It has been a very tough year for U.S. stocks, with most of the largest winners from 2023 and 2024 taking a lot of the damage. That's not to say that the carnage has been limited to the past highflyers, as losses have been broad. The weakest stocks in the S&P 500 (SPX) in 2025 come from Consumer Discretionary, Information Technology, Industrials, Financial, and Materials. Strength has come mostly from defensive areas like Healthcare, Consumer Staples, and Utilities. The S&P 500 is off by 10% this year; the S&P 100 (OEX) and S&P Midcap 400 (MDY) by 12%; the Nasdaq 100 by 13%; the Nasdaq by 16%; and the S&P Small Cap 600 (SML) by 17%. Looking at the weakest industry performers over the past three months, and using Dow Jones indices, it's all red in the world of Information Technology, with the largest losers being renewable energy (-34%), semiconductors (-27%), electrical components (-22%), and electronic equipment, hardware, telecom equipment and software down between 14% and 18%. Within Industrials, 10 out of 12 industries are off at least 10%, with big losses from airlines (-36%) and with delivery services and heavy construction declining 23%. In Consumer Discretionary, 13 of 21 industries have lost at least 10%, with autos and durable household products both dropping about 40%. In Communication Services, media agencies have plunged 39% and internet has declined 20%. Looking overseas, we have seen some nice outperformance in 2025 for the first time in many years. Poland (EPOL) has soared 36%, Spain (EWP) is up 26%, Austria (EWO) is up 21%, Chile (ECH) is up 20%, and Germany (EWG) and Mexico (EWW) are up 17%. (Mark Arbeter, CMT)

Alibaba is the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company as measured by gross merchandise volume. It operates China’s online marketplaces, including Taobao (consumer-to-consumer) and Tmall (business-to-consumer). The China commerce retail division is the most valuable cash flow-generating business at Alibaba. Additional revenue sources include China commerce wholesale, international commerce retail/wholesale, local consumer services, cloud computing, digital media and entertainment platforms, Cainiao logistics services, and innovation initiatives/other.

Alibaba is the world’s largest online and mobile commerce company as measured by gross merchandise volume. It operates China’s online marketplaces, including Taobao (consumer-to-consumer) and Tmall (business-to-consumer). The China commerce retail division is the most valuable cash flow-generating business at Alibaba. Additional revenue sources include China commerce wholesale, international commerce retail/wholesale, local consumer services, cloud computing, digital media and entertainment platforms, Cainiao logistics services, and innovation initiatives/other.

Netflix’s relatively simple business model involves only one business, its streaming service. It has the biggest television entertainment subscriber base in both the United States and the collective international market, with more than 300 million subscribers globally. Netflix has exposure to nearly the entire global population outside of China. The firm has traditionally avoided a regular slate of live programming or sports content, instead focusing on on-demand access to episodic television, movies, and documentaries. The firm introduced ad-supported subscription plans in 2022, giving the firm exposure to the advertising market in addition to the subscription fees that have historically accounted for nearly all its revenue.