MW 20 stocks in the S&P 500 that gained the most in 2025

By Philip van Doorn

Companies that added to huge gains the previous year included Robinhood, Palantir, Carvana and GE

The S&P 500 was up 17.3% for 2025 through Dec. 30, following a 23.3% gain in 2024.

As we near the end of another excellent year for the broad U.S. stock market, it is time to show a list of the best performers in the S&P 500, but also to put the market's gains into some perspective.

All price changes in this article exclude dividends. Prices will be updated after the market close on Wednesday, Dec. 31.

The S&P 500 SPX was up 17.3% for 2025 through Tuesday's close, following gains of 23.3% in 2024 and 24.2% in 2023. In 2022, the index declined 19.4%, according to data provided by LSEG. So the (nearly) four-year price change from the end of 2021 through Tuesday was 43.4%. That made for a compound annual growth rate of 9.4% for the S&P 500 for the four-year period.

Here is how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 have performed this year through Tuesday:

For the second consecutive year, the S&P 500 Communications sector has been the best performer among the 11 sectors of the large-cap U.S. benchmark index.

Here are the 20 stocks in the S&P 500 that showed the largest gains for 2025 through Tuesday. The list is limited to stocks that have traded for the entire year.

   Company                                2025 price change  2024 price change 
   Western Digital Corp.                             290.7%              13.9% 
   Micron Technology Inc.                            247.7%              -1.4% 
   Seagate Technology Holdings PLC                   224.5%               1.1% 
   Robinhood Markets Inc.                            209.8%             192.5% 
   Warner Bros Discovery Inc.                        173.8%              -7.1% 
   Newmont Corp.                                     173.7%             -10.1% 
   Lam Research Corp.                                140.6%              -7.8% 
   Palantir Technologies Inc.                        139.1%             340.5% 
   Comfort Systems USA Inc.                          123.3%             106.2% 
   AppLovin Corp.                                    114.2%             712.6% 
   Carvana Co.                                       111.2%             284.1% 
   GE Vernova Inc.                                   100.5%                N/A 
   Tapestry Inc.                                      98.3%              77.5% 
   KLA Corp.                                          97.4%               8.4% 
   Amphenol Corp.                                     96.1%              40.1% 
   Howmet Aerospace Inc.                              90.0%             102.1% 
   Corning Inc.                                       87.0%              56.1% 
   General Electric Co.                               86.9%              63.9% 
   Intel Corp.                                        86.0%             -60.1% 
   Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.                 81.0%             -27.2% 
                                                                  Source: LSEG 

Two of the three current companies springing from the "old" General Electric made the list. GE is still, technically, General Electric $(GE)$, "operating as GE Aerospace." The company completed the separation of GE Vernova (GEV) in April 2024, after having completed the separation of GE HealthCare Technologies $(GEHC)$ in January 2023. Shares of GE HealthCare Technologies were up 6.6% for 2025 through Tuesday.

Intel $(INTC)$ is on the list with an 86% gain for 2025 following a 27% decline in 2024. The latest of a slew of investments in the company during 2025 was Nvidia Corp.'s (NVDA) $5 billion purchase of Intel shares on Dec. 26.

Palantir Technologies (PLTR) was the best performer among the S&P 500 during 2024, when the stock rose 340.5%. Through Tuesday, the stock was up another 139% for 2025.

Related: Tech's biggest bull lists his top 5 AI stocks for 2026, and Nvidia isn't one of them

Warner Bros. Discovery $(WBD)$ is on the list with a 174% gain for 2025 through Tuesday, as Paramount continues its attempt to trump WBD's agreement to have its streaming and studios business acquired by Netflix $(NFLX)$.

One surprise on the list may be Tapestry's stock (TPR), as the parent of Coach and Kate Spade branded luxury accessories brands overcame tariff concerns and a cautious consumer to produce four straight quarters of year-over-year sales growth.

Click on the tickers for more about each company, including news coverage, price ratios, ratings, estimates and financials.

Read: Tomi Kilgore's guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page

Don't miss: These stocks fell hard in 2025, but analysts see as much as 65% upside for them in 2026

-Philip van Doorn

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December 31, 2025 09:36 ET (14:36 GMT)

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