Big uglies is a slang term for large, old companies operating in hard, so-called dirty, industries such as manufacturing, oil, steel, and mining. These types of stocks tend to be unpopular with investors, with their generally dogged, steady returns and resistance to volatility often being overlooked in favor of more exciting, higher growth companies on the cutting edge of an industry.Over the years, the criteria of what constitutes a big ugly have broadened. Nowadays, the term commonly refers to all kinds of out-of-favor investments. Big uglies are generally household names with a stable market share in established industries.Big uglies traditionally denoted stocks in the manufacturing and infrastructure industries. As technology has advanced, the term has gradually loosened and is now more all-encompassing of any company in any unfashionable sector.Being unpopular means big uglies typically trade at low price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios, putting them firmly in the value category of investing. However, many investors prefer to chase the higher returns potentially provided by the racier, more saturated parts of the stock market. Investors who want to make lots of money or have short-term goals may not be interested in big uglies because they simply don't experience enough quarterly growth.

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