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CNBC
21-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Best Stocks: What to do with two 'Best Stock' names that are failing
(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — We're writing up stocks here all the time and doing our best to identify set-ups with either a strong ongoing trend, a technical catalyst on the horizon or something fundamental we think deserves exploring. While many of our stock write-ups have resulted in singles and doubles so far this summer, they don't all cooperate. Today, we're going to follow up on two names we've recently talked about that are still on the list, but in danger of falling off. The goal of this exercise is to share the other side with you — when Best Stocks fall off. But first, let's check in on where the list stands today. Sector Leaderboard As of 7/21/2025, there are 142 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top Sector Ranking: Top industries: Top 5 Best Stocks by Relative Strength: Spotlight: Sean — Market breadth measures how many stocks are participating in a market move, offering a deeper view of underlying strength beyond index-level performance. It's a look under the hood to see what's powering the market. When breadth is strong — meaning a large number of individual stocks are advancing, or are above a certain moving average, or have a certain indicator/reading — it signals broad investor confidence and healthy market participation, not just gains concentrated in a few large names. Market-wide participation reduces the risk of fragility in the rally and suggests that momentum is sustainable. Strong breadth has historically aligned with bull markets, making it a bullish signal for investors tracking the durability of uptrends. While strong breadth points to a healthy market, it doesn't mean every stock is firing on all cylinders. Identifying laggards during a broad uptrend can be just as insightful as spotting the leaders. By examining the names that remain on our watchlist but are no longer showing ideal technical set-ups, we can better understand where momentum may be fading — or where risks are quietly building. We thought it would be interesting to see what names are still on the list, but technically are not setting up the way we'd like. Both of these names we mentioned in an earlier piece, and both recently broke below their 50-day moving averages. Expand Energy This is a 1-year chart of Expand Energy Corp (EXE) : We mentioned this on May 22, noting some fundamentals on the stock. It is one of the largest natural gas producers in the U.S. The stock broke through its 50-day moving average to start July and nearly tumbled to its 200-day moving average for the first time since the election. If this stock breaks below its 200-day, which is around the bottom level of support it's been building in the $100 range, the stock will have some further downside risk. Risk Management: Josh here — Above I am showing you the highly correlated peak for EXE stock and the spot natural gas price. Nat gas is down over 12% over the last month while crude oil is off 8%. This weakness in the underlying commodity prices has affected stocks like EXE across the sector. The recent firming up in energy commodity prices should enable Expand to hold its rising 200-day support level just above $100 per share. Both Mizuho and UBS have recently reiterated price targets in the 140s. For investors, I would leave it on this leash, checking back at the end of every week. Shorter-term traders should already be out of the name, watching from the sidelines to see if it sets up again. Momentum is almost washed out at a 40 RSI but it's not completely de-risked. Deere & Co Sean — Below is Deere (DE) , a stock we mentioned on June 5, with one of my favorite titles thus far: "An 'AI wolf in sheep's clothing' with a great entry point for investors": Similar to EXE, the stock broke below its 50 day moving average, and is threatening the support it's been building since it broke out this spring. Risk Management: Josh here — Deere deserves the benefit of the doubt given the recent pullback has not gotten anywhere near the rising 200-day but it bears watching. The company will report earnings on Wednesday morning August 13th before the market opens. The stock rallied hard after its last report despite giving relatively tame guidance, making an all-time high at $528 before pulling back. Tariffs are still a concern here and should the rhetoric from the White House continue to ratchet up, they may continue to sell this name. Shorter-term traders may want to watch from the sidelines rather than battle against the sellers. Taken together, these technical breakdowns in names like EXE and DE serve as reminders that even in broadly healthy markets, not every stock is participating. The optimistic take is, if we can see support in these names, these could be buying opportunities, but we have to let price dictate that. Monitoring these minor breakdowns alongside market leaders helps investors separate structural strength from surface-level momentum. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
CNBC
14-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Best Stocks: How to trade 3 top names on the list reporting earnings this week
(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Earnings season is super annoying for trend-following investment strategies. The potential for both positive and negative surprises is higher, which can lead to reversals in trend and gappy trading before and after the opening and closing bells of trading. It can be a minefield. Sean and I try to avoid highlighting names right before they report for this reason. This time, however, we're going to break that tradition and show you a few set-ups for companies due to report this week. There are seven companies on our Best Stocks in the Market list reporting this week. One of them - Fastenal (FAST) - will have already released results prior to this column coming out. Three others have charts that appear to be losing momentum and threatening a downside breach of their uptrends - Kinder Morgan (KMI) , Abbott Labs (ABT) and Cintas (CTAS) — so we'll skip over those. The other three are worth taking a look at. BlackRock (BLK) , Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and Netflix (NFLX) are all strong stocks at interesting inflection points. Let's do some high-level stats on the overall list and then we'll dive in. Sector Leaderboard As of 7/14/2025, there are 136 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list Top Sector Ranking: Top Industries: Top 5 Best Stocks by Relative Strength: Sector Spotlight: Sean — Coming into earnings, all 3 major indices are within 2% of all-time highs: While prices are at or near all-time highs, earnings estimates are not. Throughout Q2, EPS estimates for the S & P 500 have declined 4.2% for this upcoming earnings season. In most quarters, analysts are usually adjusting their estimates down, so this is nothing unusual. However, over the past 20 quarters, the average decline in EPS estimates during the quarter has been a decline of 3%. The average of the past 60 quarters (15 years) has been a decline of 3.2%. So, estimates have shifted further down than normal. On a sectoral basis, every sector saw EPS adjustments lowered, except for communications, which stayed flat. Energy, discretionary, and materials were the three worst sectors with the highest decline in estimates at -18.9%, -7.4%, and -6.4% respectively (from start of quarter to end of quarter). (Data via Factset) Either analysts are lowering the bar for what could be a better-than-expected earnings season, or analysts were too bullish on U.S. earnings power amidst a myriad of risks. This goes without saying, but earnings can be a tumultuous period for single stockholders. It's fair to assume most of a stock's earnings outcome is priced in, but more often than not, the market will have some type of response to earnings. In recent quarters, companies have beaten earnings but issued softer forward guidance; a lot of times, that bit of news is not priced in. Earnings can greatly affect the behavior of investors, and thus earnings can affect the technicals of a stock, which matter to us, a lot. We want to show a couple set-ups of stocks that report earnings this week, so that investors are prepared for a range of possible outcomes coming into these events. BlackRock (BLK) - reports on Tuesday: Sean — Wall Street expects revenue of $5.47 billion, up 13.8% year-over-year and EPS of $10.80, up 4.3% year-over-year. (data via S & P Global and Quartr) Josh — BlackRock exploded higher this summer as the flows into ETFs followed (propelled, some might say) the stock market up and to the right. BlackRock is one of the most pro-cyclical stocks in the market. When asset values are booming and investors want in, their asset gathering activity picks up and, with it, the investment management fees. BlackRock's "all in" initiatives around crypto and private equity products are a big part of the story. In the short term, this is an extended name, far above its 200-day. The recent record high and golden cross (50-day moving above the 200-day) make me want to give it the benefit of the doubt. If you're not already in the stock, I'd wait for the report to come out and focus on a buying opportunity into any profit-taking. So long as it holds above $1,000, I think you can be long. Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR) - reports Thursday Sean — Wall Street expects revenue of $1.38 billion, up 11.8% year-over-year and EPS of $0.46, up 5.2% year-over-year. (data via S & P Global and Quartr) Josh — IBKR is emerging out of a cup-and-handle pattern which you can clearly see in the chart above. RSI at 71 could be considered "overbought" but I don't look at it that way. I see it as a sign of strength when it's accompanying new record high levels in price. Considering the outrageous rally in competitor Robinhood (HOOD) — up 112% since April 30th — this momentum in IBKR makes sense. HOOD is a good comp because, according to Morningstar, approximately 55% of IBKR's commission revenue is retail trading vs 45% institutional. One of the most important metrics IBKR is judged on each quarter is account growth — how many new brokerage clients are they adding to the platform. In Q4, Interactive added 217,000 new accounts, pushing the full year total to above 775,000. Then in Q1 they put up an even more explosive number, 279,000 new accounts, up 32% over the same quarter a year before. There's a seasonality to account opening activity, so expect the pace to decelerate when they report this week. But if the results are solid, there's no reason why this name can't break away and forge a new trading range above current resistance at $60. Netflix (NFLX) - reports on Thursday Sean — Wall Street expects revenue of $11.0 billion, up 15.5% year-over-year and EPS of $7.08, up 45.2% year-over-year. (data via S & P Global and Quartr) Josh — We've been writing positively about Netflix all spring and summer given the powerful rally and accompanying upside fundamental surprises along the way. Netflix continues to shock The Street. That said, recent price action says the stock may have gotten ahead of itself in the short-term. NFLX is in a 7% drawdown from its high, hopefully finding support at the 50-day moving average. I own the stock from lower levels and plan to remain long. If I had no position, I would wait and see rather than buy in anticipation of the earnings print. A "sell the news" reaction post-earnings might open up a better entry point. We'll follow up on this. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
CNBC
07-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Best Stocks: A capital markets name enabling the buildout of the digital economy
(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh here — When the price of oil goes up and stays up, it doesn't take long for the oil services stocks to react, but there's always some lagging effect. The same phenomenon is taking place with capital markets stocks, which probably haven't fully priced in the raging comeback for risk-taking and deal-making that began in 2023. Any time stocks and bonds are in a bull market for an extended period of time, the companies that feast on asset flows and price momentum are going to start doing very well. It's not early for the capital market stocks, but it's also not late. Sean is going to show you one of the biggest companies in the space. Sector Leaderboard As of July 7, there are 131 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top Sector Ranking: Sean — Financials take up 11% of our names on our list, which is the third highest out of all sectors: Top Industries: Capital markets, an industry that sits within the financial sector, is neck-in-neck with software in terms of the best stocks by industry: Sector Spotlight: Financials are the 4th-best performing sector year-to-date, up 9.7% in total return. This sector has a max drawdown of 15.5%, meaning this sector saw a 25% swing in the first half of the year: Seventy percent of financials within the S & P 500 are above their 20-day moving average, 50-day moving average, and 200-day moving average. Within the S & P 500 late last week, we saw 5% of constituents making new 52-week highs. Financials tripled that breadth with 16% of constituents making new 52 week highs. Some of the largest and most important banks are making new all-time highs. JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley , Goldman Sachs , Wells Fargo are all trading higher than their pre-liberation day levels. Financials are showing strong and improving momentum as we enter the second half of the year. Despite experiencing a significant 25% swing earlier in 2025, the sector has climbed back to become the fourth-best performer YTD. Breadth is broad and building and the group is leading the market in fresh highs, more than triple the S & P 500 average. This resurgence in financials may be signaling renewed confidence in the U.S. economy. New Addition: BlackRock (BLK) Date Added: 6/26/2025 Sean — Last week, the world's largest asset manager was added to the list. The addition of BlackRock (BLK) to our list is more than just a stock update — it's part of an ongoing trend: the financialization of nearly every aspect of the economy. As money moves faster, markets become more democratized, and assets become more digitized, the infrastructure enabling those transitions becomes more valuable. Companies like Robinhood (HOOD) and Coinbase (COIN) are obvious examples of this. BlackRock is doing it with private assets. Financials are no longer just about banks and insurance companies. The lines have blurred between tech and finance, and capital is flowing toward platforms, processors, and enablers. As the world leans further into digitized payments, tokenized assets, and real-time settlement, the companies that provide the financial rails are gaining favor, similar to the industrial rail companies of the 1800s. Just as the railroads enabled the industrial economy to scale in the 19th century, today's financial infrastructure firms are enabling the digital economy to accelerate, and investors are recognizing that new reality. Risk management Sean — BlackRock saw a significant rounding top in the winter of 2024. The stock was sideways for two months before starting a downtrend culminating on "Liberation Day" in April. The stock has fought all the way back to new highs, but because this has been a longer-term move, it may take some false breakouts above that winter high to create new support. This one is worth being early, and anticipating the breakout given how long it has been in the making. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
CNBC
01-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Best stocks: The 10 most exciting names of the summer and one more on the verge of a breakout
(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — With the first half of the year wrapping up, Sean and I are taking a look at the best stocks on our Best Stocks in the Market list so far this summer. We're using June 1st as the starting point to show you the names people have been most excited about on our list. The first thing that jumped out at me was the breadth of sector dispersion among the top ten Best Stocks this month. It's not concentrated to any one or two sectors, it's all over the map. This is what you want to see in a bull market, of course, because it indicates a bull that's being driven by multiple forces and not a singular theme, like rates falling or AI spending. Coinbase (COIN) , Oracle (ORCL) , Robinhood (HOOD) , Vistra (VST) and Roblox (RBLX) are your top five. That's two from financial services, one from information technology, one utility, and one from communications services. Over the past month, these stocks are up between 21% and 42% with billions in market cap gains for all of them. Coinbase has added $27 billion in value since the start of the month while Robinhood has added $22 billion, putting both companies higher in the Financial sector's overall weighting. Within the top 10 are Royal Caribbean (RCL) which is benefiting from the twin tailwinds of lower energy prices and a resilient consumer, and Cloudflare (NET) , a data center play. Then there's Ferguson Enterprises (FERG) , an HVAC giant I introduced the audience to on the Halftime Report back in December for the first time. Last but not certainly not least is KLAC and NVDA , two semiconductor giants, with NVDA nearing a $4 trillion market cap. Additionally, Hilton (HLT) hit our list last week. We just saw a golden cross happen as the stock climbs out of its April "Liberation Day" lows. The stock was in a 24% drawdown and is now back to within 4% of a 52-week high. Welcome to the list, Hilton. Sector Leaderboard As of 6/30/2025, there are 120 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list. Top Sector Ranking: Sean — June 2025 was a standout month for the U.S. stock market, with the S & P 500 and Nasdaq both closing at record highs amid renewed optimism around AI and easing geopolitical tensions. Tech stocks led the charge, with names like Nvidia and Oracle driving performance, helping the broader market shrug off lingering concerns about inflation and trade policy. Industrials and tech take up the lion's share of our list at a combined 40% exposure out of all 11 sectors: Top Industries: Software, Capital Markets, and Aerospace and Defense have been the strongest industries for the first half of 2025: Crypto was another theme within our list that had a great June. COIN was the best performing stock on our list for the month of June, up a total of 42%. Robinhood, a capital markets stock but one that earns a massive amount of revenue due to crypto trading, was the 2nd best performer on our list for the month of June, up 41.6%. In Q1 2025, HOOD reported $252 million in crypto trading revenue, which was up 100% year-over-year. That same quarter, its total transaction-based revenue amounted to $583 million, meaning approximately 43% came from crypto alone. Hotels, restaurants and leisure is another interesting industry to point out. Within the leisure, lodging, and travel service industries in the S & P 500, every stock is above its 50-day moving average, and all but one stock is above its 200-day moving average ( Norwegian Cruise Line is below that level). The median RSI for an S & P 500 stock in these industry groups is 66, higher than the median reading of 55 for the S & P 500. Top 5 Best Stocks by Relative Strength: New Addition: Hilton (HLT) Sean — Hilton (added to list on June 27) is benefiting from multiple tailwinds heading into the back half of 2025. Business travel demand has rebounded strongly, with corporate bookings and group events coming back online. At the same time, Hilton's diversified brand portfolio of affordable to ultra luxury positions it well to capture an evolving consumer during times of heightened macro uncertainty. HLT's earnings report last quarter was a strong one: Q1 2025 saw 6% adjusted EBITDA growth, $300 million in net income, a 7% pipeline increase and $927 million returned to shareholders. Full-year guidance projects up to $1.75 billion in net income and $3.3 billion in capital returned to shareholders. (data via Quartr.) Last week we saw a golden cross - which is the 50-day moving average cross through and above the 200 day moving average, which is a bullish formation. The stock is breaking above some recent congestion and deserves a spot on your watchlist from here. Risk management Josh here — Hilton is a potential breakout, not a breakout in progress. Pure technicians would wait to see how it handles a retest of the old highs from February in the low $270s. For investors, if you're going to pull the trigger early in anticipation, I like $240 as a line in the sand, just below the rising 200-day. Update each week as the closing prices come in. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
CNBC
23-06-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Best stocks: Entertainment stocks are unlikely winners this year — One to watch if it can break $120
(This is The Best Stocks in the Market , brought to you by Josh Brown and Sean Russo of Ritholtz Wealth Management.) Josh — Sometimes I'm surprised by what's working in the market. If I had to guess, I probably would not have picked entertainment-related companies to be among the best industry groups in the S & P 500 on a year-to-date basis and neither would you have. And that's despite the fact that we've been writing about Spotify and Netflix here an awful lot. Turns out there's more to the story than just those two tickers, as Sean will reveal. Within that group of names, Disney (DIS) popped onto our list as Wall Street begins to give the company more credit for its 125 million global Disney Plus subscribers, 12% market share in streaming video on demand (SVOD) and almost $3 billion in streaming revenue in the first quarter of this year. We'll show you the chart below, but first some Best Stocks stats: Sector Leaderboard As of 6/23/2025 morning, there are 115 names on The Best Stocks in the Market list Top Sector Ranking: Top Industries: Top 5 Best Stocks by Relative Strength: Sector Spotlight: Entertainment Sean — Within S & Ps classification, companies like Disney , Live Nation , and Roblox all land within the entertainment sector, which interestingly is not in the consumer discretionary sector, but is classified as communications. The lines between media, technology, and communication have blurred. From Netflix's growing streaming platform to Roblox's virtual worlds and Live Nation's global concert footprint, these platforms have become less cyclical. We highlighted this defensive trait in some of these stocks in our first piece for The Best Stocks in the Market. We aren't just seeing less volatility in these stocks — we're seeing growth. Just last week, Roblox hit a new all-time high for concurrent users with 25.8M players utilizing the platform at the same time. Nielsen just put out rankings and data for television inclusive of streaming platforms, and 50% of the top 10 best performing shows (ranked by viewers over a 35 day period) came from Netflix. The entertainment industry has done quite well despite the increased recession risk. Looking at every entertainment-classified stock in the S & P 500 (there are 10), the median year-to-date return is 17.5%. The median return for a stock in the S & P 500 is less than 1%. Ninety percent of the entertainment industry within the S & P 500 is within 10% of a 52 week high, the only stock not within a 52 week high is Warner Brothers (WBD). Only 35% of the S & P 500 is within 10% of 52 week highs. We currently have 7 entertainment industry stocks on our list: Disney, Liberty Media , Live Nation, Netflix, Roblox, Spotify, and Take-Two Interactive . Disney makes the list This is a 5 year price chart for Disney: It has been a struggle for Disney, but the stock just rocketed off its early April lows. If the stock can meaningfully break out above that $120 level, there is a ton of room for the stock to run. Disney is dominating the box office thus far. Three of the top 5 best performing movies this year are Disney releases. Lilo & Stitch is the second best movie grossing $386M, Captain America: Brave New World is 4th taking in $200M, and Thunderbolts is in the 5th spot at $189.5M. This industry has quietly become one of the strongest performers in the S & P 500 this year. With user growth accelerating on platforms like Roblox, dominant streaming engagement from Netflix, and a resurgent box office led by Disney, this group is performing well in what has been a challenging environment for consumer-sensitive names. Risk management: Josh — Let's keep this one simple. The $120 level is resistance. You can see that clearly in the chart below. Each attempt to get above was smacked down as the sellers swamped the buyers. That will happen until it doesn't, and then look out. I'm showing you a longer term chart here because I want you to see the whole consolidation. I'd use the $100 level as my line in the sand. If it gets below there the momentum is dead — that's the market telling you to look for a better set-up. DISCLOSURES: (None) All opinions expressed by the CNBC Pro contributors are solely their opinions and do not reflect the opinions of CNBC, NBC UNIVERSAL, their parent company or affiliates, and may have been previously disseminated by them on television, radio, internet or another medium. THE ABOVE CONTENT IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY . THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT CONSITUTE FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, TAX OR LEGAL ADVICE OR A RECOMMENDATION TO BUY ANY SECURITY OR OTHER FINANCIAL ASSET. THE CONTENT IS GENERAL IN NATURE AND DOES NOT REFLECT ANY INDIVIDUAL'S UNIQUE PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES. THE ABOVE CONTENT MIGHT NOT BE SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES. BEFORE MAKING ANY FINANCIAL DECISIONS, YOU SHOULD STRONGLY CONSIDER SEEKING ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN FINANCIAL OR INVESTMENT ADVISOR. INVESTING INVOLVES RISK. EXAMPLES OF ANALYSIS CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE ONLY EXAMPLES. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE THOSE OF THE CONTRIBUTORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC. JOSH BROWN IS THE CEO OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT AND MAY MAINTAIN A SECURITY POSITION IN THE SECURITIES DISCUSSED. ASSUMPTIONS MADE WITHIN THE ANALYSIS ARE NOT REFLECTIVE OF THE POSITION OF RITHOLTZ WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC" TO THE END OF OR OUR DISCLOSURE. Click here for the full disclaimer.
