The stock market ended the trading week on a strong note, with all major indices clocking in strong gains, as investors cheered better-than-expected non-farm payrolls last month while digesting more corporate earnings results.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the rally among all major indices, finishing up by 1.51 percent. The S&P 500 clocked in a 1.47-percent gain, while the Dow Jones grew by 1.39 percent.
Ten companies also mimicked the broader market optimism following impressive earnings performance and an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year. In this article, we have identified the 10 top performers on Friday and detailed the reasons behind their gains.
To come up with the list, we considered only the stocks with a $2-billion market capitalization and $5-million trading volume.
Stock market data shows an upward trajectory. Photo by Burak The Weekender on Pexels
10. Hims & Hers Health Inc. (NYSE:HIMS)
Telehealth company Hims & Hers rallied by another 13.03 percent on Friday to close at $40.87 apiece as investors gobbled up shares ahead of the release of its earnings performance while digesting its recently clinched partnership with Novo Nordisk to market the latter’s blockbuster weight loss treatment, Wegovy.
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) will announce its earnings results after the market closes on Monday, May 5, 2025, where investors will be closely watching out for its updated outlook guidance for the rest of the year.
In recent news, Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) clinched a long-term deal with Novo Nordisk to jointly market the latter’s blockbuster weight loss drug, Wegovy.
With the partnership, the company said that Americans can now access NovoCare Pharmacy directly through its platform, with a bundled offering of all dose strengths of Wegovy and a Hims & Hers membership, including access to 24/7 care, ongoing clinical support, and nutrition guidance, among others.
It can be learned that HIMS used to make a compounded knock-off version of the treatment that helped propel its sales over the past few years. It was later discontinued after the Food and Drug Administration announced that Novo Nordisk had already produced a sufficient supply of the treatment.
9. Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART)
Maplebear Inc., operator of Instacart, grew its share prices by 13.62 percent on Friday to finish at $45.22 apiece as investors cheered the company’s strong order volume in the first quarter of the year and its leaning into artificial intelligence to bolster operations.
In its earnings release, Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART), said that orders in the first quarter of the year increased by 14 percent to $83.2 million from $72.8 million in the same period last year, reflecting continued consumer confidence amid a generally uncertain market environment.
The huge order volume helped propel the company’s revenues by 9.4 percent to $897 million from $820 million year-on-year, but failed to push its net income during the period, having ended 18.5 percent lower at $106 million versus the $130 million registered in the same period last year.
Looking ahead, Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) said that its customers will see an AI-driven Instacart, having incorporated the technology into its operations.
“Smart Shop, our new AI-powered personalization foundation, is another step in this direction. By combining proprietary shopping data, advanced machine learning, and LLM reasoning, we’re making shopping faster, easier, and more personal than ever,” it said.
8. D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS)
D-Wave Quantum saw its stock prices jump by 13.32 percent on Friday to close at $7.91 each as investors gobbled up shares ahead of its earnings performance on Thursday, May 8, 2025, while placing bets in line with the overall market optimism.
Friday’s rally suggested that investors shunned recent reports that the company was being targeted by a short seller, which criticized its core technology, quantum annealing, as already at the “commercial dead end” that has already been abandoned by the rest of the industry.
According to the short seller, Kerrisdale, the company’s strategy, which emphasizes hybrid solvers for optimization problems, was misleading, saying that it was obscuring the actual mix of classical and quantum computing in its offerings to customers while charging a significant premium for the quantum branding.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE:QBTS) has yet to respond to the allegations.
7. AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS)
AST SpaceMobile Inc. jumped by 14.77 percent on Friday to finish at $26.42 each as investors repositioned portfolios ahead of the results of its earnings performance in the first three months of the year.
According to the company, it will release the results of its earnings performance after market close on May 12, 2025, where investors will be looking out for its updated outlook and more partnership cues.
Just recently, AST SpaceMobile, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) clinched a new deal with the US National Science Foundation (NSF), its major facilities, and the broader US astronomy, to closely collaborate on mitigating any potential impact on ground-based astronomical facilities.
The agreement includes adopting measures recommended by the International Astronomical Union’s Dark and Quiet Skies initiative, including reducing satellite brightness and providing accurate, real-time satellite positioning data to observatories.
6. DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM)
Dexcom Inc. surged by 16.17 percent on Friday to end at $81.62 apiece after reporting an impressive 12.49 percent revenue growth in the first quarter of the year and maintaining outlook guidance for the rest of 2025.
In a statement, DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM) said that revenues improved to $1.036 billion in the past three months from the $921 million registered in the same period last year.
Net income, however, declined by 28 percent to $105.4 million from $146.4 million in the same comparable period.
“As we progress through 2025, we will advance our product portfolio with the launch of our Dexcom G7 15-Day system and continue to advocate for expanded global access to our glucose biosensors,” said DexCom, Inc. (NASDAQ:DXCM) CEO Kevin Sayer.
Looking ahead, the company expects full-year revenues to increase by 14 percent to $4.6 billion, and adjusted EBITDA margin to expand by 30 percent year-on-year.
5. Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI)
Rigetti Computing saw its share prices soar by 16.30 percent on Friday, a third straight day, to close at $10.63 apiece, as investors gobbled up stocks ahead of the release of its earnings results on Monday, May 12, 2025.
In the earnings call, investors will be closely watching out for the company’s business expansion updates, having recently secured a $35-million investment and $100-million partnership with Quanta for the development of quantum computers.
According to the two firms, they would jointly invest $100 million over the next five years for the development of quantum computers.
In other news, Rigetti Computing, Inc. (NASDAQ:RGTI) was selected as one of the participants in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking Initiative (QBI), whose primary goal is to determine if any approach to quantum computing can achieve utility-scale operation by 2033.
According to RGTI, it will advance to Stage A, a 6-month performance period focused on its utility-scale quantum computer concept worth up to $1 million upon completion of program milestones.
4. CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV)
CoreWeave rallied for a second day on Friday, jumping 16.36 percent to end at $51.57 apiece, as investors continued to gobble up shares following its largest revenue-generating client’s announcement that it would raise its spending plans.
Earlier this week, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), reported better-than-expected cloud sales and reiterated spending plans, sparking investor hopes that any increase could impact its contracts with CoreWeave, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRWV).
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is CoreWeave, Inc.’s (NASDAQ:CRWV) largest revenue-generating client, which, last year, accounted for 62 percent of its total revenues.
Additionally, CRWV’s other client, Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META), also raised its 2025 capital spending forecast to between $64 billion and $72 billion.
3. Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL)
Webull Corporation snapped a 12-day losing streak on Friday, jumping 17.87 percent to end at $15.96 each, as investors resorted to bargain-hunting amid its cheap valuation while digesting news of its expanded advisory services through the launch of the BlackRock model portfolio.
“This new offering delivers enhanced investment options, giving US-based investors access to professionally managed, diversified portfolios tailored to a broad range of financial goals and risk profiles through Webull Advisors,” the company said.
Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL) debuted on the Nasdaq on April 11 following a merger with SK Growth Opportunities, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). On its second day as a publicly listed firm, the company soared by as much as 375 percent to $62.90 apiece.
Webull Corporation (NASDAQ:BULL), a financial services company, competes with Robinhood Markets Inc., Charles Schwab Corp., and E-Trade.
2. Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR)
Aurora Innovation surged by 18.31 percent on Friday to end at $8.14 apiece as investors cheered its successful launch of driverless trucks in Texas and plans to expand the project into more cities.
According to the company, it began regular driverless customer deliveries between Dallas and Houston this week which completed more than 1,200 miles without a driver.
The milestone makes Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) the first company to operate a commercial self-driving service with heavy-duty trucks on public roads.
“Riding in the back seat for our inaugural trip was an honor of a lifetime – the Aurora Driver performed perfectly and it’s a moment I’ll never forget,” said Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) CEO Chris Urmson.
“Our commitment to building a transformative technology, earning trust, and assembling a strong ecosystem of customers and partners has made this pivotal milestone possible,” he added.
The company also plans to expand its driverless service to El Paso, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizon,a by the end of the year.
1. Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY)
Pony AI snapped a three-day losing streak on Friday, surging 21.50 percent to close at $10.40 apiece as investors continued to load up on shares in the company ahead of the release of its first quarter earnings performance and recent news that it was making a foray into the robotaxi industry.
According to Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY), it is scheduled to release the results of its earnings performance before the market opens on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
Apart from its earnings results and outlook for the year, investors will also be closely watching for more concrete updates about its robotaxi entry.
In recent news, Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) said that it was setting its sights on the robotaxi sector, especially since it is now able to build its autonomous driving system for 70 percent less.
Pony AI Inc. (NASDAQ:PONY) is originally an autonomous driving technology company that only supports carmakers in making vehicles autonomous.
In an interview with CNBC on Friday, PONY CEO James Peng said that the firm is currently in talks with Tencent Cloud to offer robotaxi services on the latter’s WeChat and other applications. He said both parties will benefit from the latter’s huge user base and cloud offerings.
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