The U.S. equity markets have had a lot to deal with so far in 2025. The year began with a new administration in Washington, and questions about the direction of inflation and interest rates in the coming months. The stock market fared well in the early going, with the S&P 500 reaching all-time highs on Feb. 19.
As President Donald Trump’s economic and trade policies began to take shape, however, markets became skittish. On April 2, the president unveiled an aggressive new trade regime that featured punitive tariffs on friends and foes alike. That prompted a global sell-off in U.S. equities as Wall Street and the world tried to digest the news. Inflation fears came back to the fore, and the price of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds fell, driving the yield of that benchmark security sharply higher. Investors, businesses and financial institutions began to contemplate the possibility of a near-term recession. On April 8, the S&P 500 closed at its 2025 low, having fallen 18.9% from its high and 15.2% for the year.
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The picture has changed since then, and Wall Street’s worst-case scenarios appear for now to be off the table. The president has been encouraged by conciliatory gestures from U.S. trading partners and seems to be settling into a more reasonable and manageable position on tariffs. Recent numbers on employment and inflation show a resilient U.S. economy, and corporate earnings have held up well in the face of all the uncertainty. The S&P 500 has made steady upward progress off its lows and, as of the close on May 20, has registered a 1% gain for the calendar year.
Retail investors can’t be blamed for feeling overwhelmed or even a little confused by today’s market. Breaking news or rumors regarding trade negotiations can send indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq composite or the S&P 500 soaring or tumbling, and a social media post from the White House can have a similar — positive or negative — effect. So, what’s a small investor to do?
When markets are tumultuous and index investing isn’t paying off, one of the best strategies is to buy trending or rising stocks. When a stock is consistently going up while the broad market is struggling, it can be a sign of confidence from institutional investors. In other words, despite market and economic challenges, the smart money sees something it likes and is buying.
The stocks on today’s list fit that bill. All five are trending strongly to the upside and significantly beating the market. These companies seem to be immune to the chaos and disorder that’s been such a drag on the market as a whole. They’ve all been rising steadily and, although no one can predict the future, none seem to be slowing down. Lists of this kind are not meant to be a substitute for sound financial advice or in-depth research, but they are a great place for interested investors to begin:
| Stock | Year-to-date total return* |
| International Business Machines Corp. (ticker: IBM) | 23.1% |
| Allot Ltd. (ALLT) | 33.6% |
| NRG Energy Inc. (NRG) | 78.5% |
| Okta Inc. (OKTA) | 59.3% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) | 66.1% |
*Total returns include any dividends paid, and are accurate through the May 20 close.
International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
With a year-to-date total return of 23.1%, IBM is the best-performing stock in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which itself has only managed a 0.3% total return in 2025 as of the close of trading on May 20.
IBM is a 114-year-old blue-chip company with a market cap of $245 billion. The company provides advanced integrated business solutions and professional consulting to customers around the world. IBM operates through four segments: software, consulting, infrastructure and financing.
The software division is cloud-based. That segment provides artificial intelligence-driven business solutions to enterprise clients. The consulting segment works with large companies to design and implement technology strategies that include hardware and software recommendations. The company’s infrastructure division installs the infrastructure (wires, Wi-Fi, cooling, etc.) and hardware (computers, servers, etc.) necessary for modern, high-speed digital communications. Finally, the financial division offers long-term financing that makes its products affordable and cost-effective.
IBM has a current dividend yield of 2.5%.
Allot Ltd. (ALLT)
ALLT is a relatively small $310 million company based in Israel. It designs and distributes advanced cybersecurity systems for individuals, institutions, municipalities, e-tailers and mobile communication companies.
The company’s three leading products are Allot NetworkSecure, Allot HomeSecure and Allot Business Secure, but it does more than offer cookie-cutter solutions. ALLT uses its main product platforms as a foundation, and builds customized solutions that meet individual customer needs. All of its solutions monitor computer and communications networks 24 hours a day and constantly analyze data patterns to detect and mitigate cyber risks.
Customers appreciate Allot’s end-to-end security management. Wall Street likes the fact that cybersecurity is a booming industry that’s practically immune to tariff pressures. As of May 20, the stock is up 33.6% in 2025 in what has been a challenging market for tech stocks.
[Read: 10 Best Growth Stocks to Buy for 2025]
NRG Energy Inc. (NRG)
NRG is a $31 billion electric utility, but it is far from a typical electric company. First of all, it’s not a public utility in the sense of being publicly regulated. This means it has the geographic expansion flexibility and pricing power that traditional electricity providers lack.
NRG is benefiting from the incredible demand for power that’s being created by the ongoing data center boom in Texas and in some of its other service areas. The stock has surged 78.5% year to date, making it one of the biggest gainers in the S&P 500 this year.
This dynamic company uses coal, oil, natural gas, solar and other resources to generate power for its residential and business customers. It also sells, installs and services HVAC systems, which are vital to the data center industry and for comfortable modern living in general.
Additionally, NRG has a financial segment that generates significant revenue and profits by trading energy commodities and related financial derivatives.
The stock pays a quarterly dividend, and with a modest current dividend yield of 1.1%.
Okta Inc. (OKTA)
OKTA was founded just 16 years ago in San Francisco and has only been publicly traded for six years. In that relatively short time, it’s grown into a $21 billion tech company that is quickly establishing itself as a leader in the access management segment of the cybersecurity industry.
Access management entails secure authentication and authorization for corporations, customers and employees who depend on modern, digital communications networks. In other words, this company’s platforms ensure only authorized people can sign on to networks and access sensitive information.
The company’s flagship products include single sign-on, adaptive authentication, API access management and universal directory. OKTA has more than 7,950 corporate customers, including several members of the exclusive Fortune 50.
As of May 20, the stock has turned in an impressive year-to-date return of 59.3%. It’s the very definition of a trending stock.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR)
The performance of PLTR has been one of the biggest financial stories of 2025. While the major market indexes remain uninspiring, PLTR has rocketed up 66.1% year to date as of May 20, and climbed an astounding 480.9% for the one-year period ending the same day.
PLTR is a $296 billion software company that builds and sells counterterrorism and national defense surveillance and security platforms for friendly governments, militaries and large institutions around the world.
Its foundational platform, Palantir Gotham, is a best-in-class, artificial intelligence-driven system that can monitor vast amounts of data and digital communications to identify patterns that might indicate a military or terrorist threat. Once threats are revealed, the software helps intelligence services coordinate an appropriate response.
The demand for Palantir’s products is already high and, according to the company’s financial reports and stated guidance, keeps getting higher. For example, on May 5, Palantir raised its full-year 2025 revenue guidance to the $3.89 billion to $3.9 billion range, indicating that it’s expecting 36% year-over-year growth.
[READ: 5 of the Best Companies to Invest in for 2025 and Beyond]
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5 Trending Stocks to Buy Today originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 05/21/25: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
