Cathie Wood's ARK Investment buys 4.5K shares of Nvidia today
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Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
The 5 Best-Performing Stocks Of 2025 So Far: See The Leaders
As we move through 2025, the stock market continues to reward companies positioned at the intersection of technological innovation and essential infrastructure. While headline-grabbing names like NVIDIA and Microsoft have delivered solid returns, some lesser-known players have crushed the market with triple-digit gains. This analysis focuses on the standout performers among S&P 500 companies with market capitalizations exceeding $10 billion. These aren't speculative penny stocks or volatile small-caps – they're substantial businesses that have managed to capture investor imagination while delivering real operational results. From artificial intelligence enablers to energy infrastructure plays, the top performers tell a fascinating story about where smart money is flowing in the evolving market landscape of 2025. How These Top Performing Stocks Were Chosen The methodology for identifying these market leaders is straightforward but selective. I screened all S&P 500 constituents with market capitalizations above $10 billion as of July 2025, then ranked them by year-to-date percentage returns. This market capitalization threshold ensures that we're examining established companies with meaningful institutional ownership and trading liquidity, rather than smaller, speculative plays. The $10 billion cutoff eliminates the volatility often associated with smaller companies while focusing on businesses large enough to impact portfolios and broader market indices meaningfully. These companies have demonstrated their staying power and represent sectors that institutional investors consider to have sustainable competitive advantages in today's rapidly evolving economic environment. The 5 Best Performing Stocks of 2025 So Far 1. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) Palantir's stunning 113% gain represents the single best performance among large-cap S&P 500 stocks in 2025. The data analytics and software company has successfully transitioned from a government-focused contractor to a diversified enterprise software provider, with commercial revenue growing at an explosive pace. The company's Foundry platform has gained significant traction among Fortune 500 companies seeking to harness artificial intelligence for operational efficiency. What sets Palantir apart is its unique positioning in the AI value chain. Rather than competing directly with model developers like OpenAI, Palantir focuses on implementation and deployment, helping organizations utilize AI to solve real business problems. This practical approach has resonated strongly with enterprise customers who need more than just access to large language models. The company's government contracts continue providing stability, while commercial expansion drives growth acceleration. With a market cap now approaching $56 billion, Palantir has evolved from a niche defense contractor into a legitimate enterprise software powerhouse, justifying investor enthusiasm despite the stock's remarkable run. 2. GE Vernova (GEV) GE Vernova's 90% surge reflects the market's recognition of the critical role energy infrastructure plays in supporting AI and data center expansion. As the spun-off energy division of General Electric, Vernova combines traditional power generation expertise with cutting-edge grid modernization and renewable energy solutions. The company benefits from massive infrastructure spending driven by AI's voracious energy appetite. Data centers supporting artificial intelligence workloads consume exponentially more electricity than traditional computing facilities, creating unprecedented demand for reliable power generation and distribution equipment. Vernova's portfolio encompasses gas turbines, wind turbines, grid solutions and energy storage, positioning it as a comprehensive infrastructure partner for utilities and large technology companies. The company's backlog continues growing as utilities rush to upgrade aging infrastructure while adding capacity for AI-driven demand. With governments worldwide prioritizing grid resilience and clean energy transitions, Vernova sits at the center of multiple powerful secular trends that should support growth well beyond 2025. 3. NRG Energy (NRG) NRG Energy's 78% gain demonstrates how traditional utilities can thrive in the new energy landscape. The Texas-based power generator and retailer has benefited from favorable commodity pricing, extreme weather events that boost electricity demand, and strategic positioning in high-growth markets. The company's integrated model – owning generation assets while selling directly to consumers – provides natural hedging against market volatility. Texas continues experiencing rapid population and economic growth, driving consistent demand increases for NRG's services. The state's deregulated electricity market allows NRG to capture value both as a generator and retailer, creating multiple revenue streams that traditional regulated utilities cannot access. Additionally, the company has made strategic investments in battery storage and renewable generation to complement its existing assets. NRG's focus on cash generation and shareholder returns has attracted income-focused investors seeking exposure to the energy transition. The company maintains a disciplined approach to capital allocation while benefiting from structural tailwinds in electricity demand, particularly from industrial customers and data center operators establishing facilities in Texas. 4. Howmet Aerospace (HWM) Howmet Aerospace's 70% appreciation reflects the aerospace industry's robust recovery and the company's specialized positioning in advanced materials and components. As a leading supplier of engineered products for aerospace and defense applications, Howmet benefits from both the return to growth in commercial aviation and increased defense spending driven by global security concerns. The company's advanced manufacturing capabilities in titanium, aluminum and nickel-based superalloys make it indispensable to aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus. These materials require sophisticated processing techniques that create significant barriers to entry, allowing Howmet to maintain strong margins even as the industry scales up production. Long-term contracts with original equipment manufacturers provide revenue visibility and pricing power. Defense applications represent another growth driver, with governments worldwide modernizing their military aircraft fleets. Howmet's components are critical for next-generation fighter jets and defense systems, creating a stable revenue base that complements cyclical demand in the commercial aerospace sector. The company's technical expertise and manufacturing scale position it well for continued outperformance. 5. Seagate Technology (STX) Seagate's 67% rally reflects the transformation of the data storage industry, driven by the growing demands of artificial intelligence and cloud computing. While solid-state drives have captured consumer mindshare, traditional hard disk drives remain essential for hyperscale data centers requiring massive storage capacity at reasonable costs. AI training and inference generate enormous data sets that must be stored efficiently and accessed reliably. The company has successfully repositioned itself from a consumer-focused commodity manufacturer to a provider of enterprise infrastructure. Cloud service providers, such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google, require petabytes of storage capacity, and Seagate's high-capacity drives offer the most cost-effective solution for "cold" data storage. This market dynamic has significantly improved pricing power and margins. Seagate's investments in advanced recording technologies, including heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR), enable higher storage densities that maintain the company's competitive edge. As data generation accelerates across industries, Seagate benefits from structural demand growth that is expected to persist regardless of broader economic conditions. Honorable Mentions While NVIDIA's 25% gain might seem modest compared to our top five, the chip giant's massive $4 trillion market cap makes percentage moves more challenging to achieve. Similarly, Microsoft's 12.2% and Meta's 18.5% returns represent solid performance for megacap technology stocks, though they were outpaced by more specialized players positioned in high-growth niches. Bottom Line The 2025 market leaders share common themes: exposure to artificial intelligence infrastructure, energy transition dynamics and specialized market positions that create competitive moats. These aren't momentum plays or speculative bets – they're established companies benefiting from powerful secular trends reshaping the global economy. While past performance doesn't guarantee future results, these standout performers demonstrate how identifying the right structural trends can generate exceptional returns even among large, established companies.
Tom's Guide
9 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
Nvidia Remix is bringing my favorite PC classics back to life — 5 games I can't wait to play
We're well into an age of remasters, remakes and remake-quels, some worth waiting for (Silent Hill 2 comes to mind), some not so much (GTA: The Trilogy still hurts). But there are still many classic games stuck in limbo that are awaiting the proper touch-up they deserve, and Nvidia Remix is here to try and fill that void. Nvidia's modding platform is now out in the wild, allowing modders to use Team Green's RTX technology to remaster classic PC games using DirectX 8 and 9. Basically, those old titles that struck a chord that we'd love to return to, now with a visual overhaul fitting for modern graphics. Now, it's not as simple as pushing a button in RTX Remix to add ray tracing, DLSS 4 and hyper-realistic graphics, as there's still a lot of work that goes into giving older PC games a glow-up. But it does make the process of building a remaster for a bunch of favorites easier. We've already seen the Half-Life 2 RTX demo in action (and what a haunting visual upgrade that delivers), but what else is in store? Well, I wanted to put this RTX 5080-equipped Acer Predator Orion 7000 gaming PC to work, and started hunting for RTX Remix games over on Steam — but you won't find many there. Instead, modders have been showing off their glorious RTX Remix remasters over on ModDB, letting gamers test out their work on some of my favorite classics: Star Wars: Republic Commando, Max Payne, Bioshock and plenty more. These aren't full-fledged releases, and it may be a while before we see any of these titles come to be easily downloadable on Steam, even if they are just demos. But after seeing what RTX Remix can do firsthand, I can't wait to see these titles gain a second life. Head over to ModDB to find RTX Remix games currently available to try out, which are part of an RTX Remix Mod Contest. But be warned: these require you to download and extract files in PC games you own, and they won't always work. Through trial and tribulation, I only managed to try out one game, despite following installation instructions from modders. These are still a work in progress, but are continuously updated. If you're used to putting mods in games, try these out! This is the one (and only) game I was able to get running, but I was glad to play it all the same. Star Wars: Republic Commandos unbelievably just hit its 20th anniversary, and despite its short length, it's still my favorite Star Wars game, well, ever (it helps that I'm an FPS diehard). Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. From creator Chaos007, this RTX Remix mod for Star Wars: Republic Commando started out as a quick experiment to see what the tactical first-person shooter would look like under all those RTX enhancements. But the demo is catching steam, and it really brings out the shine that I remember the game having when it first launched. Right from the opening cinematic, I could clearly see the fully ray-traced lighting shining off the clones' helmets and armor, only to be further impressed by the updated droid models I was shooting down with the DC 17 Rifle, blasting beams of light. The landscape of the first level also received texture upgrades, making it look far brighter and losing that dull, unsaturated "brownness" we got a lot of back when it was booming in many 2000s games. It's not perfect, nor is it meant to be, since it's a project still being worked on. There were patches of light that didn't add up, and some of the visually old-looking explosions from droids didn't mesh too well with the rest of the upgraded textures. Plus, it only works with the Tactical Visor Mode turned on, so no usual helmet view here. But seeing the potential RTX visual overhaul Star Wars: Republic Commandos can get, it would happily return to lead my team of weapons — I mean, commandos. Replaying Max Payne is almost like a tradition to me (even going through that dastardly Nightmare Maze). Falling in slow motion with its iconic Bullet Time and firing off rounds while wielding dual handguns never gets old. So, getting a glimpse of its RTX enhancements just makes me more excited for my near-annual replays. This Max Payne RTX remaster comes from creator Noodle, with the mod being in full show during the game's opening act. Along with RTX lighting giving the game a more modern shine, there are updated hand-crafted PBR (Physically-Based Rendering) materials, essentially physically accurate objects, along with a newly modeled and textured train. But bringing path-traced lighting into the fold gives Max Payne a more realistic glint. It does raise the overall brightness of levels, especially the train station, which may seem at odds with the game's overall "dark noir" vibe. But actually, it deepens the immersion, making those lifeless, illuminating lights throughout the train station seem more dreary rather than upbeat. It continues to be worked on, with more PBR materials and the like planned to arrive. The work being done on this Need For Speed: Underground RTX mod is quite simply incredible. I mean, it's the game as I remember it being, even though the original has none of the highly polished textures, natural-looking reflections beaming off the cars as they rev through a night-lit city and overall visual smoothness. Even though it's over 20 years old (it was released in 2003), creator alessandro893 has made it into a modern PC title that I would be impressed by in today's standards (not quite the level of Forza Horizon, but you catch my drift). The ray-traced visuals bring a further element of realism to the game, and racing through the streets is the modern-day nostalgia trip I crave. So far, you'll find a completely overhauled Chinatown to drive through, over 500 new PBR textures and 30 new highly textured 3D models, like buildings and trees. I consider Portal 2 to be the perfect game, and even today, I'm still impressed by the visuals it offers despite it coming out in 2011. But I'm all for updated textures and ray tracing, and that's what this Portal 2 RTX remaster from creator skurtyyskirts aims to achieve. Everything gets the full RTX treatment here, with complete path-traced lighting for physically accurate lighting and shadows throughout all the deadly Aperture Science testing labs. Virtually every asset gets a PBR material overhaul and objects are completely remastered with hand-crafted (virtually crafted?) with AI upscaling. There's even high-fidelity, redesigned portal walls to get excited about. I suppose what I'm most excited about, though, is seeing a highly textured GLaDOS imbued potato at the end of my portal gun. That opening shot of Rapture in Bioshock is iconic, and the same creator of the Portal 2 RTX remaster, skurtyyskirts, along with watbulb, looks to give that same level of awe with this Bioshock RTX remaster. But it also wants to make a more stable-performing game on PCs overall. It's still in the early stages, and there isn't much to check out, but the duo aims to provide the same full real-time path tracing with a complete PBR asset overhaul by utilizing RTX Remix. So, instead of using an AI upscaler, the mod will use recreated assets to provide a more modern take on the game. So far, that includes the "grand halls of the Kashmir Restaurant to the smallest pieces of debris on the ocean floor." Impressively, the mod also makes performance improvements, unlocking the game's Havok physics engine, which has been locked at 15 FPS, and pushes it up to 90 FPS. Plus, as stated by the creators, the frame rates have been pushed further in areas of the demo, which reach up to 350 FPS on an RTX 5080 at 1080p resolution. If these RTX Remix-enhanced PC games break cover and see a full release on Steam, I'll be all over them. If you can, try them out and give them some attention, and hopefully, we'll see even more titles get the RTX Remix treatment. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Nvidia must provide 'security proofs' to regain trust:China state media
BEIJING (Reuters) -Nvidia (NVDA) must produce "convincing security proofs" to eliminate Chinese users' worries over security risks in its chips and regain market trust, a commentary published by China's state-run media People's Daily said on Friday. Foreign companies must comply with Chinese laws and take security to be a basic prerequisite, said the commentary - titled "Nvidia, how can I trust you?" - which was published on the paper's social media account. In a statement sent to Reuters, an Nvidia spokesperson reiterated that "Cybersecurity is critically important to us". "NVIDIA does not have 'backdoors' in our chips that would give anyone a remote way to access or control them," the spokesperson said. The commentary appeared a day after Beijing raised concerns over potential security risks in Nvidia's H20 artificial intelligence chip, casting uncertainty over the company's sales prospects in China weeks after a U.S. export ban was reversed. The Cyberspace Administration of China, the country's internet regulator, said it was concerned by a U.S. proposal for advanced chips sold abroad to be equipped with tracking and positioning functions. The regulator said it had summoned Nvidia to a meeting to explain whether its H20 AI chip had any backdoor security risks, as it was worried that Chinese user data and privacy rights could be affected. A backdoor risk refers to a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls.
