Industrial stocks are sensitive to the economic cycle. Many of them have already fallen victim to the downturn and have reversed much of their earlier gains from the past few years. However, 2025 is shaping up to be a breakout year for industrial stocks elsewhere. The industrial sector is very broad, and you’ll always find winners that outpace expectations and draw the attention of investors who once overlooked these workhorse companies.
Manufacturing and industrial firms have doubled down on digital transformation and have poured resources into automation to boost efficiency. This investment is paying off as companies become more agile and better equipped to handle shocks, whether from geopolitical tensions, labor shortages, or shifting customer needs. It’s worth looking into the biggest winners so far this year, as they could continue building on the momentum.
A forklift truck carrying a pallet of material in the warehouse of an industrial machinary manufacturer.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the best-performing industrial stocks year-to-date.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. 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).
15. Waste Connections Inc (NYSE:WCN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 49
Waste Connections Inc (NYSE:WCN) is a leading North American provider of non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services for residential, commercial, and industrial customers.
The stock is up significantly so far in 2025, largely due to the company’s strong 2024 financial results and a bullish outlook for 2025.
In February, Waste Connections reported double-digit growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2024, with a notable 100 basis point EBITDA margin expansion to an industry-leading 32.5%.
This performance was driven by robust core pricing, record levels of private company acquisitions totaling approximately $750 million in annualized revenues, and improved employee retention, which reduced turnover by over 1,000 basis points since 2022.
The company’s guidance for 2025 is optimistic, projecting revenue growth of 6% to 7.6%, underpinned by ongoing acquisition activity, improving commodity-driven revenues, and the anticipated benefits from new extended producer responsibility laws in states like Oregon, which are expected to drive additional revenue for its materials recovery facilities.
The consensus price target of $204.4 implies 3.4% upside.
WCN stock is up 15.53% year-to-date.
14. RELX PLC (NYSE:RELX)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 16
RELX PLC (NYSE:RELX) is a global information and analytics company that serves professional and business customers with decision tools and data-driven solutions across scientific, technical, medical, legal, and risk management markets.
The stock is up significantly so far in 2025 due to its strong 2024 results and continued operational momentum. In February, RELX reported underlying revenue growth of 7% to £9.43 billion and a 10% increase in adjusted operating profit to £3.2 billion.
RELX’s board proposed a 7% increase in the annual dividend and announced a substantial £1.5 billion share buyback program for 2025, following a £1 billion buyback in 2024. This aggressive capital return policy has been a major catalyst for the stock.
RELX stock is up 16.91% year-to-date.
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