Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) leads Jefferies' latest additions to its Franchise Picks, joining Capital One Financial (NYSE:COF), Expand Energy (NASDAQ:EXE), Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN), PVH (NYSE:PVH) and UGI (NYSE:UGI).

The 28-stock roster reflects Jefferies' highest-conviction, Buy-rated ideasnames with differentiated analysis, clear catalysts and upside at current valuations. Nvidia's entry follows Jefferies' view that ramping Blackwell Ultra chips and robust networking revenue will drive full-year 2025 gross margins into the mid?70% range, underpinning AI?driven growth.

• Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with NVDA.

Capital One earns a nod for its digital banking scale and disciplined underwriting, while Huntington's regional?bank focus positions it to benefit from improving loan demand. Expand Energy and UGI both capitalize on clean?energy transitionsEXE through its clean?fuel infrastructure projects and UGI via its diversified utility footprint.

PVH joins for its strong brand portfolio, inventory discipline and margin expansion in its core apparel lines. Jefferies removed two unspecified names to make room for these additions.

Investors should care because inclusion on Jefferies' Franchise Picks signals these companies offer both durable earnings momentum and identifiable near?term catalysts, making them potential outperformers in the S&P 500. With NVDA guiding to mid?70% gross margins and COF and HBAN poised to leverage favorable credit trends, markets will watch for upcoming quarterly results to validate Jefferies' conviction.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.