The communication services sector has been one of Wall Street’s most dynamic performers so far this year. The sector has a lot of breadth and encompasses everything from traditional telecom giants to digital advertising platforms and streaming entertainment providers, so the sector hardly moves in tandem.
What makes this sector particularly intriguing is how different subsegments are thriving for entirely different reasons. Tech-oriented communication stocks have capitalized on AI, whereas telecom stalwarts have found strength through 5G network expansion, which is finally becoming the dominant communication standard this year.
Understanding these market leaders provides both defensive positioning opportunities and exposure to some of the most innovative companies.
Even during bear markets, there are pockets of the market that perform exceptionally well. For example, I identified 15 Energy Stocks that are Up the Most in 2025 in another article.
Here are the top 15 energy winners so far this year.
A person at home displaying a vibrant media streaming interface, being rendered on a large flatscreen television.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the best-performing communication services stocks year-to-date.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? 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 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
15. AT&T Inc (NYSE:T)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 80
AT&T Inc (NYSE:T) is a leading U.S. telecommunications company specializing in wireless, fiber broadband, and connectivity services for consumers and businesses.
The primary reason AT&T’s stock is up significantly in 2025 is its strong first-quarter earnings, which beat analyst expectations for subscriber growth and demonstrated robust financial performance.
In April 2025, AT&T reported 324,000 postpaid phone net additions, which surpassed Wall Street estimates, and its adjusted earnings per share rose 6% year-over-year to $0.51, with revenues up 2% to $30.6 billion. This positive surprise, especially compared to Verizon’s subscriber losses, drove the stock up by more than 19% year-to-date before the earnings release, and it continued to climb after the report.
Another key catalyst was management’s confirmation that AT&T will commence share repurchases in the second quarter of 2025, following a reduction in net debt and achieving its leverage target. This move, along with a reaffirmed commitment to returning over $40 billion to shareholders through dividends and buybacks over the next three years, has fueled investor optimism.
The consensus price target of $28.5 implies 3.32% upside.
T stock is up 23.73% year-to-date.
14. Telefonica Brasil SA (NYSE:VIV)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q4 2024: 13
Telefonica Brasil SA (NYSE:VIV) is the largest telecommunications company in Brazil, providing mobile, fixed, broadband, and digital services to consumers and businesses nationwide.
The most significant recent catalyst was the announcement and implementation of a major share restructuring in March and April 2025. This restructuring, which consolidated every 40 existing shares into one and then split that into 80 shares, was designed to boost share liquidity, improve price formation, and reduce operational costs.
The restructuring was completed on April 15, 2025, and was accompanied by a capital reduction process with a restitution payment scheduled for July 2025.
The consensus price target of $19.93 implies 108.84% upside.
VIV stock is up 30.51% year-to-date.