Nvidia (NVDA) was the Dow's top performer for 2024.
The AI chip maker's stock more than doubled (up 171%) in 2024. The Santa Clara, California giant reached a $3 trillion market cap in the year artificial intelligence went mainstream, making it the second most valuable company after Apple (AAPL) .
Nvidia even temporarily surpassed Apple for the No. 1 spot.
Overall, the Dow industrials gained 12.88% for the year, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 28.64% and the S&P 500 climbed more than 23.31%.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said recently that they had “tended to be most enthusiastic” about Nvidia when “near-term data points appear mixed, but underlying dynamics are very strong." The investment firm sees that point approaching now.
Morgan Stanley, which reiterated Nvidia as a top pick, noted some of the anxieties the market is wrestling with, including a continued slowing in the company's prior-generation Hopper graphics processing unit builds.
In addition, Morgan Stanley said not every version of the new Blackwell products is ready to ship at the same time, while competitors Marvell (MRVL) and Broadcom (AVGO) are both projecting strong longer-term growth in application-specific integrated circuits for AI applications.
Morgan Stanley reiterated Nvidia as a top pick, rating it overweight with a $166 price target.
Jensen Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, saw the company stock skyrocket during 2024. (Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)Bloomberg/Getty Images
No. 2: Walmart a top pick at Telsey, up 72%
Going from high-tech to old-school retail, Walmart (WMT) was the second biggest name on the Dow, with shares of the world's largest retailer surging 71.9%.
The Bentonville, Ark., company is one of Telsey's top picks for 2025 in the discounters and supermarkets sector.
The firm said it expected 2025 to be the year of the "S," with companies leveraging social media to sell products; serving consumers, and enhancing supply chains — these plus the impact of surprises.
Separately, BMO Capital analysts raised their Walmart stock price target to $110 from $100 and kept an outperform rating on the shares as part of a broader research note previewing 2025 in food retail.
The sector has reached a "digital tipping point," and while price transparency and competition from Amazon (AMZN) remains intense, Walmart should continue to carve out its niche, the firm said.
The stock's peak valuation remains justified in this environment, given clear signs that a sustainable earnings-growth algorithm is taking shape. The firm says this follows years of investments into omnichannel infrastructure, consistent share gains, and a stable customer base.
No. 3: American Express 'support stays in place,' says Morgan Stanley, up 58%
American Express (AXP) nailed down the third spot, with the New York financial services giant's stock climbing 58.4% during the year.
Morgan Stanley said the company's 2024 story was "one of stabilization," as higher delinquencies moderated to the slowest pace in nearly three years.
Looking to next year, support should remain in place, with easing inflation, positive real wage growth, stable-to-lower interest rates, and rational lending standards said the firm, which sees consumer credit "on solid footing in 2025."
Morgan Stanley raised its price target on American Express to $305 from $252, keeping an equal weight rating on the shares.
No. 4: Goldman Sachs boasts interconnected franchises, up 48%
Goldman Sachs (GS) came in fourth, as the iconic investment bank's stock jumped 48.4% in 2024.
During the company’s third-quarter-earnings call in October, Chairman and CEO David Soloman said, “Our performance demonstrates the strength of our world-class and interconnected franchises where we were effectively serving clients in a complex backdrop.”
“Global banking and markets, we remained the premier M&A adviser and a leading global risk intermediary,” he said. “Across investment banking, corporate and sponsors remained actively engaged and we see significant pent-up demand from our clients.”
JP Morgan rates Goldman Sachs stock overweight and recently raised its price target to $550 from $520.
"We welcome the ongoing refocusing of the group as reflected in the sale of the Marcus loan book, Greensky, [Personal Financial Management, and the General Motors co-branded credit card,] as well as other measures to focus on the core business," JP Morgan said.
In 2024 Goldman has been "gearing" to improve capital markets activity, and JP Morgan expects GS's "focused strategy" for Global Banking and Markets and Asset & Wealth Management to boost those units' performance in 2025.
Goldman Sachs "would also be a beneficiary of any potential deregulation" under the second Trump administration, JP Morgan said.
No. 5: Amazon leveraging AI, up 44%
And Amazon nailed down the fifth spot among the Dow Jones biggest gainers, as the e-commerce and entertainment behemoth saw its stock climb 44.4% year to date.
The company made Telsey's list under consumer technology.
And Tigress Financial analyst Ivan Feinseth recently raised the firm's price target on Amazon.com to $290 from $245 and kept a buy rating on the shares.
Amazon continues to benefit from strong retail trends, its ability to leverage generative AI, and its fulfillment capabilities, along with the integration of AI across all its business lines, said Feinseth.
The analyst's 12-month target price represents a potential return of 32% from current levels.
