Portfolios by year2025

The 20 best stocks of 2025 according to reliable analysts

3 JPI methods (Light / Fair / Risk +) · selected early January 2025, held 12 months · real return · S&P 500 · Updated 2026-07-08
In short — in early 2025, the 3 JPI methods (based on the most reliable analysts, ≥2 who beat their sector) would each have selected 20 S&P 500 stocks, held 12 months. Real results: 🟢 Light +41% · 🎯 Fair +41% · ⚡ Risk+ +53% — vs +16% for the S&P 500. Best selection (Fair): WDC (Western Digital) at +282%.

These stocks were not cherry-picked in hindsight: they are the ones the method would have selected using only info known by end of 2024 (price targets from reliable analysts in the prior ~90 days), then held unchanged for 12 months. A true point-in-time record.

🟢 JPI Light +41% · vs S&P 500 +16% · +24.9 pts

#Stock12-month return
1WDC Western Digital+282%
2MU Micron Technology+239%
3APP AppLovin+108%
4GOOGL Alphabet Inc. (Class A)+65%
5FSLR First Solar+48%
6TTWO Take-Two Interactive+39%
7NVDA Nvidia+39%
8CRWD CrowdStrike+37%
9UBER Uber+36%
10URI United Rentals+15%
11LYV Live Nation Entertainment+10%
12AAPL Apple Inc.+9%
13PANW Palo Alto Networks+1%
14FTV Fortive-2%
15DDOG Datadog-5%
16NWSA News Corp (Class A)-5%
17COIN Coinbase-9%
18CMCSA Comcast-20%
19BLDR Builders FirstSource-28%
20PYPL PayPal-32%

🎯 JPI Fair +41% · vs S&P 500 +16% · +24.9 pts

#Stock12-month return
1WDC Western Digital+282%
2NEM Newmont+168%
3AMD Advanced Micro Devices+77%
4ALB Albemarle Corporation+64%
5MPWR Monolithic Power Systems+53%
6FSLR First Solar+48%
7HAS Hasbro+47%
8CRWD CrowdStrike+37%
9UBER Uber+36%
10ETR Entergy+22%
11BIIB Biogen+15%
12FAST Fastenal+12%
13MCHP Microchip Technology+11%
14REGN Regeneron Pharmaceuticals+8%
15FDX FedEx+3%
16PANW Palo Alto Networks+1%
17SLB Schlumberger+0%
18FTV Fortive-2%
19BLDR Builders FirstSource-28%
20MRNA Moderna-29%

⚡ JPI Risk + +53% · vs S&P 500 +16% · +36.9 pts

#Stock12-month return
1WDC Western Digital+282%
2MU Micron Technology+239%
3NEM Newmont+168%
4AMD Advanced Micro Devices+77%
5CVS CVS Health+77%
6FSLR First Solar+48%
7HAS Hasbro+47%
8CRWD CrowdStrike+37%
9UBER Uber+36%
10APTV Aptiv+26%
11ETR Entergy+22%
12BIIB Biogen+15%
13DVN Devon Energy+12%
14FAST Fastenal+12%
15REGN Regeneron Pharmaceuticals+8%
16PHM PulteGroup+8%
17PANW Palo Alto Networks+1%
18SLB Schlumberger+0%
19CMCSA Comcast-20%
20MRNA Moderna-29%

What if you'd kept following the method in 2026?

In short — not every year is positive: this is not a miracle method. 2025 shows it — the JPI Fair method returned +41%, better than the S&P 500 (+16%). But the method replays every year: in 2026, the 20 newly recommended stocks returned +17%. Outcome if you kept going (accept 2025, then buy the 2026 picks): +65% over 2 years — vs +26% for the S&P 500.
YearJPI FairS&P 500
2025+41%+16%
2026+17%+9%
2-year cumulative (if you kept going)+65%+26%

💡 The takeaway — you have to accept the average or down years and stay in the method (sell, rebuy the newly recommended names). Whoever panics after a bad year misses the rebound. Discipline > emotion.

💡 Read it honestly: one good year proves nothing — the method also has down years (2018, 2022). The real judge is the 11-year backtest. Price returns, excluding dividends and fees. Not a buy recommendation.

📊 See the full 11-year backtest → 🎯 Stocks to buy today →

📅← 2024 · All years · 2026 →

FAQ

What were the best stocks to buy in 2025?

Per the JPI Fair method (targets from the ≥2 most reliable analysts per sector), the 20 S&P 500 stocks selected in early 2025 returned +41.3% on average over 12 months, vs 16.4% for the index. The best was WDC (Western Digital) at +282%. See the full list above.

How were these 2025 stocks chosen?

With no hindsight: only from information known by end of 2024 (price targets from analysts with a real reliability track record on their sector), then held 12 months. A point-in-time backtest, not a hindsight pick.

Does this method actually work?

Over 11 years (2015-2025), the JPI Fair method returned +26%/yr vs +12.6% for the S&P 500 — double the market. But it's lumpy (drawdowns in 2018 and 2022) and risk-adjusted the edge is thinner. A quality signal, not a guarantee.

What is JPI Invest?

JPI Invest aggregates analyst recommendations across the entire S&P 500 (plus the S&P MidCap 400), replays them against real prices and measures who predicts best — on results, not reputation. Instead of taking a price target at face value, you see each analyst's track record on each stock.

Explore JPI Invest for free → How it works: the method →

⚠️ Educational analysis, not investment advice. Point-in-time backtest on recomputed Yahoo data, universe = stocks still in the index (survivorship bias). Past performance does not predict the future. · Updated 2026-07-08
JPI AI Analyst AI assistant · JPI Invest
Answers based on the tool’s data · not financial advice · full version (free)