Creatix / December 3, 2025
In This Article:
The Top 10 Best-Performing S&P 500 Stocks of 2025 (January–November) and explain why these companies surged, what their performance reveals about the broader market, and how investors can position themselves for 2026.
We discuss how data-storage leaders, semiconductor manufacturers, fintech disruptors, enterprise AI platforms, media turnarounds, and even a gold miner delivered triple-digit returns and reshaped market leadership in 2025.
We also show how these top performers reflect powerful trends, including the AI hardware boom, data-center expansion, retail-investor resurgence, commodity hedging, and the revival of legacy tech and media.
Finally, we connect these insights to the future, revealing the best ETFs to watch heading into 2026, from semiconductor and AI-infrastructure funds to gold-mining, fintech, and digital-infrastructure ETFs poised to benefit from the same forces that drove 2025’s biggest winners.
If you want to understand which S&P 500 stocks dominated 2025 so far, why they outperformed, and where smart money may move in 2026, this comprehensive market breakdown is the perfect place to start.
Top 10 Best-Performing S&P 500 Stocks of 2025 (Jan–Nov): The Winners Driving the Market Higher
We're still a month away from closing the year. So far, the S&P 500 has delivered a solid year in 2025, rising roughly 17–18% through November 30th. So far, beneath that smooth upward trajectory lies a dramatic truth: a small group of companies has massively outperformed the broader market, delivering triple-digit returns and defining the market narrative for 2025.
In this post, we mention 10 companies, spanning data-storage giants, semiconductor core players, fintech disruptors, AI-driven software firms, and even a gold miner, that have emerged as the true leaders of the 2025 bull market. Their gains reflect larger structural trends, including the global AI build-out, data-center expansion, retail-investor resurgence, commodity hedging, and the continuing recovery of legacy tech and media.
1. Western Digital (WDC)
Western Digital is the undisputed champion of 2025 so far, with a jaw-dropping surge above 260%. The company has become one of the biggest unexpected beneficiaries of the global AI infrastructure race.
As corporations, cloud providers, and governments build out massive data-storage capacity for AI training and inference, demand for high-capacity HDDs and enterprise SSDs has exploded. Western Digital, long considered a slow, cyclical storage play, has suddenly become a strategic supplier at the center of a global data boom.
2. Robinhood Markets (HOOD)
In a year defined by market momentum, few stories are as surprising as Robinhood’s. Up well over 230% year-to-date, HOOD is the best-performing consumer-facing company in the S&P 500 and the biggest fintech turnaround story of the decade.
Renewed enthusiasm from retail investors, combined with product expansion into retirement accounts, credit, and advanced trading tools, has transformed the company from a struggling pandemic-era app into a high-growth fintech platform.
3. Seagate Technology (STX)
Seagate, like Western Digital, has ridden the tidal wave of AI-driven data demand. With returns above 200% this year, Seagate has proven that data storage is not a commodity backwater — it’s a critical pillar of the AI era.
Enterprises continue shifting toward high-capacity storage solutions, and Seagate’s leadership in HDD technology makes it a direct beneficiary of the world’s insatiable appetite for data.
4. Micron Technology (MU)
Micron’s 2025 has been a blockbuster, with returns pushing close to 180%. It’s the memory supplier powering the AI world, providing DRAM and NAND chips used in data centers, GPUs, and AI-optimized servers.
Every major AI system, from training supercomputers to edge-AI devices, relies on advanced high-bandwidth memory. Micron is positioned at the heart of that ecosystem, making its rally logical and likely durable.
5. Newmont Corporation (NEM)
Gold has enjoyed a strong year as investors hedge against inflation, geopolitical risk, and interest-rate uncertainty. This has propelled Newmont, the world’s largest gold miner, more than 130% higher in 2025.
As markets oscillate between AI exuberance and macro caution, gold has quietly reasserted itself as a strategic ballast. Newmont’s surge reflects this return to hard-asset hedging.
6. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)
One of the most surprising entries in the top 10, Warner Bros. Discovery has delivered gains above 120%. The company has benefited from renewed investor optimism around content monetization, restructuring progress, and improving streaming economics.
The entertainment giant is still navigating a difficult media landscape, but 2025 has shown that legacy content libraries, profitable franchises, and disciplined cost management can spark powerful turnarounds.
7. Palantir Technologies (PLTR)
Palantir continues to be one of the most misunderstood and most explosive stocks in the S&P 500. Up more than 120% this year, the company has transitioned from a government-focused analytics contractor into a mainstream enterprise AI provider.
Its success reflects a new reality: AI adoption is accelerating across every major economic sector, and Palantir’s platforms are becoming indispensable for large-scale decision-making and data integration.
8. Lam Research (LRCX)
Lam Research is one of the quiet heroes of the semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, and a major winner in 2025 with returns above 110%.
As global chip production expands and fabrication plants ramp up capacity for AI-optimized chips, Lam’s equipment has become essential. The company sits upstream from the entire semiconductor boom, making it a reliable way to gain exposure to long-term AI hardware growth.
9. Amphenol (APH)
Amphenol’s 2025 performance, more than doubling in value, reflects the massive global investment in electrical components, connectors, and infrastructure hardware used in automotive, aerospace, data centers, industrial equipment, and consumer electronics.
As AI, electrification, and robotics scale, Amphenol’s “picks-and-shovels” role puts it at the center of nearly every secular growth trend.
10. Intel Corporation (INTC)
Rounding out the top 10 is Intel — a comeback story many investors didn’t expect. Intel has doubled in 2025 thanks to renewed optimism surrounding its manufacturing reboot, strategic government partnerships, and progress in regaining competitiveness in data-center and AI chips.
While Intel still faces fierce competition, 2025 has shown that legacy giants can return to relevance when capital, strategy, and execution converge.
What the Top 10 Tell Us About the 2025 Market
Taken together, these ten companies reveal the deeper themes shaping 2025:
1. The AI Hardware Boom Is Dominating
Five of the top ten companies — WDC, STX, MU, LRCX, and APH — are directly tied to AI infrastructure. Not AI software, but the physical backbone: memory, storage, fabs, connectors, equipment.
2. Retail Investors Are Back
HOOD’s performance signals a resurgence of individual trading enthusiasm.
3. Value and Hard Assets Matter
NEM proves that even in a tech-heavy market, gold remains a safe-haven staple.
4. Comeback Stories Are Thriving
WBD and INTC show that “legacy” companies can still create massive shareholder value.
5. Enterprise AI Is Scaling Fast
PLTR’s rise highlights the acceleration of AI adoption across governments, industries, and multinational corporations.
Conclusion: A Market Led by Extremes
The top 10 best-performing S&P 500 stocks of 2025 reflect a market driven by AI infrastructure, specialized components, renewed investor risk appetite, and selective value rotations.
While the index has been steady, the real action has been at the edges, where hardware, data, analytics, and hard-asset plays have exploded in value.
For investors, the lesson is clear:
The future belongs to companies building the physical, computational, and informational infrastructure of the AI age, and to the few well-positioned firms undergoing transformative turnarounds.
Best ETFs to Watch in 2026
Built from the top-performing themes of 2025
2025 told us something unmistakable:
the biggest market winners were not the flashy AI-front-end names but the hardware, memory, storage, and physical infrastructure powering the AI revolution.
Alongside AI infrastructure, we saw spikes in gold, renewed fintech speculation, semiconductor manufacturing, and surprising rebounds in media and legacy tech.
Below are the ETFs most likely to ride these trends into 2026.
1. AI Infrastructure & Data-Center Demand ETFs
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH)
Why it matters:
Western Digital, Seagate, Micron, Lam Research, and Intel dominated 2025 — all deeply tied to chips, memory, and AI training hardware. SMH captures the entire semiconductor boom including Nvidia, AMD, TSMC, Broadcom, and key suppliers.
iShares Semiconductor ETF (SOXX)
Why to watch in 2026:
SOXX includes a heavier weighting toward U.S. chip manufacturers and equipment makers. With U.S. CHIPS Act money still flowing and massive 2025 capex in fabs, SOXX is positioned for another powerful year.
2. AI Hardware Support, Memory, and Storage ETFs
Global X Data Center & Digital Infrastructure ETF (DTCR)
Why it’s relevant:
WDC, STX, MU, APH, and LRCX showed that the AI boom needs physical storage and infrastructure, not just compute. VPN invests in:
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data centers
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fiber networks
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power & cooling infrastructure
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digital REITs
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storage providers
This is directly aligned with 2025’s biggest winners.
WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence & Innovation Fund (WTAI)
Why 2026 could be a breakout year:
This ETF invests across the full AI supply chain, not just software. It mirrors the 2025 winners by holding semiconductor enablers, data-on-chip companies, and AI infrastructure builders.
3. Semiconductor Manufacturing & Tools ETFs
(The “Lam Research + Intel + Micron” theme.)
VanEck Semiconductor Equipment ETF (SMTX)
If there is ONE ETF whose theme directly mirrors the #1 takeaway from 2025, it is SMTX:
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semiconductor equipment
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fab tools
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wafer etch & deposition
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test & measurement
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capital-intensive chip manufacturing machinery
Lam Research was one of the top-10 best performers — SMTX is positioned for the second leg of that trend.
4. Gold, Hard Assets & Inflation Hedges
SPDR Gold Trust (GLD)
iShares Gold Trust (IAU)
Why these matter:
Newmont Corporation was one of 2025’s biggest winners because gold surged as a hedge against:
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inflation
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geopolitical risk
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rate uncertainty
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bond market stress
If those themes continue, gold ETFs will remain strong in 2026.
VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)
Why it’s a higher-beta gold play:
If gold continues rising, miners historically outperform, because revenue rises faster than costs.
Newmont is a major holding, so GDX is tied directly to one of 2025’s stars.
5. Fintech & Retail-Investor Revival ETFs
(The “Robinhood comeback” theme.)
Global X FinTech ETF (FINX)
Why relevant:
Robinhood was the #2 best performer of 2025. Retail investor activity revived after years of dormancy. FINX gives exposure to:
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trading platforms
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digital payments
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online lending
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crypto infrastructure
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robo-advisors
If the “2021 retail spirit” returns in 2026, FINX will benefit.
6. Enterprise Software & AI Analytics ETFs
Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF (BOTZ)
ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF (ARKQ)
Why these align with the Palantir trend:
Enterprise adoption of AI — the reason Palantir rallied over 120% — is still in the early stages.
BOTZ and ARKQ give exposure to:
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enterprise AI
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robotic automation
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industrial analytics
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defense tech
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automation software
As corporations modernize, these themes should accelerate.
7. Media, Streaming & Communications ETFs
(The “Warner Bros. Discovery turnaround” theme.)
Communication Services Select Sector SPDR (XLC)
WBD’s rally suggests selective rebounds in streaming, advertising, and entertainment economics.
XLC holds:
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Alphabet
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Meta
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Netflix
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Disney
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Warner Bros Discovery
If media pricing power improves and streaming economics become sustainable, XLC could see renewed strength.
8. The “AI + Physical Infrastructure” Hybrid ETFs
(This is the theme that most directly mirrors the collection of 2025 winners.)
Global X Artificial Intelligence & Technology ETF (AIQ)
First Trust Nasdaq Artificial Intelligence ETF (ROBT)
These funds blend:
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AI software (PLTR-type names)
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infrastructure (WDC, MU, LRCX types)
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key semiconductor suppliers
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network hardware
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cloud infrastructure
This hybrid approach matches the real winners of 2025, where both software and hardware co-led the rally.
The 2026 ETF Shortlist (Condensed Creatix Picks)
If you only want the 5 most likely winners for 2026, based strictly on 2025’s performance signals, they are:
1. SMH – The semiconductor boom continues.
2. DTCR – Data centers & infrastructure = the true AI bottleneck.
3. SMTX – The semiconductor manufacturing cycle is still accelerating.
4. GDX – Gold miners surge when gold breaks out.
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