The first four months of 2025 have been challenging for equity investors. As of the close on April 29, the broad market S&P 500 was down 4.5% year to date, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite fell 9.6% over the same period. The volatility and uncertainty that have plagued the stock market over the last few months have been a concern for investors. Still, there are reasons for optimism.
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Historically, stocks are excellent long-term investments. Despite the business cycle’s ups and downs, and through all kinds of geopolitical and economic shocks, investing in equities has been a very good bet. High-quality, well-run companies are innovative and adaptable, and the central bank has generally been a reliable backstop preventing the economy from plunging into worst-case-scenario recessions.
The S&P 500 is well off its 2025 low of 4,982.77, which it hit on April 8. Since then, as of April 29 that benchmark has climbed 11.6% to 5,560.83. The Nasdaq has made an even more impressive recovery from its April 8 low. It’s climbed 14.4% from 15,367.91 to 17,461.32 over those same 21 days. No one knows what’s going to happen in the short run, but — based on long-term and recent history — now is probably not the time to throw in the towel on this market.
When markets are finicky and broad indexes are not providing good returns, the smart thing to do is identify stocks that are bucking the trend and powering higher. Companies that are rising dramatically in a down market are the ones that savvy investors are buying despite difficult conditions. They’ve proven immune to the turmoil that’s driven the broad market lower and are delivering solid gains for shareholders. And there’s plenty of them out there, if you know where to look.
As of April 29, 91 of the 501 stocks in the S&P 500 were up 10% or more year to date, with 49 stocks up more than 15% for the year. Those stocks are trending higher in a difficult market, and they represent the universe that today’s stock pickers should be looking at.
The companies on this list of rising stocks to buy for 2025 are from the tech sector, the real estate sector, health care and the consumer defensive sector. They’ve been more than just resilient; they’ve been consistent market leaders while other stocks have faltered. The worst may or may not be over for the market and our economy, but if you’re an investor with a long-term time horizon and capital to put to work, these five stocks are worth checking out.
| Stock | Market Capitalization | 2025 Performance as of April 29 close |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (ticker: PLTR) | $270 billion | 53.5% |
| CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD) | $105 billion | 26% |
| CVS Health Corp. (CVS) | $84 billion | 48.2% |
| Coca-Cola Co. (KO) | $311 billion | 17.1% |
| Welltower Inc. (WELL) | $100 billion | 20.7% |
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
PLTR is far and away the hottest stock in the S&P 500. This software infrastructure company is up about 158% in the six months ended April 29 and has climbed more than 53% year to date. To call that performance impressive is an understatement.
PLTR has a market cap of about $270 billion. It’s a tech company that engineers and sells defense security platforms to the U.S. and other friendly governments, which they use to identify threats and combat terrorism.
The company’s best-selling platform is called Palantir Gotham. It’s a highly sophisticated artificial intelligence-powered system that can identify troubling patterns hidden among massive amounts of data and electronic communications. Palantir Gotham works seamlessly with another of the company’s premier products, Palantir Foundry. The Foundry platform is a perfect complement to the Gotham platform. It acts as an advanced data storage and instant retrieval system that works with Gotham to optimize efficiency in the use of data.
The world is an increasingly dangerous place. PLTR, at least according to investor interest and momentum, is a timely investment in good markets and bad.
CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (CRWD)
CRWD is a global leader in the high-demand cybersecurity industry. The company has a market cap of $105 billion. Its cloud-based security information and event management (SIEM) platform is considered the best in the business.
CrowdStrike’s customers praise the system’s ability to adapt to almost any digital network in any modern industry. The platform has an unrivaled ability to detect threats before they happen, respond to attacks when they do happen and report incidents to decision makers instantly in real time.
Over the last month, CRWD is up 20.7%, and year to date the stock has appreciated 26%. The stock has been trending higher since January 2023 and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Morgan Stanley and Stephens & Co. both rate the stock “overweight.” Jefferies, Roth Capital and Truist Securities all have a “buy” rating on the stock.
[Read: 7 Up-and-Coming Stocks to Buy Now]
CVS Health Corp. (CVS)
CVS was founded in the 1960s and built its solid reputation as a chain drugstore. Today CVS is an $84 billion powerhouse of the health care sector that serves millions of health insurance and pharmacy customers each day.
The company has more than 9,000 brick-and-mortar retail outlets that seem to be on every street corner in America. It also runs an extensive pharmacy benefits management and health insurance operation.
CVS operates through three segments: consumer wellness, health services and health care benefits. Wall Street is expecting the company to report more than $389 billion in revenue for fiscal 2025 and close to $408 billion in 2026. That would represent annual revenue growth of close to 5%.
The stock is up 44.9% year to date, an impressive number considering the poor performance of the market as a whole. Additionally, CVS has a current dividend yield of just over 4%.
Coca-Cola Co. (KO)
The market’s been tough, but Coca-Cola has been unfazed. KO is up 16.2% year to date, and has even managed to increase its annual dividend this year. In February, the company’s board of directors increased its quarterly income distribution by 5.2% from 48.5 cents per share to 51 cents per share, or $2.04 a year.
KO is an iconic blue-chip stock worth considering in any market. The company is 139 years old and remains the biggest, most successful non-alcoholic beverage company in the world. This $311 billion company’s brands include well-known names like Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, Powerade, Minute Maid and many others that most investors would instantly recognize.
Recently, KO received a vote of confidence from two big names in equity research. On April 21, the research arm of JPMorgan reiterated the “overweight” rating it has on the stock, while about a week earlier, UBS restated its “buy” rating.
Welltower Inc. (WELL)
Welltower is a company that combines two defensive sectors: income-producing real estate and health care. WELL is a $100 billion company, which makes it the biggest health care REIT by market cap.
The company was founded in Toledo in 1974 and still has its headquarters there. The company has grown to be one of the most well-known companies in the senior assisted living and post-acute care segment of the health care industry. WELL also owns several outpatient medical office buildings. WELL has an interest in more than 3,000 facilities across the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
Wall Street estimates that WELL will generate $10.2 billion in revenue in 2025 and increase that by 11% to more than $11.3 billion in 2026.
REITs are known for paying regular dividends, and the stock currently pays a forward dividend yield of 1.8%.
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5 Rising Stocks to Buy for the Rest of 2025 originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/30/25: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
