We recently published a list of 11 Best Performing Large Cap Stocks So Far in 2025. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) stands against other best performing large cap stocks so far in 2025.
The stock market had a chaotic start to the first quarter of 2025. The uncertain tariff policy, growing fears of a recession, and inflation sent the stock market to the worst quarterly performance since the 2022 bear market. On March 31, ClearBridge Investment released its commentary on the market performance. Portfolio Managers Erica Furfaro and Margaret Vitrano highlighted that the S&P 500 index declined 4.27%, whereas the growth-heavy NASDAQ and Russell 1000 Growth Index fell 10.42% and 9.97%, respectively.
Elaborating more on the quarterly market performance, the portfolio managers noted that the Russell Growth Index underperformed the Russell Value Index by more than 1,200 basis points indicating that while large-cap stocks were impacted, the growth sector took the major hit. Tariffs were only one of the headwinds affecting the performance and the overall backdrop also includes the launch of Chinese LLM DeepSeek which questioned the AI capital expenditure of various large and mega-cap stocks. This capital expenditure bubble infected the performance of other “Magnificent Seven” to an extent that only one of the “Mag Seven” companies could outperform the Russell 1000 Index.
Erica Furfaro and Margaret Vitrano noted that their Large Cap Growth ESG strategy performed better than the benchmark amidst all the uncertainty. Their strategy takes the Russell Growth Index as a benchmark. The managers noted that the strategy revolved around being underweight for the Mag Seven and the IT sector. They also highlighted that balancing the portfolio with strong stocks across IT, communication, and financial services also played a pivotal role in generating more relative returns.
The investment fund also noted moving towards a “moving to the middle” approach, which refers to adjusting their portfolio to be less concentrated in any single sector and more balanced across different types of growth companies. Clearbridge has reduced its overweight position in healthcare and increased exposure to the IT sector, which was previously underweight. The fund believes this recalibration positions the portfolio for an economic slowdown. Lastly, Erica Furfaro and Margaret Vitrano noted that the first quarter witnessed the earnings growth broaden away from the Mag Seven and other large-cap stocks outside the big tech names delivered better earnings. They anticipate that, unless there is a recession, earnings growth from industrial and healthcare companies will begin to catch up with the technology sector in 2025.
Our Methodology
To curate the list of 11 best-performing large-cap stocks so far in 2025, we used the Finviz stock screener and Yahoo Finance. Using the screener we aggregate a list of large-cap stocks that have performed well on a year-to-date. Next, we cross-checked the performance from Yahoo Finance and ranked the stocks in ascending order of their year-to-date performance. We have also added the market capitalization of each stock and the hedge fund sentiment as well, as of Q4 2024. Please note that the data was recorded on May 2, 2025.
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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Engineers examining stress tests of an aircraft engine, working to make sure its ready for flight.
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM)
Market Capitalization: $61.709B
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 58
Year-To-Date Performance: 37.76%
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) is a leading aerospace and defense company. It specializes in manufacturing complex components for aircraft, heavy vehicles, and industrial systems. The company operates through several business segments including Engine Products, Fastening Systems, Engineered Structures, and Forged Wheels.
On May 2, Truist raised the firm’s price target on the stock to $161 from $136 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. The firm noted that the company exceeded earnings expectations in Q1, driven by its execution, revenue mix, and pricing. Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) reported a record revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, reflecting a 6% increase year-over-year. Management noted that the growth was driven by the commercial aerospace and defense segment.
Analysts have noted that the aerospace and defense segment is one of the safest segments considering the current uncertainty. The segment is benefitting from the geo-political tensions around the globe. Management of Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) has raised its full-year revenue and EBITDA guidance and now expects revenue to be at least $7.88 billion for the full year. It is one of the best-performing large-cap stocks so far in 2025.
Delaware Ivy Core Equity Fund stated the following regarding Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Howmet Aerospace Inc. (NYSE:HWM) – Though recovery in large airplane manufacturing is uneven due to supply constraints (affecting both Boeing and Airbus), this manufacturer of airframe and jet-engine components was a prime beneficiary of higher production rates across the industry in addition to higher content per engine. Second-quarter earnings surprised materially to the upside.”
Overall, HWM ranks 7th on our list of best performing large cap stocks so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of HWM to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than HWM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.