The stock market has been on a tear over the past month as Wall Street celebrated signs of progress in U.S. tariff negotiations and easing trade tensions with China. Since our last Monthly Meeting on April 16 through Tuesday’s close, the S & P 500 jumped 12.6%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained more than 17.3%. (The Club’s May Monthly Meeting l ivestreams at noon ET on Wednesday.) This is a big reversal for stocks, which plummeted after President Donald Trump announced wide-reaching “reciprocal” tariffs on April 2. A week later , Trump issued a 90-day pause on the majority of those higher country-specific levies. China was not included. The news sent stocks surging on April 9, and the market began its weeks-long ascent. The rally continued into this month as the U.S. and the United Kingdom announced a trade deal on May 8 and the U.S. and China agreed four days later to slash tariffs for 90 days . Our 30-stock portfolio has benefited from the upswing. In fact, nine of our stocks have gained more than 20% since our April Monthly Meeting to Tuesday’s close. Here’s a look at how these stocks fared and what drove the outperformance in each. 1. GE Vernova: up 37.1% GEV YTD mountain GE Vernova (GEV) year-to-date performance Topping the list is GE Vernova , the Club’s newest holding. We can’t claim that entire gain, since we only initiated a small stake in this energy equipment manufacturer on May 13 and added shares again on May 19. At an average cost basis of $433.68 on the position, we’re sitting on about a 3.7% increase as of Tuesday’s close. The stock added another 2% early Wednesday. GE Vernova shares have benefited recently as investor worries over AI infrastructure spend and tariffs have continued to calm. Essentially, Wall Street’s regained an appreciation for secular-growing themes like electricity demand and expanding power. That’s GE Vernova’s Power and Electrification business. The stock got another leg up last week following Trump’s visit to the Middle East. Saudi Arabia committed to investing $600 billion in the U.S., over $14 billion of which will go toward buying gas turbines and energy solutions from GE Vernova. 2. Disney up 35.7% DIS YTD mountain Walt Disney (DIS) year-to-date performance Disney shares have surged along with other economically sensitive names on hopes that a tariff-driven recession can be avoided now that trade tensions are cooling. That’s because Disney’s experience revenue can be heavily impacted by a decrease in consumer spending — think tickets to the company’s signature theme parks and cruises. Shares received another boost after Disney posted a better-than-expected quarter on May 7 . Wall Street celebrated the top and bottom line beats, along with a hike in full-year earnings guidance. It’s great to see Disney come in second on our list — and No. 1 out of all of our longer-term holdings. The stock has been a real dog in recent years. But we have stayed patient, waiting for Wall Street to reward management for their cost-cutting measures and efforts to streamline the company’s direct-to-consumer offerings. 3. Broadcom up 32.7% AVGO YTD mountain Broadcom (AVGO) year-to-date performance It’s no surprise that Broadcom is one of our top monthly performers. Jim previously called Broadcom the “biggest winner” in the entire portfolio from easing trade tensions. That’s because the AI chipmaker does substantial business overseas, with China accounting for 20% of its overall revenue in 2024. Additionally, concerns about cooling AI spending have subsided over the past month, which bode well for Broadcom’s key custom chip business. 4. Nvidia up 28.6% NVDA YTD mountain Nvidia (NVDA) year-to-date performance Similar to Broadcom, better relations with Beijing have improved investor sentiment about Nvidia . China is a massive market for the AI chipmaker, which had been harder to serve amid the U.S. trade feud. There have been company-specific announcements as well in May that the Street has cheered. Last week, for example, Nvidia announced that it would supply more than 18,000 of its Blackwell chips to Saudi Arabia-based startup Humain to power data centers there. This sent shares even higher. 5. Meta Platforms up 26.8% META YTD mountain Meta Platforms (META) year-to-date performance Meta shares can thank the recent strength in mega-cap tech and AI-related names for its outperformance. A solid quarterly earnings report on May 1 sent shares even higher. That’s because CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company is “well-positioned to navigate the macroeconomic uncertainty.” Weeks after that, more clarity around China tariffs helped Meta , too. Although the social media giant does a lot of its business domestically, it derives a lot of advertising revenue from China-based retailers. The news of a tariff pause with Beijing, therefore, was welcomed news for shareholders like us. 6. Microsoft up 23.3% MSFT YTD mountain Microsoft (MSFT) year-to-date performance Microsoft can chalk up its gains due to its quarterly earnings report last month. The tech behemoth posted a beat on its top and bottom line on the evening of April 30, driven by strength in its Azure cloud computing business. The stock’s 7.6% rise on May 1 was its best session since 2022. The release showed Wall Street that AI spending isn’t letting up anytime soon and that Microsoft’s massive AI bets are proving to be worth it. Like Meta, shares have continued to trend higher on the broader strength in the tech sector as well. 7. Capital One up 22.4% COF YTD mountain Capital One (COF) year-to-date performance Capital One stock climbed following its earnings report on April 22. Investors cheered the credit card issuer’s better-than-expected quarterly profit, driven by beats on credit quality. The stock maintained its momentum into this past weekend when the company completed its acquisition of Discover Financial . The $35 billion deal should boost Capital One’s competitive position among players like Visa, Mastercard , and American Express. 8. Eaton up 22% ETN YTD mountain Eaton (ETN) year-to-date performance Over the past month, Eaton shares have benefited from improved sentiment around generative artificial intelligence spending. That’s because Eaton is a derivative AI play since its offerings are essential for the buildout of data centers. Case in point: Eaton gets 20% of its overall revenue from data centers. The stock’s ascent continued after its May 2 earnings report when management reported accelerating organic sales growth and record first-quarter margins. There wasn’t a huge boost from the release, but it was enough to assure us to remain long for now. 9. Goldman Sachs up 21.5% GS YTD mountain Goldman Sachs (GS) year-to-date performance Like Disney, shares of Wall Street banks have steadily climbed on easing worries about the economy. That’s because a better economy typically means stronger loan growth and more dealmaking activity. Case in point: Recent signs of life in initial public offerings (IPOs) gave Goldman Sachs a boost, too. Last week, stock brokerage platform eToro went public on the Nasdaq. Banking app Chime also unveiled its IPO plans. Goldman was tapped as a lead underwriter for both deals. More IPOs bode well for the Club name’s crucial investment banking business — a key reason why we first started a position in the stock. (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED.
Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange on May 14, 2025.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters
The stock market has been on a tear over the past month as Wall Street celebrated signs of progress in U.S. tariff negotiations and easing trade tensions with China.