Ten stocks kicked off the first trading day of the year soaring by double digits, tracking the rally in AI stocks and beneficiary industries, namely energy and high-performance computing, among others.
In contrast, Wall Street’s three major indices finished mixed, with the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 the only gainers, up 0.66 percent and 0.19 percent, respectively. The Nasdaq dipped by 0.03 percent.
Indices aside, we spotlight the names of the 10 top-performing stocks on Friday and detail the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we focused exclusively on stocks with a market capitalization of at least $2 billion.
The New York Stock Exchange building. Photo by Дмитрий Трепольский on Pexels
10. CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK)
CleanSpark snapped a six-day losing streak on Friday, jumping 14.13 percent to close at $11.55 apiece as investors took heart from higher Bitcoin prices while repositioning portfolios ahead of its mining report for the December and full-year 2025 periods.
After the US markets officially closed the trading week, investor funds shifted to Bitcoin, supporting the latter’s return to the $90,000 level before trimming gains to trade back to the $89,000 as of writing (5 PM EST).
The rally spilled over to Bitcoin mining firms such as CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK), MARA Holdings Inc., Hut 8 Corp., American Bitcoin Corp., Bitdeer Technologies, and Bitfarms, among others.
Based on its historical reporting dates, CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) is set to announce the results of its December and full-year Bitcoin mining update on Monday, January 5.
In November alone, CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) said that it was able to mine 587 Bitcoins, bringing its total ownership to 13,054 units as of the said period.
It also sold 565.41 units at an average price of $91,979 for a total earnings of $52 million.
CleanSpark Inc. (NASDAQ:CLSK) is originally a Bitcoin mining firm that is slowly transitioning to AI servicing through high-performance computing (HPC).
9. Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD)
Applied Digital rallied for a second day on Friday, surging 14.64 percent to close at $28.11 apiece as investors poured funds back into artificial intelligence players and industries riding the wave, despite the lack of fresh catalysts.
In recent news, Applied Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:APLD) successfully spun off its cloud computing and data center businesses as part of its efforts to create separate platforms that would focus on its core strengths.
The initiative was implemented through a merger with EKSO Bionics Holdings Inc., an exoskeleton technology firm for medical and industrial uses, which will eventually be renamed ChronoScale and focus solely on an accelerated compute platform for AI workloads.
Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) would own 97 percent of the combined firm, while EKSO Bionics would explore potential buyers for the sale of all or a substantial chunk of its business and assets.
“As enterprise and AI-native demand for GPU-accelerated cloud infrastructure continues to grow rapidly, the proposed transaction is intended to create a focused platform designed to deliver high-performance compute at scale in a capacity-constrained market,” Applied Digital Corp. (NASDAQ:APLD) said.
8. Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSEAmerican:UUUU)
Energy Fuels jumped by 14.72 percent on Friday to finish at $16.68 apiece, as investors loaded positions in uranium stocks, placing bets on their seasonal strength during the winter season.
Typically, energy firms experience a strong seasonal demand for their products and services during the colder months, in line with households and businesses’ increasing power consumption to power their heating appliances.
Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSEAmerican:UUUU) rallied alongside its counterparts, namely Cameco Corp., Uranium Energy Corp., and NexGen Energy, among others, on expectations that the strong power demand would spill over to their businesses.
In other news, Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSEAmerican:UUUU) announced last week that it has exceeded its previous guidance for uranium production and sales in full-year 2025.
According to the company, its Pinyon Plain Mine in Arizona and La Sal Complex in Utah produced a combined 1.6 million pounds of uranium in 2025, exceeding the higher range of its target.
Additionally, it plans to complete drilling in the Juniper Zone at the Pinyon Plain in 2026 to further delineate the ore body and potentially expand the mineable resource at the mine.
Further development work continues at its fully permitted and substantially developed Whirlwind, Energy Queen, and Nichols Ranch Mines for future mining.
Lastly, Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSEAmerican:UUUU) said that it has completed two new long-term uranium sales contracts with US nuclear power generating companies, adding to its triuranium octoxide between 2027 and 2032.
7. Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSEAmerican:BMNR)
Bitmine Immersion snapped two days of losses on Friday, surging 14.88 percent to finish at $31.19 apiece as investors took heart from higher Ethereum prices during the session, while digesting calls to approve a plan to raise its authorized capital stock to 50 billion.
As of writing, prices of Ethereum were up by 4.09 percent at $3,123.16 apiece, tracking the rally on Bitcoin prices.
In other news, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSEAmerican:BMNR) sought the approval of its shareholders for its planned authorized capital stock hike to 50 billion from 500 million at present.
In a video message, Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSEAmerican:BMNR) Chairman Thomas Lee said that the capital stock hike would allow the company to conduct more capital market activities, provide flexibility to pursue opportunistic deals, and enable the implementation of future stock splits. Shareholders have until January 14 to vote, prior to the annual stockholders’ meeting on January 15.
“The company believes Ethereum represents the future of finance, a supercycle driven by Wall Street reengineering on the blockchain. Major industry leaders agree, including Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, who said that tokenization is the next evolution of global markets. And the vast majority of tokenization is happening on Ethereum,” Bitmine Immersion Technologies, Inc. (NYSEAmerican:BMNR) said.
6. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)
AST SpaceMobile bounced back by 14.92 percent on Friday to finish at $83.47 apiece as investors took heart from news that its next-generation BlueBird satellite has finally arrived in Florida.
“BlueBird 7 has arrived in Florida! Next step is to start integrating with the launch vehicle,” AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) said in a social media post last week.
“Following the successful launch of BlueBird 6, BlueBird 7’s arrival keeps us on track as we scale production and launch operations—bringing us closer to delivering full broadband connectivity directly to everyday smartphones, from space,” it added. The company did not divulge further details about its target launch schedule for the satellite.
On December 23 (EST), AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) successfully launched its BlueBird 6 satellite, marking the first of its planned takeoffs between December and March 2026.
As compared with the BlueBirds 1 to 5, the 6th generation features the largest commercial phased array in low Earth orbit at nearly 2,400 square feet. It is also nearly four times bigger than the previous generations and supports 10 times the data capacity.
The recent launch was aimed at enabling ubiquitous cellular broadband coverage from space directly to mobile phones.
According to AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS), it would ramp up the production of its BlueBird 6 satellites, with planned manufacturing expansion in its Florida and Texas facilities.
5. NuScale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR)
NuScale Power snapped a four-day losing streak on Friday, jumping 15.10 percent to close at $16.31 apiece as investors loaded portfolios in nuclear stocks, taking path from the Trump administration’s promise of “nuclear renaissance” in 2026.
NuScale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR) rallied alongside the overall industry after the US government promised a major policy push to revive and expand nuclear energy in the US this year.
It can be recalled that President Donald Trump, in May 2025, signed a new executive order for the deployment of advanced nuclear reactor technologies to support national security. This includes the deployment and use of reactor technologies at military installations, no later than September 30, 2028, as well as in facilities owned by the Department of Energy.
While it has yet to commercially operate, optimism already spilled over to small modular reactor companies such as NuScale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR).
In recent news, NuScale Power Corp. (NYSE:SMR) sought the approval of the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware for its plan to raise its authorized capital stock to 662 million shares with a par value of $0.0001 apiece, from 332 million at present. The plan has already been approved by the Board of Directors during a special meeting on December 16.
4. Sandisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK)
Sandisk snapped a four-day losing streak on Friday, soaring 15.95 percent to close at $275.24 as investors took heart from the addition of a solar firm executive to its board of directors.
Effective last Tuesday, December 30, First Solar Chief Finance Officer Alexander Bradley officially joined Sandisk Corporation’s (NASDAQ:SNDK) board of directors and audit committee.
Bradley has served as Sandisk Corporation’s (NASDAQ:SNDK) CFO since 2016. Prior to the said position, he served as vice president for both treasury and project finance, where he structured and financed major solar projects worldwide.
He also worked in investment banking and leveraged finance at HSBC in London and New York, focusing on the energy and utilities sector. He also served as an officer and board member of the general partner of 8point3 Energy Partners.
“Alex brings exceptional operational finance expertise and strategic insights to Sandisk’s board,” said David Goeckeler, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Sandisk. “His unique understanding of how to successfully navigate the demands of a capital-intensive industry will strengthen our ability to deliver sustainable, long-term returns for our shareholders.”
3. Fluence Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNC)
Fluence Energy snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday, soaring 16.33 percent to close at $23.01 apiece as investors took heart from a broader market optimism, supported by analysts’ upbeat outlook for the solar and energy storage industry.
Despite the early expiration of tax credits, investment firm Goldman Sachs late last month gave a buy recommendation on Fluence Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNC), as well as First Solar, Nextracker, and Array Technologies, on optimism that they would benefit from the strong demand for power from the artificial intelligence sector.
Goldman Sachs said it continues to favor utility-scale solar companies, especially in the US, amid the growing demand for energy from data centers which are likely to support project pipelines and earnings this year.
For 2026 alone, the investment firm said it expects utility-scale solar deployments to jump by 3 percent year-on-year, while revenue growth for companies could average 15 percent year-on-year.
Apart from Goldman Sachs, Fluence Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:FLNC) also earned bullish ratings recently from UBS, Citigroup, Jefferies, Susquehanna, Morgan Stanley, and Canaccord.
2. Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:NVTS)
Navitas Semiconductor soared by 17.37 percent on Friday to close at $8.38 apiece as investors resorted to bargain-hunting after falling to a one-month low in the previous trading day.
The rally was supported by an overall optimism for the artificial intelligence industry, despite the lack of fresh developments to spark buying appetite.
Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:NVTS) develops ultra-efficient gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductors for electric vehicles, data centers, consumer electronics, and renewable energy, among others.
In the recently concluded quarter, the company targeted to rake in revenues of $7 million at the midpoint, significantly lower than the $18 million in the same period last year.
The outlook reflects its strategic decision to deprioritize low power and pivot to higher power revenue and customers, streamline its distribution network, and reduce channel inventory, as well as lower profit expectations from China Mobile and the consumer business.
In the third quarter of the year, Navitas Semiconductor Corp. (NASDAQ:NVTS) widened its net loss by 2.5 percent to $19.2 million from $18.7 million in the same period last year.
Net revenues fell by 53 percent to $10 million from $21.68 million year-on-year.
1. T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE:TE)
T1 Energy kicked off the first trading day of the year rallying to a new record high, as investors took heart from its compliance efforts to continue receiving clean energy tax credits from the government.
At intra-day trading, T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE:TE) soared to its highest price of $8.12—an over two-year high—before trimming gains to finish the session just up by 17.37 percent at $7.84 apiece.
This followed announcements last week that it repaid some of its existing debt to Trina Solar, a Chinese firm, which lowered the latter’s foreign ownership in T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE:TE) or below the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s (OBBBA) set threshold. The two firms also entered into an agreement that removed Trina Solar’s previous right to appoint a covered officer.
Signed into law last July, the OBBBA restricts companies with excessive foreign ownership from receiving 45X tax credits, particularly those tied to what the US identified as “prohibited foreign entities” such as those from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.
Additionally, tax credits received by the eligible companies are not allowed to be sold or transferred to PFEs.
T1 Energy Inc. (NYSE:TE) said that it also amended its certificate of incorporation to impose limits on its foreign ownership as part of its compliance efforts.
While we acknowledge the potential of TE 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 TE and that has 100x upside potential, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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