2025’s most actively traded stocks on Stake Wall St

Nvidia Corporation ($NVDA)

Nvidia officially became the world's largest company this year – its market cap reaching a peak US$4.93T in November. Despite landing in the short-seller crosshairs of Michael Burry, the firm proved AI demand isn't going anywhere. It beat revenue estimates every quarter in 2025 by an average of 8.9% and is on track to generate US$212B in FY26. Its earnings have become a global market catalyst: Nvidia's results serve as a directional signal for traders worldwide. For Stake investors, the biggest 'buy-the-dip' moment came during the DeepSeek moment in January, when Nvidia lost US$260B in market cap but buy orders surged 460%.

Tesla Inc ($TSLA)

Tesla shares managed a 20% YTD gain despite declining sales, margin compression, and intensifying competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD. It was the only member of the elite Mag7 group to not hit a record high this year. Investors who are still bullish are banking on Tesla's autonomous driving or 'robotaxi' tech and future-oriented business lines. Another bright spot for its balance sheet was its energy and storage revenue, which hit US$3.41B in Q3 with a 31.4% gross margin. The biggest day of $TSLA buying on Stake was 5 June, amid a very public feud between CEO Elon Musk and President Trump over a Republican budget bill eliminating EV tax credits.

Palantir Technologies Inc ($PLTR)

Palantir has been one of the best performing stocks in 2025, recording a 140% YTD gain on the back of record earnings and major government contracts. It landed a US$10B software contract with the U.S. Army alongside multi-year deals with AI enterprise clients. CEO Alex Karp swiped at critics who called him 'batshit crazy' in an earnings call where the firm raised full-year guidance. But the short sellers are circling: on 18 Aug, Citron Research said a US$40 share price would be generous for $PLTR, effectively implying its trading 80% higher than fair value. It was also the day Stake traders bought the most $PLTR this year.

Amazon.com Inc ($AMZN)

Amazon hasn't seen the most significant share price growth in 2025, trailing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. That didn't stop investors from trading large volumes of this stock, particularly during moments of turbulence following the Liberation Day tariff announcements. Despite the high capex spend on AI infrastructure, its high-margin AWS segment grew 20% YoY to US$33B in Q3. AWS and advertising growth make Amazon's future less dependent on traditional retail cycles, but more reliant on cloud and AI demand.

Advanced Micro Devices, Inc ($AMD)

AMD saw multiple re-ratings from analysts this year as it transitioned from being seen as a CPU/GPU maker for PCs to a major player in AI and data centre infrastructure. The turning point might have been its multi-year strategic partnership with OpenAI, leading to a 30% rally – its best day since 2016. Stake investors took the opportunity to lock in profits, with the 6 October seeing the largest sell volume on record. AMD has also been eating away at Intel's x86-based chip market share. It accounts for 30% of that market, providing demand for its CPUs is still strong in a year where CEO Lisa Su claimed its AI chips can match Nvidia's performance.

Apple, Inc ($AAPL)

The iPhone 17 helped revive hardware momentum in a firm that lagged behind its Big Tech counterparts share price growth earlier this year. The renewed momentum resulted in record FY25 revenue of US$416B – up 6.4% YoY – that the firm announced alongside record services revenue in Q4. Stake investors bet big on $AAPL after its big drop on Liberation Day and it paid off. The firm committed to a US$100B investment in the U.S., earning an exemption from Trump's proposed 100% tariffs on chips and iPhones. But key executive departures (including Apple's Head of AI and COO) have investors doing a double-take on its 2026 outlook.

Meta Platforms Inc ($META)

Meta shares have been on a rollercoaster in 2025, finishing the year with a 12% YTD gain despite slowing ad revenue growth and intensifying competition from TikTok and YouTube. Investors remain optimistic about the company's AI-driven ad targeting and metaverse initiatives, though these bets are still years from profitability. Reality Labs, Meta's VR/AR division, reported Q3 revenue of US$6.3B with a slim 4.5% gross margin, highlighting both potential and continued cost pressure.

Alphabet Inc ($GOOGL)

Alphabet showed up in a big way in the second half of 2025. $GOOGL surged 69% in 2025 to a record US$328.83, driven by AI advancements, cloud growth, legal victories, and diversified revenue streams beyond search. A September 2025 court ruling avoided a breakup of Chrome/Android, preserving the US$20B Apple search deal. And it earned the endorsement of Warren Buffett, as Berkshire Hathaway revealed a US$4.3B stake in the company. A deal with Meta to ship its TPU chips also positioned the firm as a potential competitor to Nvidia in the AI arms race.

MicroStrategy Inc ($MSTR)

MicroStrategy changed its name to Strategy this year – a rebrand aimed at doubling down on its Bitcoin treasury strategy. But this year, that strategy didn't play out as planned. $MSTR flipped to trading at a discount to the value of its bitcoin holdings as the leading digital asset erased its gains for the year. Since $MSTR effectively acts like a leveraged, high-beta crypto proxy, any crypto drawdown hurts it twice as much. And since it's funding Bitcoin purchases with new equity and fixed-income securities, shareholders face dilution as its debt obligations grow. Still, the firm's underlying software business generated modest growth of US$114.5M in Q2 with a gross margin of 68%.

Microsoft Corp ($MSFT)

Microsoft's year was marked by record intelligent cloud revenue and growth across business units. Azure recorded US$75B in annual revenue, up 34% YoY, even as heavy capex and cloud margin pressure loomed. A disappointing cloud forecast on 30 January triggered a selloff that was bought into by Stake investors in a big way, with $MSFT buys rising 98% from the previous day. It's another firm betting big on AI as its gaming and hardware growth lags, so investors will be hoping it's enough to solidify Microsoft's position as a dominant force in enterprise tech.