Profitable Stocks for 2025: How to Navigate Volatility and Find Opportunities

The Context: Markets Under Tension, Opportunities in Correction

After a historic 2024 in returns, 2025 has brought about a radical change. Tariffs imposed by the U.S. administration—10% base, 50% on the EU, 55% accumulated on China, 24% on Japan—have generated unprecedented volatility. While global indices fluctuate between panic and recovery, one reality emerges: the best stocks to invest in 2025 are not at all-time highs but in the March-April corrections.

Gold surpasses $3,300 per ounce reflecting the search for refuge. However, after the initial panic, markets have rebounded and are reaching new all-time highs again. In this context, investors who correctly identify where to allocate their money can take advantage of depressed prices of quality companies.

The Five Stocks with the Greatest Recovery Potential

1. Novo Nordisk: the opportunity in the deepest correction

Novo Nordisk (NVO) experienced the steepest decline in over two decades: a 27% correction in March 2025. Why? Competition from Eli Lilly and disappointments in CagriSema clinical trials. But this is precisely where the opportunity arises.

The Danish company continues to dominate diabetes and obesity with a sales growth of 26% in 2024 (42.100 million dollars). Its operating margins of 43% are solid. Additionally, it has made key strategic moves:

• Acquisition of Catalent for 16.5 billion dollars (expanding manufacturing capacity)
• Agreement with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for 1 billion to license LX9851, a new mechanism against obesity

Global demand for therapies for diabetes and obesity continues to grow. At a price of $69.17 (with YTD return of -19.59%), Novo Nordisk presents an attractive entry point in a defensive sector with structural growth.

2. LVMH: luxury recovering with Asian expansion

LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (MC) fell 25.24% YTD after declines of 6.7% in January and 7.7% in April. The reason: a 20% tariff on EU products (later reduced to 10%), plus modest growth in the first quarter of 2025.

However, fundamentals remain strong: revenues of €84.7 billion in 2024 with an operating margin of 23.1%. At €477.3 per share, this correction offers an entry into a portfolio of iconic brands (Louis Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Sephora).

Most relevant: LVMH identifies growth focuses in Japan (double-digit sales in 2024), Middle East (+6% regional), and India (new stores in Mumbai). Digital expansion and the AI platform Dreamscape to personalize pricing reinforce competitiveness. In cycles of uncertainty, luxury also recovers when volatility subsides.

3. ASML: dominant position despite geopolitical pressures

ASML Holding (ASML) lost about 30% of its value over the past year, but its technological fundamentals are unbreakable. ASML is the sole provider of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines (EUV) essential for manufacturing advanced chips. It has no real substitute.

In 2024: sales of €28.3 billion, net income of €7.6 billion, gross margin of 51.3%. In Q1 2025: €7.7 billion in sales and record gross margin of 54%. The guidance for 2025 is €30-35 billion.

Pressures are real: Dutch export restrictions (reducing sales to China by 10-15%), reduced spending by Intel and Samsung. But TSMC and SK Hynix maintain high capex due to AI demand. Artificial intelligence will continue to require advanced chips, and ASML is irreplaceable in that chain.

At $799.59 per share (14.63% YTD positive, but with volatility), ASML offers exposure to the structural demand for semiconductors.

4. Microsoft: valuation correction in the AI giant

Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) corrected 20% from all-time highs, reaching an intraday low of $367.24 on March 31. Concerns about valuation, relative slowdown of Azure, and regulatory uncertainty (FTC investigation into monopoly in cloud and cybersecurity).

But Q3 fiscal 2025 revealed the opposite: revenues of $70.1 billion, operating margin of 46%, and Azure/cloud services growing 33%. Microsoft announced 15,000 job cuts (mayo-julio 2025) to redirect resources toward AI, not a weakness but a strategic prioritization.

Fiscal year 2024: revenues of $245.1 billion (+16%), operating income +24%, net income +22%. The partnership with OpenAI positions Microsoft at the forefront of enterprise generative AI. At $491.09 (+18.35% YTD), Microsoft remains the solid tech investment with real growth.

5. Alibaba: Chinese tech resurgence

Alibaba Group (BABA) experienced a 35% decline from 2024 highs due to trade tensions and concerns over large investments in AI/cloud. However, in January 2025, it announced a three-year plan of $52 billion for AI and cloud infrastructure, plus a campaign of 50 billion yuan in coupons to revitalize domestic consumption.

Q4 2024: revenues of 280.2 billion yuan (+8%). Q1 2025: revenues of 236.45 billion yuan, adjusted net profit +22%, driven by an 18% rise in Cloud Intelligence.

Recent volatility: rose 40% in February with a rebound of AI tech stocks, then fell 7% after March results considered weak. At $108.7 (+28.20% YTD), Alibaba offers exposure to the Chinese tech recovery with structural investment in AI.

Other companies with potential: diversification beyond the Top 5

Besides the previous quintet, the full list of 15 companies offers sectoral diversification:

Energy and extractive industries: Exxon Mobil (+4.3% YTD, with a return of $112 )benefiting from high oil prices. BHP Group (+3.46% YTD, $50.73 )leads in metals demanded by emerging economies.

Finance: JPMorgan Chase (+23.48% YTD, $296 )leverages high interest rates and its financial position for international growth.

Semiconductors and tech infrastructure: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC, +18.89% YTD, $234.89 )is a key provider of advanced chips. NVIDIA, despite a YTD decline of -17%, continues to dominate the AI chip market ($110).

Technology and software: Apple (-4.72% YTD, $212.44 ), Amazon (+1.83% YTD, $219.92 ), and Alphabet (-5.16% YTD, $178.64 ), represent stability with moderate growth in a competitive environment.

Automotive: Tesla (-21.91% YTD, $315.65 ) maintains leadership in electric vehicles. Toyota (-10% YTD, $174.89 ) offers stability with advances in hybrids and hydrogen technology.

Investment Strategy Amid Tariffs and Volatility

In 2025, the investment strategy should pivot around three axes:

Defensive diversification: companies with a strong presence in domestic markets or business models less dependent on international trade reduce tariff risk. LVMH, Microsoft, JPMorgan are examples.

Exposure to structural demand: AI, advanced semiconductors, digital health (Novo Nordisk) respond to global needs independent of business cycles. These sectors will grow even amid volatility.

Flexibility and constant updating: informed investors about geopolitical tensions, regulatory changes, and macroeconomic data can adjust portfolios before the market reprices information. This requires active news monitoring of political and economic developments.

Maintaining composure is critical. After big drops come corrections. Panic selling crystallizes losses. Investors who bought in previous corrections (like March-April 2025 in Novo Nordisk and LVMH) now see significant recoveries.

Ways to Access the Best Stocks to Invest

Investors have multiple options:

1. Direct stock purchase: through an authorized broker or bank account. Full control of the portfolio.

2. Investment funds: include various thematic or sectoral stocks, managed actively or passively. Ideal for automated diversification, though you lose individual selection.

3. Derivatives (CFDs): allow amplifying positions with less initial capital or hedging risks via leverage. Require discipline and solid knowledge, as leverage magnifies gains and losses.

In the context of tariffs and volatility, combining derivatives with traditional assets balances risks while maintaining long-term exposure to promising sectors.

Conclusion: 2025 as a Year of Opportunity for Prepared Investors

2025 will be remembered as the year when the record-breaking rally of previous years abruptly slowed, giving way to recent unprecedented volatility and uncertainty. Global financial markets are in transition: tariffs, trade tensions, regulatory uncertainty.

But volatility does not mean loss. It is an opportunity for investors who:

• Invest in diversified portfolios both sectorally and geographically
• Include safe assets (bonds, gold) to offset potential losses
• Maintain emotional discipline during declines
• Stay informed about political and economic developments

The best stocks to invest in 2025 are not at all-time highs. They are in companies with solid fundamentals that have suffered unjustified corrections due to overall volatility. Novo Nordisk, LVMH, ASML, Microsoft, and Alibaba exemplify this profile: quality companies at more accessible prices, with structural growth in defensive or innovative sectors.

Being prepared, informed, and flexible is the best defense against the uncertainties of 2025.