Top 5 US stocks to watch in 2025

What are US stocks?

Home to companies like Tesla, Amazon and Meta, the US stock market represents over $50 trillion in market capitalisation across exchanges like the NYSE and NASDAQ. These are shares of publicly traded companies that anyone can buy or sell.

Companies like Palantir are securing massive government AI contracts, whilst Shopify processes billions in ecommerce transactions and Intuitive Surgical dominates robot-assisted surgery.

Of course, strong past performance doesn't guarantee future results. Even market leaders can face significant price swings, as we'll explore when looking at specific companies and risk factors.

What is the biggest stock market in the world?

The NYSE is the largest stock market in the world by market cap, with $31.71 trillion as of May 2025.¹  It has existed since 1792.

Advantages of US stocks

The US market offers access to companies reshaping entire industries. Rather than just broad market exposure, these five stocks represent specific opportunities that are harder to find elsewhere.

• Sector leadership in emerging technologies
  Palantir holds major government AI contracts that most competitors can't access, whilst CrowdStrike's cybersecurity platform gets stronger with each new customer.
• Established market positions
  Shopify processes the second-highest payment volume in the US after Amazon, whilst Intuitive Surgical controls around 80% of the robot-assisted surgery market globally. 
• Growth in essential industries
  From Howmet Aerospace's aircraft components (serving Boeing and Airbus) to the ongoing shift toward ecommerce and AI, these stocks operate in sectors with long-term structural growth drivers.
• Scale and trading volumes
  Major US stocks typically see substantial daily trading activity, which can mean tighter spreads and the ability to enter or exit positions without significantly affecting share prices.
• Accessible through multiple methods
  You can trade these stocks through CFDs for flexibility or own them directly, depending on your trading approach and risk tolerance.

Risks of US stocks

These growth companies come with specific considerations that traders should understand.

• Price volatility
  Palantir moved 80.3% in six months, whilst CrowdStrike can swing 10%+ on earnings day. These aren't steady dividend stocks - they're growth companies with corresponding price movements.
• Sector dependencies
  Palantir relies on government contracts, CrowdStrike's business depends on reputation, and Intuitive Surgical faces medical device regulations. Each company has industry-specific risks that could affect performance.
• Growth valuations
  These stocks trade on future potential rather than current earnings. If growth expectations aren't met, share price reactions can be significant.
• Currency exposure
  Trading US stocks from the UAE involves AED/USD conversion, adding currency fluctuation to your trading considerations.

Top 5 US stocks to watch in 2025

We’ve selected these stocks based on a number of factors, such as how well they’ve performed in the S&P 500 index this year, as well as:

• Their growth potential
• Innovation in their sector
• Lack of competition from other companies
• Diversification into different industries

Overview of the US stocks in this article

Of the five US stocks listed in this article, all of them are available to trade with us via CFDs.

Similarly, you can stock trade all of these companies on our platform.

1. Shopify (NYSE: SHOP)
 

Industry: Ecommerce

Market cap: $155.69 billion²

Current focus: growing small businesses via its platform

Founded in 2006, Shopify has established itself as a leading ecommerce platform. It was originally created to sell snowboarding equipment online, but pivoted to offering better digital shopping tools.

In May 2025, the US Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced that total ecommerce sales were $300.2 billion for the first quarter of the year, and online sales in the same period accounted for just 16.2% of all retail sales.³

In other words, online business is booming, but it still has a long runway ahead of it.

Shopify is at the forefront of the industry, holding second place in the US in terms of total payment volume – second only to Amazon.⁴

Highlights:

• Achieved 27% revenue growth and 15% free cash flow margin.⁵ This latter metric is measured after accounting for operating expenses and capital expenditures
• For Q2, the company expects revenue to grow at a mid-20s percentage rate year-over-year (YoY)⁶
• It also expects stock-based compensation to be $120 million⁷

2. Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR)
 

Industry: AI

Market cap: $356.13 billion⁸

Current focus: growing government and commercial contracts in the AI space

Emerging from the need to combat terrorism post-9/11, Palantir Technologies specialises in big data analytics. It’s built a platform for defence and government, known as Palantir Gotham, as well as for commercial applications – Palantir Foundry.

It’s also developed the Palantir Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP), which enables users to discover patterns, relationships and insights from disparate data sources, doing what would be impossible to achieve manually.

The business is, therefore, quite diversified in its applications.

It holds sizeable contracts with government and commercial agents, which helps with future business and cash flow.

The company’s share price rose 80.3% in the first half of 2025, and it gained 5.5% on the S&P 500 index.⁹

Highlights:

• Q1 2025 revenue growth of 39% YoY¹⁰
• Rule of 40 score rose to 83%. This is a metric used for software-as-a-service (SaaS) companies to determine their overall financial health and performance¹¹
• US revenue grew 55% YoY¹²

3. Howmet Aerospace (NYSE: HWM)
 

Industry: Aerospace and transportation

Market cap: $74.40 billion¹³

Current focus: manufacturing critical components for aircraft

Howmet manufactures airfoils, engine structural components, fastening systems, wheels and brakes for commercial and military aircraft. It services the likes of Boeing, Airbus, General Electric and Rolls-Royce.

While primarily focused on aerospace (which represents two-thirds of their revenue), Howmet has diversified into the commercial transportation sector with heavy-duty trucks, as well as into industrial gas turbines.

Howmet Aerospace has seen some significant short-term gains recently; its shares have surged 65.6% year-to-date, outperforming the industry’s 22.2% growth.¹⁴

Highlights:

• Adjusted EBITDA excluding special items of $560 million, up 28% YoY¹⁵
• $134 million of free cash flow¹⁶
• Repurchased $125 million of common stock in first quarter 2025.¹⁷ This indicates the company believes its stock is going for a good price

4. CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD)
 

Industry: Cybersecurity

Market cap: $117.26 billion¹⁸

Current focus: gaining more users for better cybersecurity results

Cybersecurity has been a staple of the technological world for decades, but with the rise in AI, it’s more important than ever.

CrowdStrike’s business model is quite unique – it collects data from each of its users to bolster its cybersecurity services, using automation to secure its network. This enables a highly robust solution that can quickly detect new threats.

In the same vein, the more people who use the platform, the more data there is to work with, and the more effective its solutions are.

The company claims a potential market worth $100 billion, with this more than doubling by 2028.¹⁹

Highlights:

• Q1 of this year saw total revenue of $1.10 billion²⁰
• Subscription revenue was $1.05 billion in the same period, accounting for the majority of total revenue²¹
• It has a subscription gross margin of 77% in the first quarter of the year²³

5. Intuitive Surgical (NASDAQ: ISRG)
 

Industry: Medicine

Market cap: $183.74 billion²³

Current focus: robot-assisted medical devices

Human error will always be a risk in the medical field, which is why Intuitive Surgical presents such a unique solution. Its robot-assisted surgical devices help to make surgical operations more refined and successful.

It has a hold on the market, too, with around 80% market share worldwide.²⁴

Its most well-known device, called the Da Vinci Surgical System, consists of a surgeon console, patient-side cart with robotic arms and a high-definition 3D vision system. It translates a surgeon's hand movements into precise micro-movements of tiny instruments inside patients, enabling doctors to perform complex procedures through small incisions.

This results in less pain and bleeding, and shorter hospital stays and recovery time.

Highlights:

• Globally, Da Vinci procedures grew around 17% compared to the first quarter of 2024²⁵
• It placed 367 Da Vinci surgical systems in Q1 2025²⁶
• Q1 revenue was $2.25 billion²⁷

How to trade US stocks with IG UAE

CFDs

1. Open a CFD trading account with IG UAE
2. Search for US stocks on the IG platform
3. Decide whether to go long (buy) or short (sell)
4. Choose your position size
5. Set stop-loss and limit orders
6. Place your trade and monitor it

Stock trading

1. Open a stock trading account with IG UAE
2. Search for US stocks available for direct ownership
3. Choose the stock you want to buy – try our stock screener
4. Determine how many shares you want to purchase
5. Place your order
6. Monitor your investment and collect any dividends

FAQs about US stocks

Footnotes
 

1. Investopedia, July 2025
2. TradingView, July 2025
3. Census.gov, May 2025
4. The Motley Fool, July 2025
5. Shopify earnings results, May 2025
6. Shopify earnings results, May 2025
7. Shopify earnings results, May 2025
8. TradingView, July 2025
9. NASDAQ, July 2025
10. Palantir Technologies earnings report, May 2025
11. Palantir Technologies earnings report, May 2025
12. Palantir Technologies earnings report, May 2025
13. TradingView, July 2025
14. NASDAQ, July 2025
15. Howmet Aerospace earnings report, May 2025
16. Howmet Aerospace earnings report, May 2025
17. Howmet Aerospace earnings report, May 2025
18. TradingView, July 2025
19. The Motley Fool, July 2025
20. CrowdStrike earnings report, June 2025
21. CrowdStrike earnings report, June 2025
22. CrowdStrike earnings report, June 2025
23. TradingView, July 2025
24. The Motley Fool, July 2025
25. Intuitive Surgical earnings report, April 2025
26. Intuitive Surgical earnings report, April 2025
27. Intuitive Surgical earnings report, April 2025