the near term. However, this isn’t a good situation for oil giant BP.

The world faces being drowned in excess crude as production from both OPEC+ countries and other major producing nations rises. On Thursday (13 November), the International Energy Agency (IEA) hiked its market surplus forecasts for next year, to 4.1m barrels per day, reflecting growing supply and weakening demand.

BP’s share price has risen 14% in 2025, which (in my opinion) fails to reflect this emerging reality.

Over the longer term, I’m concerned about the FTSE 100 company’s pivot this year from green energy to almost exclusively oil and gas. This may boost earnings during periods of crude price strength. But it also creates enormous dangers as demand for renewable and nuclear energy heats up.

Like IAG and Lloyds, I’m happy to leave BP shares on the shelf.

The post 3 FTSE 100 best-sellers I won’t touch with a bargepole appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Lloyds Banking Group Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.