From Yahoo Finance: 2025-05-05 11:59:00

In early 2025, the stock market experienced turmoil due to uncertain tariff policies, recession fears, and inflation. ClearBridge Investment reported that the S&P 500 index declined by 4.27%, while the NASDAQ and Russell 1000 Growth Index fell by 10.42% and 9.97%, respectively. Large-cap stocks, especially in the growth sector, took a significant hit.

Portfolio managers noted that the growth-heavy Russell Growth Index underperformed the Russell Value Index by over 1,200 basis points. The launch of Chinese LLM DeepSeek and concerns over AI capital expenditure impacted large and mega-cap stocks. ClearBridge reduced its healthcare overweight position, increased IT exposure, and emphasized a diversified portfolio for economic slowdown readiness.

For the first quarter of 2025, the earnings growth shifted away from big tech names, with industrial and healthcare companies catching up. Amidst market uncertainty, ClearBridge’s Large Cap Growth ESG strategy outperformed the benchmark by being underweight on the “Mag Seven” companies and the IT sector. Balancing strong stocks across different sectors contributed to relative returns.

Using Finviz and Yahoo Finance, a list of the 11 best-performing large-cap stocks in 2025 was curated based on year-to-date performance, market capitalization, and hedge fund sentiment as of Q4 2024 data recorded on May 2, 2025. The goal is to replicate top hedge fund stock picks for market outperformance. The investment approach has delivered substantial returns since May 2014.

Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) stands out as one of the best-performing large-cap stocks in 2025, with a year-to-date performance of 39.83%. The music streaming giant reported significant growth in monthly active users and premium subscribers, leading to a 15% revenue increase in the first fiscal quarter of 2025. Initiatives like Partner Programs have driven user engagement and creator monetization on the platform.

Loop Capital raised its price target on Spotify from $435 to $550, citing strong subscription growth but missed ad-supported revenue guidance in quarterly results. JDP Capital Management highlighted Spotify as their largest position, noting robust free cash flow and subscriber growth. While SPOT ranks 5th in performance, AI stocks are seen as having greater potential for high returns in a shorter timeframe.



Read more at Yahoo Finance: Is Spotify Technology S.A. (SPOT) The Best Performing Large Cap Stock So Far in 2025?