In this article, we will look at the 10 Best American Stocks To Buy and Hold in 2025.
Will the Market Continue To Be Bullish in 2025?
Wall Street’s outlook for the stock market in 2025 reflects a cautious optimism following two consecutive years of substantial gains. Analysts predict continued growth, however at a more moderate pace compared to the explosive increases of 2023 and 2024. According to a report by CNN, published on January 1, strategists anticipate a 14.8% increase in the S&P 500 for 2025, which is significant but lower than the previous years’ performances. The Index saw gains of approximately 23% in 2024 and 24% in 2023. As per the report 2025 marks a return to typical growth rates after an extraordinary period of high returns, which has not been seen since the late 1990s.
While several factors are expected to contribute to the market growth, there are potential risks that can hinder it. One of the key factors contributing to growth is the anticipated business-friendly policies under President-elect Donald Trump. Dan Ives, who is a technology senior analyst at Wedbush Securities in his December 30 note mentioned his expectations that tech stocks can rise 25% in 2025 due to less regulation under the Trump administration. The analyst has picked Technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) stocks as his best performers for the year.
On the other hand, there are potential risks that could negatively impact the stock market. For instance, the uncertainty surrounding Trump’s policy decisions may create a volatile environment for markets. Traders are particularly wary of how proposed tariffs could affect economic stability and investor confidence. David Sekera from Morningstar emphasizes that the implementation of tariffs is a significant wildcard that could sway market performance in either direction. We recently covered the analysis of Jurrien Timmer, Director of Global Macro at Fidelity Management & Research Company in our article titled, 12 High Growth International Stocks to Invest in Now. Here’s a piece from our coverage:
“While talking about large-cap stock performance, Timmer raises the question of whether this trend of narrow leadership will persist. He suggested that trends continue to move in the same direction until a significant change occurs. Given that large-cap growth stocks have dominated for years, it is reasonable to assume that they may continue to lead. However, he also cautioned the investors that as per the concept of mean reversion, asset prices will eventually return to their historical averages and when this happens, it could lead to sharp corrections in stock prices. Timmer believes that while 2024 was a “Goldilocks year,” for earnings and valuations, this year can be a tussle between higher earnings and rising long-term interest rates, thereby resulting in a volatile market.”
With that let’s take a look at the 10 best American stocks to buy and hold in 2025.
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Our Methodology
To get the list of the 10 best American stocks to buy and hold in 2025, we used Insider Monkey’s third-quarter hedge funds database. Using the database we ranked the top 10 American stocks in ascending order of the number of hedge funds holding stakes in them.
Why do we care about what hedge funds do? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
10 Best American Stocks To Buy and Hold in 2025
10. Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 128
Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) is a technology giant based in America. It is known for its semiconductors and software solutions. The primary focus of the company has been to develop custom chips which are the powerhouse for data centers and the AI industry.
The year 2024, was good for the company as it experienced significant demand coming from artificial intelligence. As a result, the stock rallied more than 97%. During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024, the demand for Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) XPUs and networking solutions led its revenue higher by 51% year-over-year to $14.05 billion. More notably, its AI revenue grew more than 220% year-over-year driven by the acquisition of VMware. Vijay Rakesh, analyst at Mizuho, has raised his price target for the stock to $260 from the previous target of $245. The analyst has placed Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) as his top pick for the year and we rank it as the 10th best American stock to buy and hold in 2025.
Munro Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) contributed 94bps to Fund performance for the quarter. Broadcom is a fabless semiconductor company that designs semiconductors for a range of different industries and applications, based in Palo Alto, California. The company plays an important role in providing semiconductors for AI, specifically, they provide hyperscale data center companies custom silicon chips. Over time, as companies such as Meta, Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft build out their AI offering, the critical semiconductor content will come from both custom silicon chips, designed by companies such as Broadcom, and merchant silicon chips, designed by Nvidia. Depending on the use case, or workload, the hyperscaler will use either a custom silicon semiconductor or a merchant silicon semiconductor. Therefore, over time we expect AI processes to be driven by both Nvidia-designed chips and custom-designed chips from Broadcom and its peers.
On their recent earnings call, Broadcom CEO Hock Tan confirmed that the company’s customers are rapidly pursuing the development of a 1 million XPU cluster of chips. To translate what this means for Broadcom, Hock laid out the Serviceable Addressable Market (SAM) opportunity for the company’s AI revenues over the next 3 years to 2027. In 2024, Hock noted that Broadcom’s SAM was $15-20bn USD, of which the company commanded an approximate 70% share. In 2027, that SAM is expected to grow to $60-90bn USD, and assuming Broadcom captures an approximate 60% share, this gives rise to $50bn USD of AI revenue opportunity for the company over the next 3 years. For the company overall, this means that revenue has the potential to double over the next 3 years. We believe the technology road map outlined by Broadcom and the resulting revenue opportunity gives rise to a multi-year runway of earnings growth backed by a large structural change.”
9. Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 131
Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) is the second-largest payment processor in the world. The company handled more than $9 trillion in transactions in 2023 and has surged more than 21% over the past year, mainly on the back of increased digital and cross-border payments. It operates in more than 200 countries handling cross-border transactions in more than 150 currencies.
Arvind Ramnani, analyst at Piper Sandler on January 24 maintained his Buy rating on the stock and kept his price target of $591 for MA stock. During the fiscal third quarter of 2024, Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) noted that they are experiencing significant growth and are expanding their services. Management shared their plans of acquiring Recorded Future and Minna Technologies. The company has already finalized its deal to acquire Recorded Future for $2.65 billion. Recorded Future is a leading threat intelligence company with over 1,900 clients across 75 countries, including many Fortune 100 companies and government entities. The acquisition will enhance Mastercard Incorporated’s (NYSE:MA) capabilities in identifying and mitigating cyber threats, which are increasingly important as digital transactions grow.
The company is committed to capitalizing on the shift towards electronic payments. This includes enhancing its presence in commercial payments and exploring new payment flows. During the third quarter, it reported a 14% increase in net revenues and a 13% rise in adjusted net income compared to the previous year, driven by increased consumer spending and cross-border transactions. It is one of the best American stocks to buy and hold in 2025.
Montaka Global Investments stated the following regarding Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Montaka owns several duopolists in the financial services industry, including Visa and Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA) in payments; and S&P Global in credit ratings and financial data services. These businesses have competitively protected and reliably growing core businesses. But they also have newer, high-probability adjacent opportunities. The market, however, is underappreciating this powerful combination, in our view.
For Visa and Mastercard, their core businesses in global payment processing are being complemented by significant growth in two areas:
New processing opportunities in peer-to-peer, business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and government-to-consumer payments; and
Value-added services, including risk, fraud-detection, issuance, acceptance, and open banking.”
8. Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 136
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) is an American mobility Software-as-a-Service company that connects riders with drivers. It also provides food delivery services, grocery shopping, and public transport integration in more than 70 countries around the world.
Investors have been concerned about the future of Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) due to the rise of autonomous vehicles and robot taxis. However, recently an analyst at Goldman Sachs ranked the company as one of his top picks for 2025. Eric Sheridan mentioned that these concerns are short-term headwinds for UBER and he sees long-term potential in the stock. He mentioned that the risk-to-reward situation for the company is more balanced compared to its competitors.
Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) during its fiscal third quarter of 2024 reported impressive results. The company reached an all-time high GAAP operating profit of $1 billion and grew its gross bookings by 20% year-over-year. Moreover, management in January announced its partnership with NVIDIA to enhance its development of autonomous mobility through advanced artificial intelligence technology. Under the agreement, the company will use NVIDIA’s Cosmos platform and DGX Cloud to accelerate the creation of AI-driven models for self-driving vehicles.
Here’s what RiverPark Large Growth Fund stated regarding Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:
“Uber Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:UBER): UBER was a top contributor in the quarter following better than expected 4Q23 earnings and 1Q24 guidance. Gross bookings of $37.6 billion were up 22% year over year. Mobility gross bookings of $19.3 billion grew 29% over last year driven by a combination of product innovation and driver availability. Delivery gross bookings of $17 billion were up 19% from last year and continued to be strong throughout the quarter. 4Q Adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 billion, up $618 million year over year, was better than management’s guidance of $1.2 billion, and the company generated $768 million of free cash flow, up from a cash loss of $303 million last year. Management guided to continuing growth in 1Q Gross Bookings (20% growth) and Adjusted EBITDA (of $1.3 billion). The company hosted a well-received analyst day in February during which it guided to three year compounded annual growth rates for gross bookings of mid-to-high single digits and EBITDA of 30-40%, both above investor expectations. The company also guided to free cash flow conversion of 90% of EBITDA.
UBER remains the undisputed global leader in ride sharing, with a greater than 50% share in every major region in which it operates. The company is also a leader in food delivery, where it is number one or two in the more than 25 countries in which it operates. Moreover, after a history of losses, the company is now profitable, delivering expanding margins and substantial free cash flow. We view UBER as more than a ride sharing and food delivery service; we also see it as a global mobility platform with 142 million users (by comparison, Amazon Prime has 200 million members) and the ability to penetrate new markets of on-demand services, such as package and grocery delivery, travel, and hourly worker staffing. Given its $5.4 billion of unrestricted cash and $4.8 billion of investments, the company today has an enterprise value of $165 billion, indicating that UBER trades at 21x our estimates of next year’s free cash flow.”
7. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 158
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) is an international provider of smartphones, personal computers, and other technology gadgets. Based in America, the company is renowned for its iPhone, Mac, and iPad. On January 27, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated their Buy rating on the stock, keeping the price target of $262. The firm expects the ongoing December quarter to be a bit low due to slower sales of the iPhone as it continues to face challenges from other Chinese manufacturers.
Management has been proactive in dealing with this competition. They released Apple Intelligence in June last year. The new artificial intelligence will be integrated with upcoming models to enhance user experience and act as a competitive edge over its competitors. Moreover, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has also shifted its focus on the Apple Store and its services revenue stream. As a result, the company was able to generate a record $25 billion in fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of 2024, indicating a 12% increase year-over-year.
Mar Vista Strategic Growth Strategy viewed Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock positively due to investor enthusiasm for its AI roadmap and iPhone 16 launch. Here’s what it is said regarding the company in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was strong in the quarter as investors viewed the company’s generative AI roadmap and iPhone 16 product cycle positively. The market was reminded of the strength of the Apple ecosystem as management demonstrated how generative AI solutions would be integrated into its iOS 18 operating system, which was broadly released in the iPhone 16 late in calendar Q3. We believe Apple’s generative AI-enabled products should spur a meaningful iPhone upgrade cycle and create new avenues of monetization through its app store and advertising offerings. We believe this will support intrinsic value growth that will range between high single digits and low double digits over our investment horizon.”
6. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 165
Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is an American payment processing company, which is also recognized as one of the world’s largest financial companies. The company handled more than $15 trillion in payments in fiscal 2023. On January 24, Piper Sanlder raised its price target on the stock from $322 to $368, while maintaining an Outperform rating. The firm anticipates that the revenues and margins for the company are largely undervalued when considering the impact generative AI can have on the payment ecosystem.
During the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024. The company reported growing its revenue by 12% year-over-year to reach $9.6 billion. Moreover, Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) has been making significant strides in expanding its business partnerships and enhancing its payment solutions. Management reported securing 650 new business partnerships while also expanding and renewing existing agreements with key organizations including Grupo Promerica, SMCC, Alrajhi, Standard Chartered Bank, and more. It is one of the best American stocks to buy and hold in 2025.
Montaka Global Investments stated the following regarding Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Montaka owns several duopolists in the financial services industry, including Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) and Mastercard in payments; and S&P Global in credit ratings and financial data services. These businesses have competitively protected and reliably growing core businesses. But they also have newer, high-probability adjacent opportunities. The market, however, is underappreciating this powerful combination, in our view.
For Visa and Mastercard, their core businesses in global payment processing are being complemented by significant growth in two areas:
New processing opportunities in peer-to-peer, business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and government-to-consumer payments; and
Value-added services, including risk, fraud-detection, issuance, acceptance, and open banking.”
5. NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 193
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) is an American technology company, which has been leading the artificial development wave around the globe. It develops powerful GPUs and semiconductor chips that allow companies to process AI workloads. Its latest GPU at the moment is the Blackwell series, which is recognized to be the most powerful chip in the world. On January 2, Vivek Arya, an analyst at Bank of America named NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) to be one of his top picks for the year. The analyst kept his Buy rating on the stock with a price target of $190. He believes that the company’s valuation can easily grow up to $4 billion in a short period.
NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) has already grown its revenue by 256% during the fiscal fourth quarter of 2024 to reach $22.1 billion. Analysts believe there is still room for growth mainly due to the recent $500 billion AI project announced by President Donald Trump. The company has been named as one of the preferred partners for the project, indicating more demand for its products in the future. It is one of the best American stocks to buy and hold in 2025.
Infuse Asset Management stated the following regarding NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“We do still own some NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) as the forward multiple isn’t egregious and it powers over 90% of AI workloads. This company is only becoming increasingly important though the hyperscalers are actively trying to save money through their ASIC programs. The moat CUDA provides has been underestimated time and time again. While I don’t think Nvidia has quite the upside as some of the other companies in the portfolio, it has a product that the best companies in the world literally can’t get enough of.”
4. Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 202
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is an American technology company known for its search engine Google. Its search engine has become so popular that it is recognized as a verb now. However, what some investors might not know is the company’s position in the AI industry. Its language model, Gemini, is seen as one of the top options in the space. The company has also incorporated AI into Google search, which provides an overview of the search results. In addition, Gemini 2.0 has also been launched now, which allows users to run more complex tasks using AI.
Analysts appreciate its efforts in the field of AI and also its stronghold within the core business of advertising and search engines. On January 24, analysts at Scotiabank raised their price target on Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to $240 from the previous target of $210. Analysts kept their Overweight rating on the stock, expecting continuous demand for its products and services in 2025. During the fiscal third quarter of 2024, the company grew its revenue by 15% year-over-year and delivered a net income of $26.3 billion, demonstrating a robust financial position. It is one of the best American stocks to buy and hold in 2025.
Oakmark Equity and Income Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) was the top contributor during the quarter. Despite ongoing litigation with the Department of Justice in its antitrust case, the U.S.-headquartered interactive media and services company’s stock price rose after posting solid third-quarter earnings. In the Search division, the company generated low-teens year-over-year revenue growth and management highlighted that they’re seeing strong user engagement with their new AI Overviews feature. The biggest upside surprise came from the Cloud division, where revenue growth accelerated to 35% and margins reached a record of 17%. This performance was driven by client demand for AI Infrastructure and Generative AI Solutions as well as core Google Cloud Platform (GCP) products. We continue to believe Alphabet is a collection of great businesses that can unlock further value over the long term through its world-class AI capabilities.”
3. Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 235
Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is an American technology company that is revolutionizing social media. The company owns and operates various popular social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp. It is also engaged in virtual reality technology and has launched its artificial intelligence model, which is integrated across all its social media platforms.
Recently, Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) has announced to increase in its spending on AI. The news has been taken positively by the analysts as on January 23, Bank of America maintained its Buy rating on the stock, increasing its price target from $660 to $710. Analysts at the firm mentioned that they see potential in the artificial intelligence capabilities of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META). The CEO has announced to increase in the AI investment from $40 billion spent in 2024 to $65 billion planned to be spent in 2025. In addition, the company also plans to launch and manufacture its GPUs to become a leading player in the industry.
Hardman Johnston Global Equity stated the following regarding Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“During the quarter, we initiated one new position in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and had no liquidations. Management at Meta has effectively addressed concerns about investment efficiency by shifting resources from Reality Labs towards broader AI initiatives with a clearer path to profitability. We believe management has successfully articulated the benefits of this strategy, highlighting how AI is driving user engagement and advertiser productivity. This, in turn, fuels continued revenue momentum and increases the likelihood of positive earnings surprises in the future. Additionally, the parent company of the social media platform, Facebook, has recently taken positive steps to enhance safety, which suggests to us a shift towards a more proactive and responsive approach to addressing important potential challenges and concerns. Weak oversight over data privacy protection was a key reason why we sold the position in the portfolio back in 2021. Removing this governance overhang allows us to feel comfortable to enter back into the stock at a time when we believe it is poised for strong earnings growth going forward.”
2. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 279
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is a major American technology company that ranks as the 2nd best American Stock to buy and hold in 2025. It develops and sells a wide range of products and services aimed at helping people and businesses with their computing needs. It has become a significant player in the cloud and artificial intelligence space due to its Azure platform. The company has the second largest share in the international cloud industry around 23-25%, driven by AI integration.
On January 27, Mark Moerdler, an analyst at Bernstein maintained a Buy rating on the stock, keeping his price target at $516. The analyst believes Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) strategic focus on AI and its ongoing investment in its Azure cloud are factors that will catalyze growth in the future. Recently, the company has entered into a significant revenue-sharing agreement with OpenAI that extends their partnership until 2030. This deal is designed to enhance Microsoft’s Azure cloud services by providing access to OpenAI’s advanced artificial intelligence models, which will benefit Azure customers. Management has plans to invest $80 billion in its expenditure cycle to support cloud systems and AI workloads over the next fiscal year.
RiverPark Large Growth Fund stated the following regarding Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in its Q3 2024 investor letter:
“Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT): MSFT was a top detractor in the third quarter following a fiscal fourth quarter earnings report that featured inline operating metrics but mixed guidance. Positively, the company reported strong revenue (+15%) and earnings growth (+10%), powered by Azure (+30%), and operating margins of 43%. Guidance however calls for lower than expected fiscal first quarter Azure revenue as infrastructure constraints limit growth, and higher capital expenditures throughout the company’s fiscal 2025 to alleviate these constraints. The company expects growth to reaccelerate in the back half of fiscal 2025 as more AI capacity comes online.
Cloud-based services have become the company’s largest revenue and earnings producer. The company’s Azure platform alone has the potential to grow to more than $200 billion in annual revenue over the next decade. Overall, we believe that the company will continue to deliver double-digit revenue and EPS growth and generate an enormous amount of free cash flow to return to shareholders and use for acquisitions.”
1. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 286
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is the best American stock to buy and hold in 2025. It is a major technology company that not only operates an e-commerce platform but is also involved in streaming and cloud services. The company has taken the lead in integrating artificial intelligence into its AWS cloud platform, which is being appreciated by analysts and investors.
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) during the fiscal third quarter of 2024 grew its revenue by 11% year-over-year to reach $158.9 billion. The growth was fueled by the incorporation of new AI features. The e-commerce segment also grew by a staggering 60% during the same time, while the AWS segment drove profitability by adding around $10.4 billion to the net income. Scotiabank has raised its price target for the stock to $306 from the previous target of $246. The firm believes that large-cap stocks will continue to experience robust demand in 2025.
Vulcan Value Partners stated the following regarding Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in its Q4 2024 investor letter:
“There were five material contributors to performance: Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Salesforce Inc., Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Carlyle Group Inc., and Alphabet Inc. Amazon.com is a dominant, world-class company with powerful secular tailwinds in place including its e-commerce penetration, digital advertising growth, and the cloud transition. Amazon reported strong results during the quarter. The market is beginning to reward the company for its untapped margin opportunity in the core retail business as its consolidated operating margins expanded.”
While we acknowledge the potential of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) to grow, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AMZN but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and Complete List of 59 AI Companies Under $2 Billion in Market Cap.
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