Emily Rowland, co-chief investment strategist at John Hancock Investment Management, joined a discussion on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ on February 13 to share her insights on the markets and the upcoming PPI (Producer Price Index) report. She thinks that the S&P earnings are highly underappreciated right now. She noted that the market’s reaction to inflation data has been asymmetric. While higher inflation numbers are often shrugged off, any relief from softer inflation prints tends to cause bigger moves in the markets. This was evident in the response to the CPI (Consumer Price Index) report. Regarding market performance, Rowland highlighted that the S&P 500 earnings were coming in with strong growth (16% year-over-year for the fourth quarter) and this growth is broad-based across sectors like healthcare and utilities. Financials also showed significant gains with a 50% increase.
On discussing President Trump’s announcement of retaliatory tariffs via Truth Social, Rowland said that her team avoids making tactical investment decisions based on political outcomes due to their unpredictability and rapid changes. In terms of attractive sectors for investment within US markets, she highlighted healthcare and industrial companies as promising areas due to their strong fundamentals and potential benefits from ongoing supply chain reshoring activities within the US. While acknowledging political factors can influence sector performance, her strategy focuses on longer-term economic trends rather than short-term political developments when considering investments in key indices like those represented by major US equities such as those found in the S&P 500 index.
With that being said, we’re here with a list of the 10 best-performing S&P 500 stocks so far in 2o25.
A close-up of a portfolio of stocks, emphasizing the broad equity portfolio of the company.
Methodology
We first sifted through the Finviz stock screener to compile a list of the best-performing S&P 500 stocks. We then picked the top 10 stocks with the highest year-to-date performance, as of February 17. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their year-to-date performance. We’ve also added the hedge fund sentiment for each stock which was sourced from Insider Monkey’s database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best Performing S&P 500 Stocks So Far in 2025
10. Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 75
Year-to-Date Performance as of February 17: 25.02%
Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) is a tobacco company that offers cigarettes and smoke-free products, which include heat-not-burn (IQOS), vapor, and oral nicotine (ZYN) products, as well as other consumer accessories. It also offers wellness and healthcare products.
Its transformation into a smoke-free company is fueling its stock surge, with shares up around 60% over the past year. This is driven by the performance of its smoke-free products, particularly ZYN nicotine pouches and IQOS heated tobacco units. Q4 2024 saw ZYN volume surge 46.2% to 183.8 million cans, and the company forecasts continued momentum with 2025 volumes projected to reach 780 to 820 million cans. This represents 34% to 41% growth. IQOS contributed with Q4 heated-tobacco-units volume up 5.1% due to the demand in Japan and Europe. The VEEV vaping business is also performing well in Europe.
Smoke-free products like ZYN and IQOS have higher gross margins than traditional cigarettes. In Q4 2024, revenue increased 7.2% year-over-year to $9.7 billion. Looking ahead, Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) anticipates 6% to 8% revenue growth in 2025. Smoke-free volumes are expected to increase by 12% to 14%. The company plans to invest $1.5 billion in capital expenditures to expand ZYN production capacity.
Broyhill Asset Management highlighted the company’s 21% Q3 gain. The firm attributed it to the shift towards reduced-risk products, the Swedish Match acquisition (including the popular Zyn), and low youth usage despite overall popularity. It stated the following in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM) gained 21% in Q3. Philip Morris was by far the largest contributor for the quarter. Our core thesis focuses on the shift in business mix from combustible cigarettes towards reduced risk products as well as the company’s re-entry to the US market with its acquisition of Swedish Match. This year, Zyn has become wildly popular. So much so that the company can barely keep it in stock, even as it expands production. We recently discussed how youth usage of these products, a common critique of the company, remains under 2%, even as its overall popularity drives higher volume.”
9. Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63
Year-to-Date Performance as of February 17: 25.04%
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) is a gold producer and explorer, that also explores copper, silver, zinc, and lead. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and has operations and assets across numerous countries in the Americas, Australia, and Africa.
Its stock price surge is driven by rising gold prices and the company’s strategic shift towards higher-quality assets. Its gold production, which totaled 2.1 million gold equivalent ounces in Q3 2024, is the core of its business and a key factor in its stock performance. Its focus on Tier 1 operations, which are large, long-life, and cost-efficient, is paying off. By divesting non-core assets, such as the recent sales of Porcupine, Musselwhite, and Éléonore, the company is streamlining its portfolio and concentrating on its most profitable mines. These divestitures have contributed to a $1.4 billion debt reduction effort.
Newmont Corporation (NYSE:NEM) benefits from the favorable environment of rising gold prices. This tailwind amplifies its profitability and reinforces investor confidence. The combination of strong gold production, a focus on high-quality assets, debt reduction, and a supportive gold price environment positions the company for success. Hence, its consensus price target of $53.44 implies a 23.98% upside.