The Year Just Started — And 3 Surprising Stocks Already Pull Ahead

That's didn't take long. Already a few S&P 500 stocks are pulling ahead of the market by double-digit amounts.

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Three S&P 500 stocks including two utilities, Vistra (VST) and Constellation Energy (CEG), plus energy firm Texas Pacific Land (TPL), are already up 9.5% or more this year, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge. And that's with the market only open for two trading days so far. The S&P 500 itself is up just 1% this year at this point.

Such outperformance is a reminder that the market is headed into 2025 with a head of steam. But the S&P 500 leaders may not turn out to be the same as they were in 2024. "U.S. markets are tilted to the upside as stocks benefit from a relief rally while the greenback and Treasuries hover near their flatlines," said Jose Torres, Senior Economist at Interactive Brokers.

Utilities Turning On The Jets Due To AI

One of the most surprising trends of 2024 — outperformance of utilities — appears to be making a return in early 2025.

Vistra, a power generation company based in Irving, Texas, has seen its stock shoot up nearly 18% already this year. That doesn't include the 0.6% dividend yield. It's the best S&P 500 stock so far in 2025, topping even last year's banner stock Nvidia (NVDA), which is up 7.9% this year. Vistra sports an RS Rating of 97.

Why is a utility turning it on? The company is expected to see a surge in demand from operators of large language learning model AI systems. Vistra provides power to critical areas of Texas where some expect AI modeling to take place.

The fundamentals are strong, too, though. Analysts think the company will report 35% higher profit for 2024 followed by a 48% jump in 2025.

But Vistra is not the only utility stock jumping in 2025. Constellation Energy is the No. 2 top S&P 500 stock this year with an 12.8% gain. It's based in Baltimore, Md., and provides power of multiple types across the U.S. Constellation has an RS Rating of 88 and analysts are even more bullish on its profit growth. Earnings per share is seen leaping 86% in 2024 and another 10% in 2025.

Such strong gains aren't going unnoticed. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) is the year's best so far: up 2.3%. And right behind energy is Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU), up 2% on the year.

Energy Firms Strong, Too

Given the strong showing of energy, it's not surprising to see some standouts in the sector, too.

And the S&P 500 energy stock standing out most is Dallas-based Texas Pacific Land. Its stock is up 9.5% this year. The company owns a piece of hundreds of thousands of acres of land in energy rich west Texas. Earnings are seen rising 14% in 2024 and 10% in 2025. The stock already has an RS Rating of 96.

All this isn't to say technology isn't doing well in the S&P 500. Half of the year's top 10 stocks are in information technology. And the best tech stock in the S&P 500 this year so far is Nvidia.

It looks like the same things are off to the same in 2025 as in 2024.

Top S&P 500 Stocks In 2025 So Far

Sources: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence