In this article, we will take a detailed look at the 10 Stocks Everyone’s Discussing Amid Latest Earnings Season.
Markets are digesting the latest earnings reports to gauge the position of major technology companies and whether they plan to continue to spend a fortune on AI. John Belton of Gabelli Funds said in a recent interview on CNBC that earnings so far back higher expectations, and the consumer seems to be “still healthy.”
“I’d say it’s so far been supportive of higher earnings expectations, which is what’s been driving stocks,” Belton said. ”Over 80% of companies that have reported so far, S&P 500 companies, are beating revenue expectations. So that’s a constructive environment. We had a read last night from Visa which shows spending trends through the first several weeks or first few weeks of October, which looks like the consumer is still healthy, and that bodes well for some of these big tech platforms.”
When asked about high valuations of tech stocks, the analyst said major AI companies like Nvidia are driven by fundamentals and the market will “keep buying” these stocks as long as their fundamentals are strong.
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10. Oklo Inc (NYSE:OKLO)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 36
Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Impactive Capital managing partner, said in a recent program on CNBC that Oklo’s “insane” market cap and stock gains remind her of the dotcom era.
“I look at AI today, right? Oklo Inc (NYSE:OKLO). It is the largest weight in the Russell 2000 Value Index, right? It has no revenues for three years. It started the year at 3 billion. Today it’s 25 billion of market cap with no revenues in the Russell 2000 Small Cap Value Index. That’s insane. So it reminds me a lot of the dot era and what was the right thing to do in the com era. It wasn’t to short the bubble companies, right? It was to look where no one else is looking. Look at the areas where people are ignoring.”
9. Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 40
Stephanie Link, the Chief Investment Strategist, Head of Investment Solutions and Portfolio Manager at Hightower Advisors, recently said she likes auto components maker Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV). Link highlighted that General Motors is a “9% customer” of the company.
Link recommended Aptiv PLC (NYSE:APTV) a few weeks back on CNBC and explained her bull thesis in detail:
“It’s an auto parts company, but it’s spinning out its software business. And we have a catalyst November. They’re having an analyst day, and we’re going to learn more about the information about the spin. You know, I like spins. Spins work. They’re growing mid-single digits and margins are in expansion mode. And then the software piece, the total addressable market is like 90 billion. They’re growing mid-single digits and I think when they get away from the parent, they’ll be able to focus more on growth and see an acceleration in revenue. So it’s a spin story and it’s that’s the catalyst and that’s the reason in addition to maybe auto parts are just kind of lagging and maybe we’re in for a recovery,” the analyst said at the time.
8. Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 42
Jim Lebenthal, Chief Equity Strategist at Cerity Partners, explained in a latest program on CNBC why he’s buying more Cleveland-Cliffs Inc (NYSE:CLF) shares despite recent declines. The stock surged following the steel and mining company’s latest quarterly results, but fell sharply after Wells Fargo downgraded it, calling enthusiasm around rare earths an overreaction. However, Lebenthal said he likes the stock for reasons that are not related to rare earths.
Here’s how Lebenthal defended the stock:
“The story is changing. Leave rare earths aside, okay? That is not what excites me. But the narrative is changing here. Auto demand is picking up. They’ve just signed contracts with all the major OEMs at favorable prices for the next two to three years. And we see what’s going on with GM today. I don’t know if we’ll get to that, but we see what’s going on. Auto production is going to pick up. And that’s one-third of their business. Probably more important than that is they’ve signed a memorandum of understanding with an international steel company that wants to leverage idle assets, idle plants at Cleveland-Cliffs. The story has changed.”
7. American Express Co (NYSE:AXP)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 70
Josh Brown, CEO of Ritholtz Wealth Management, explained in a recent program on CNBC why he likes American Express. He believes AXP’s wealthy client base is one of the top catalysts for the company’s growth.
“American Express Co (NYSE:AXP) is, in addition to being the primary financial to capitalize on the fact that 50% of the spending in this economy in the United States is coming from the top 10% of households, every one of them has an AMEX Platinum card in their wallet. It’s also a bigger story about capital return and I’m going to get to that in one second. I would just point out it’s tough to buy stocks at all-time highs. Nobody wants to do that and I don’t aim to do that specifically, but this is a fresh breakout to new highs. There are now no natural sellers left here. I think it could march up to 400 over time. And the reason I don’t personally own it is because I’m already very exposed. American Express is the second largest holding at Berkshire Hathaway. It makes up 16% of Berkshire’s portfolio. They have 152 million shares. So they have 50 billion worth of AMEX on their books and I am a long-term Berkshire Hathaway shareholder. So I don’t need to double own AMEX. That’s why I’m not personally in this.”
GreensKeeper Asset Management stated the following regarding American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“The top contributor to the portfolio in the second quarter was American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) +18.6%. AXP’s affluent customer base continued to spend in Q1, with revenues up 8% at constant currency, causing the stock to end the quarter just shy of its all-time high. During Q2, AXP announced upgrades to its US Consumer and Business Platinum cards, which will be released later this year. AXP continues to tailor its products to capture the spending of younger consumers, with Millennials and Gen Z now accounting for 35% of total US consumer spending. We believe these investments will strengthen the company’s network effect and further lock young consumers into AXP’s ecosystem as their incomes and card spending continue to rise. Additionally, AXP is widening its use cases on the commercial side of the business with recent product launches tailored towards working capital and expense management. This should expand the number of transactions that AXP can participate in and increase switching costs with commercial card users.”
6. Apollo Global Management Ord Shs (NYSE:APO)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 86
Joseph Terranova, Senior Managing Director, Virtus Investment Partners, said in a recent program on CNBC that sentiment around financial stocks has deteriorated following recent concerns about debt and credit quality. However, the analyst said major stocks like Apollo Global Management Ord Shs (NYSE:APO) are now “oversold.” The analyst said he has APO in his portfolio.
“I think they’re getting oversold. I think clearly the mood has soured, in particular for the financial sector itself. Keep in mind, in the month of October, while we have the shift towards quality, healthcare is up 5%, financials are down 2%. They’re the worst-performing sector so far month to date. I think the private equity space has been somewhat oversold, and also I think we’ve taken to the extreme the concerns surrounding private credit and specifically applying it to these individual names. We own Apollo Global Management Ord Shs (NYSE:APO). I also like Carlyle. Also, I will share that in the last week, I probably had three meetings about private infrastructure. I don’t know if you’re seeing that—you see more of that world than I do—but it seems as though the new quote-unquote alternative is let’s go to private infrastructure because the government and the municipalities don’t have the money. The private sector does. Let’s make the investment there. Let’s get the retail community in it as well. And BlackRock bought a big global infrastructure a few months ago as well.”
Baron FinTech Fund stated the following regarding Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) in its Q1 2025 investor letter:
“Shares of alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE:APO) detracted in the first quarter, largely stemming from a reversal in sentiment on the economy and capital markets activity. As mentioned above, alternative asset manager stocks performed well last year, especially after the November elections, on expectations of a recovery in capital markets activity fueled by deregulation and economic growth. Those expectations waned in the first quarter due to uncertainty and volatility around the Trump administration’s policy initiatives. As sentiment faded, alternative asset manager stocks gave back their post-election gains. We continue to own the stock due to Apollo’s differentiated focus on credit and strong management team.”
5. AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 89
Jason Snipe, the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Odyssey Capital Advisors, recommended investors to “stay long” AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV) during a recent program on CNBC. ABBV shares are up 25% so far this year.
Carillon Eagle Growth & Income Fund stated the following regarding AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“AbbVie Inc.’s (NYSE:ABBV) shares were a detractor for the portfolio in the second quarter. We attribute the weakness primarily to the underperformance of the broader biopharmaceutical industry, which is under pressure as it navigates policy threats from the Trump administration surrounding both tariffs on the pharmaceutical sector and a proposal to explore most-favored nation prescription drug pricing.”
4. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 115
Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein said in a recent program on CNBC that the market got a “little too carried away” around Tesla’s robo taxis.
“We think the market’s got a little too carried away with enthusiasm for the robo taxi, and we’re skeptical that we’ll see a full launch next year, meaning the robo taxi will be launched without safety drivers in the car and without any parameters or geofencing in the areas where they operate. We think it’s still a few years away because the product’s in early testing, and so yet, we think the market’s pricing in Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) surpassing Waymo and starting to take some of Uber and Lyft’s market share in the ride-hailing market.”
Macquarie Large Cap Growth Fund stated the following regarding Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
“At the stock level, the largest relative detractors were not owning Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and the Fund’s positions in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) and Intuit Inc. The Fund has never held Tesla as it does not meet our quality standards. It frequently emerges as either a top contributor or detractor each quarter, reflecting its volatile nature and the cycle of missed earnings and deferred expectations that has persisted for years. The company tends to miss expectations regularly, yet the market habitually buys shares based on fantastical multiyear aspirations.”
3. Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 133
Rich Greenfield, Lightshed Partners co-founder, commented on the post-earnings stock drop of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) in a recent program on CNBC. The analyst said there is no “collapse here” and there should be no “panic” around Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) as the company is still growing and the stock is an “execution story.” He believes the company’s ads business is still in its early stages, and the company succeeded in getting back to growth with two moves
“They’re still very early in their journey. I mean, it’s growing, it’s doubling, but I mean, these are in the scheme of Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX), Karen, like these are still small numbers. They need to bring on, you know, that they’re still early in in bringing on advertisers, getting more customers or more subscribers, I should say, onto the ad tier. You know, this is a multi-billion dollar business, but you know, when you compare it to the scale of other companies in the ad space, I mean, they’re dwarfed by the Metas and the Google’s, let alone, you know, companies like Disney and and Paramount, even CBS. And so, they’re growing rapidly. You know, the ad tier has certainly I mean, think about what happened. If we just go back in time the reason they launched advertising remember is they missed and revenue growth was sub 10% and they were like how do we start growing again and it was a combination of launching the ad tier and introducing the restrictions on password sharing and those two things have driven the company from high single-digit revenue growth back into the high teens. They’ve succeeded in restoring rapid growth to this company, growing earnings, you know, at 30% plus this year. And so there is really good growth dynamics that’s been restarted, but they are just scratching the surface. Their ad experience is actually relatively unexciting. Ads on Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) look like ads on TV. I think that’s the opportunity to make it a very different experience over the next few years.”
Macquarie Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in its second quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) offers a subscription-based streaming service. We expect the company’s growth momentum will continue while investments in content and licensing grow at a slower rate, allowing for higher margins over the coming two to three years.”
2. Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 156
Katie Stockton, Fairlead Strategies founder and managing partner, commented on Apple’s latest stock outperformance during a program on CNBC. She believes $260 is the “final resistance” level for Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the stock could be expected to stay above this mark for further gains in the future. However, the analyst said she’s “suspicious” about the sustainability of the recent uptrend in Apple shares.
“Well, we don’t know honestly, but when we look from a top-down perspective, it does look a little bit fragile to us, and that’s based in part on market breadth. We’ve seen a real pullback in market breadth. And of course, we have seen a downtick in momentum. A lot of the 20-day moving averages are rolling over, and we were using those as one of our primary risk metrics. We’ve seen a breakout in the VIX as well. So for the S&P 500 below its 50-day moving average, we would expect risk to increase, and that’s really not that far away. So we’re a little sort of suspicious of the sustainability of the uptrend at this stage without a consolidation phase.”
Mar Vista U.S. Quality Strategy stated the following regarding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares rebounded in Q3 2025 as investor concerns over both tariffs and the early adoption of its generative AI product, Apple Intelligence, eased. Attention shifted instead to the favorable resolution of Alphabet’s DOJ trial, seen as a positive for both Apple and Alphabet, and to healthy initial demand for the fall launch of the iPhone 17.
We continue to view Apple as a competitively advantaged business, anchored by the strength of its ecosystem. With over 2 billion active devices and more than 1 billion paying subscribers, Apple benefits from a loyal customer base and a growing stream of high-margin, recurring services revenue. This stable cash flow enables continued investment in innovation, even during periods of cyclical softness. We believe Apple remains well positioned to lead in the emerging category of AI-enabled edge devices.”
1. Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Funds Investors: 219
Steve Weiss, founder and managing partner at Short Hills Capital Partners, said in a recent program on CNBC that he’s trimming his stake in Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and may sell it completely amid AI-related threats to the company’s search business. Weiss, citing his sources, said that he’s “hearing” that search could be down up to 25% this year.
“I may be on my way out completely. And I am concerned about search. What I’m hearing is search could be down this year over about 20–25%. That’s meaningful. That’s what you’re hearing. Yep, that’s what I’m hearing from sources. Nobody knows, but that’s the direction. I’d say my sources are pretty informed. You can make light of them. But they’re very informed sources.”
Weiss said his “sources” are strong, but Alphabet’s latest results show a different picture. Alphabet’s all-important Google Search & Other segment revenue rose about 15% year over year, while Gemini reached 650 million monthly active users.
Bristlemoon Global Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its third quarter 2025 investor letter:
“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is another stock that we felt had been undeservedly beaten down by a bearish narrative that largely ignored the fundamentals of the business. We began accumulating GOOGL in June and continued adding to our position in Q3 as we waited for the market narrative to flip on its head. Alphabet needs no introduction, so we will jump straight into why we thought the AI disruption and terminal value fears were overblown.
Google failing to innovate? The notion that Google has lost the ability to innovate is a common refrain that we have heard over the past several years – essentially since the November 2022 ChatGPT moment – and one that we subscribed to ourselves at one stage. The genesis of this complaint is easy to understand: • Despite (or perhaps because of) being a tremendous monetary success, the Google Search experience has been degrading for years as sponsored links, shopping ads, algorithm changes and rampant SEO abuse made it increasingly tedious for users to find answers to their queries. • Google has nine services with over 1 billion users each, yet these are all over one or two decades old, and the company has failed to launch a new service or product with massive adoption in recent years despite its distribution advantages. At least Mark Zuckerberg has the distinction of copying well…” (Click here to read the full text)
While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and have limited downside risk. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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