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“I think DOGE is going to bring meritocracy and transparency to government, and that’s exactly what our commercial business is,” Shyam Sankar, Palantir’s chief technology officer remarked on the company’s February earnings call February.

Martin notes:

“Palantir has been one of the few large-cap tech stocks to outperform this year. I believe a large part of this is due to its increasingly central role in the U.S. government. As the Trump administration pushes to streamline departments and cut traditional consulting contracts, Palantir’s AI-driven platform is stepping in as a faster and more scalable solution.”

Meier agrees that Palantir is well-positioned to capitalize on the government efficiency drive.

“Palantir has been a hot technology stock so far in 2025. The software company helps governments and businesses make better decisions by offering a plethora of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms on its platform. All entities, public or private, want to make better decisions using their data, and Palantir makes that happen … for a price of course,” Meier says. “ In fact, that’s the biggest reason the stock is up about 53% in 2025.”

Philip Morris International

Cigarette giant Philip Morris did well during the first 100 days. Experts say a lot of its supply chains and cigarette-smoking countries are out of the main line of tariff fire. Plus, they have excelled in rolling out cigarette alternatives.

According to Morningstar, Philip Morris International (PM) is the world’s largest tobacco company by volume, with cigarette sales to roughly 170 countries.

“Despite such dominance, its goal is to completely replace its cigarette sales with reduced-risk alternatives. As of 2024, roughly 40% of revenue came from smoke-free products, though its goal of two-thirds of revenue by 2030 looks lofty and we forecast it’ll be reach roughly 50% by 2029,” Morningstar notes.

Martin says that Philip Morris has rallied this year alongside other flight-to-safety stocks. The company acquired Swedish Match two years ago, which produces Zyn pouches, which are now ubiquitous.

“It’s hard to walk into any convenience store in Chicago and not see towering rows of them. During times of uncertainty, nicotine tends to hold up well as a category,” Martin says.

Dollar General

Dollar General (DG) claimed the third spot among other surging companies on the S&P 500 over the past 100 days.

CEO Todd Vasos said in an earnings call that the company is “well positioned” to withstand the tariffs and is watching the situation closely.

“Given the already stressed financial condition of our core customer, we are closely monitoring these (tariffs) and any other potential economic headwinds, including any changes to government entitlement programs,” said Vasos.

Chuck Zhang, CFO of PolyFlow, the PayFi protocol linking real-world assets with DeFi, says that tariffs have made Dollar General’s goods more appealing to many.

“Tariff-driven price increases on goods made Dollar General’s value proposition even more appealing, and persistent inflation kept lower-income Americans on a tight budget,” Zhang says, noting that the result was robust traffic and sales at dollar stores.

“From a market perspective, Dollar General became a darling – a domestic-focused retailer with limited trade risk and a clear runway to gain customers in hard times,” Zhang says.

Newmont Corporation

Since Trump’s inauguration, gold has been the clear winner, say Martin.

“Since January 20, the price of gold has climbed over 20%. Newmont Corporation (NEM), the largest gold mining company in the U.S., has also surged, up more than 24% over the past 100 days, driven by rising gold prices and strong earnings,” Martin says.

Steel Dynamics

Martin says that many companies with strong domestic manufacturing operations have also seen a boost from the tariffs. Steel Dynamics Inc (STLD), an American steel producer, has fared the tariff storm quite well, Martin notes, with its stock up a modest 3.6% over Trump’s first 100 days as president.

Netflix

Netflix (NFLX) shares have climbed 28 percent from January 1 as streaming solidified and people sought out more value-priced entertainment options.

Morningstar says that while Netflix’s growth in the U.S. has been flat, they are a great safe harbor for consumers during a recession.

“We think growth will slow. We think Netflix will hold up well in a recession and won’t be significantly impacted by tariffs, but we’d still expect any material economic slowdown to put even further pressure on growth, making it difficult to justify the inflated multiples at which the stock trades,” Morningstar notes in a quarterly analysis.

But the first 100 days of the Trump administration has also seen plenty of implosions.

Deckers Outdoors

The manufacturer of iconic brands Hoka and Ugg saw its shares sink 48 percent during the first 100 days of Trump as tariff and supply-chain fears took hold.

Meier notes that Deckers owns some iconic brands that are very likely sitting in your closet: Ugg boots, Teva sandals, and Hoka running shoes, just to name a few. So why, Meier asks, is the stock off 45% in 2025, even with all those great footwear brands?

“It’s pretty simple: the market doesn’t like the company’s future prospects right now,” Meier says, noting that during its third-quarter earnings call for fiscal 2025, Deckers’ management team reported strong growth in sales for the third quarter and actually raised guidance for its full-year revenue outlook.

“That’s the problem. The implication in the new numbers was for sales to decline slightly from 3Q to 4Q. The stock sold off sharply at the end of January as a result of investors not expecting that to happen,” Meier said. “And the stock has moved lower ever since.

Meier says the other issue pressuring the stock is tariffs.

“Deckers Outdoor sources most of its footwear from China and Vietnam. And with the recent announcement of increased tariffs on products imported from those countries, investors worry that higher prices on its footwear could lead to lower sales and/or lower margins.”

Meier noted wryly that famed investor Ben Graham said the market acts like a weighing machine in the long term and a voting machine in the short term.

“If you look at Deckers’ long-term chart, the company has generated incredible performance over the past decade. But in 2025, investors have placed more votes with Palantir.”

Telsa

Shares of Tesla (TSLA) sank by almost one-third as company CEO Elon Musk inserted himself into divisive Washington D.C. politics.

“When people’s cars are in jeopardy of being keyed or set on fire out there, even people who support Musk or are indifferent [toward] Musk might think twice about buying a Tesla,” Baird analyst Ben Kallo told CNBC.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines (DAL) stock has tanked 36 percent.

Martin notes that travel and booking companies have taken a significant hit over the last month as U.S. tourism, both domestic and international, has begun to ebb. Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL), for example, is down 40% over the past 100 days, while Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) (NCLH) is down by more than 44% over the same period.

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