5 Stocks Powering the S&P 500 ETF So Far in 2025
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, the proxy version of the S&P 500 Index, has gained 8% so far this year. While many stocks in the ETF have performed well, we have highlighted five stocks that have gained more than 60% so far this year. These are Palantir Technologies Inc. PLTR, NRG Energy Inc. NRG, Seagate Technology STX, Howmet Aerospace Inc. HWM and GE Vernova GEV.
Let's take a closer look at the key drivers behind the market rally:
Strong Corporate Earnings
The second-quarter earnings season is off to a robust start, with companies not only beating estimates but also providing a favorable outlook for current business trends, which should help solidify earnings expectations for the third quarter and beyond. Earnings of the 62 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far are up 9.3% from the same period last year on 5.8% higher revenues, with 82.3% beating EPS estimates and an equal proportion beating revenue estimates, per Earnings Trend report.
Among the Mag 7, Tesla TSLA and Alphabet GOOGL will report results today. Total Q2 earnings are expected to be up 11.7% on 11.3% higher revenues (read: 5 Sector ETFs Set to Power Q2 Earnings Growth).
AI Boom and Tech Leadership
The ongoing AI boom continues to fuel enthusiasm for large-cap tech stocks, which have an outsized influence on the S&P 500. Investors are betting on long-term growth in AI applications across industries, boosting demand for semiconductors, cloud computing and software platforms.
Fed Rate Cut Hopes
Investor sentiment has also been lifted by increasing confidence that the Fed may begin cutting interest rates by the end of 2025.
Resilient U.S. Economy
Despite global uncertainty, the U.S. economy has shown surprising strength. June retail sales exceeded expectations, and unemployment remains near historic lows. This economic resilience is giving investors confidence that earnings growth can be sustained into the second half of the year.
Let's take a closer look at the fundamentals of SPY and the stocks behind this rally.
SPY in Focus
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust holds 503 stocks in its basket, with each accounting for no more than 7.6% of the assets. This suggests a nice balance across each security and prevents heavy concentration. The fund is widely spread across sectors, with information technology, financials and consumer discretionary accounting for a double-digit allocation each.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust has an AUM of $649.8 billion and charges 9 bps in fees per year. It trades in an average daily volume of 71 million shares and has a Zacks ETF Rank #2 (Buy) with a Medium risk outlook (see: all the Large Cap Blend ETFs here).
Best-Performing Stocks of SPY
Palantir Technologies builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community, principally in the United States. The stock has jumped more than 97% so far this year and has an estimated earnings growth rate of 41.5% for 2025. Palantir Technologies has a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) and a Growth Score of A.
NRG Energy is engaged in the production, sale and delivery of energy and energy products and services to residential, industrial as well as commercial consumers in major competitive power markets in the United States. The stock saw a solid earnings estimate revision of four cents over the past seven days for this year and has an estimated growth rate of 17.6%. NRG Energy has soared about 70.6% so far this year and has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Seagate Technology is a leading provider of data storage technology and infrastructure solutions. The company's primary product offering is hard disk drives, which are commonly referred to as disk drives, hard drives or HDDs. The stock saw a positive earnings estimate revision of 16 cents over the past month for the fiscal year (June 2026) and has an estimated growth of 26.3%. Seagate Technology has jumped about 70% this year and has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Howmet Aerospace provides engineered solutions for customers in the transportation and aerospace (both defense and commercial) industries. The stock has risen 67.6% this year and saw positive earnings estimate revision of a penny for this year over the past month. Howmet Aerospace has an expected earnings growth rate of 29% for this year and a Zacks Rank #3.
GE Vernova is an energy company that includes Power, Wind and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses of Advanced Research, Consulting Services and Financial Services. The stock has climbed 66.9% so far this year. GE Vernova saw a solid earnings estimate revision of 22 cents over the past month for this year and has an estimated growth rate of 32.3%. The stock has a Zacks Rank #3.
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NRG Energy, Inc. (NRG): Free Stock Analysis Report
Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (STX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Tesla, Inc. (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report
SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): ETF Research Reports
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL): Free Stock Analysis Report
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM): Free Stock Analysis Report
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR): Free Stock Analysis Report
GE Vernova Inc. (GEV): Free Stock Analysis Report
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