5 Winning S&P 500 Stocks & Their ETFs Since Election

Since Trump’s victory in the Presidential election, many large U.S. companies have seen their stocks surge. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY added more than 2.4% from Nov. 5 to Nov. 20.

The top 10 performing stocks on the S&P 500 index have witnessed 18% or more gains since Election Day, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, which analyzed returns based on closing prices from Nov. 5 to Nov. 20, as quoted on CNBC.

Solid stock returns were partly driven by the Trump administration’s expected policy stances and deregulation that should benefit certain companies and industries. Some stocks also gained on inherent potential.  

Winning Stocks in Focus

Since momentum plays are not always a good idea for long-term holdings, investors can play the best-performing stocks since Election Day in a basket or exchange-traded fund (ETF) form to minimize the company-specific concentration risks. Hence, we have mentioned ETFs that are heavy on the winning stocks.

Axon Enterprise AXON – Up 38.3%

Axon develops and manufactures weapons for selling to U.S. state and local governments, the U.S. federal government, international government customers and commercial enterprises. The company is known for its products, including taser and body cams for law enforcement agencies.

The company beat analysts’ estimates in its Nov. 7 earnings results, with officials touting its “AI era plan” and raising earnings guidance. Axon's Draft One uses generative AI to convert the audio from the body cam into a report narrative draft. Also, it can translate over 100 languages. Such offerings should help improve the efficiency of the police force.

The AXON stock surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters, with an average surprise of 20.21%. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXON’s December quarter is $1.46, up from $1.29 recorded 30 days ago.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

Trump’s protectionist policies have probably boosted Security and Safety Services stock even more. Axon-heavy ETFs include Motley Fool Global Opportunities ETF TMFG (TMFG has an 8.68% focus on Axon) and Tuttle Capital Self Defense Index ETF (GUNZ) (TMFG has a 7.89% focus on Axon).

Tesla TSLA – Up 36%

Tesla’s shares have been gaining on Musk mania. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk’s all-in support for Trump and expectations for Tesla-friendly policies have boosted the stock since election day. Trump tapped him to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency.

Talks are rife that Donald Trump will ease regulations for self-driving cars during his upcoming second presidential term. Trump wants to end a $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs — a policy expected to hurt Tesla’s EV rivals (read: Tesla Stock Pops 5% on AV Deregulation Buzz: ETFs in Focus).

Tesla-heavy ETFs like Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund XLY and ARK Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF ARKQ should be up for gains in the coming days.

Vistra Corp. VST – Up 26.8%

Energy provider Vistra Corp. is joining hands with large data centers — or “hyperscalers” — in Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio to build or upgrade gas and nuclear plants, Stacey Doré, Vistra’s chief strategy and sustainability officer, said on the company’s Q3 earnings call on Nov. 7.

Tech companies are building more such data centers to drive the AI boom and the need to source increasing amounts of energy to run them. In short, the AI revolution has driven the VST stock price. A Vistra-heavy ETF is Virtus Reaves Utilities ETF UTES (VST has a 13.81% focus).

EQT Corporation EQT – Up 24%

EQT Corporation is among the biggest U.S. natural gas producers. EQT stock recorded price gains of 24% from Nov. 5 to Nov. 20, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Trump presses for increasing fossil-fuel production and reversing Biden-era policies to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. He picked Chris Wright, CEO of fracking company Liberty Energy LBRT, to head the Department of Energy. No wonder, EQT Corp. shares have surged since Trump’s win. EQT Corp. has 5.24% exposure to Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Energy ETF RSPG.

Palantir Technologies PLTR – Up 21.5%

Palantir is an AI winner. Palantir builds and deploys software platforms for the intelligence community, principally in the United States. The company cited “unprecedented” demand for its AI platform in the third quarter, Treasurer and CFO David Glazer told investors on Nov. 4. Palantir Technologies has solid exposures to ETFs like REX AI Equity Premium Income ETF AIPI, Global X Defense Tech ETF SHLD and ProShares Big Data Refiners ETF DAT.

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