The hardware industry is one of the most promising industries you can invest in right now, and there is a good chance that many companies in this sector are going to deliver triple-digit gains this year. You can thank AI for that since it requires significant amounts of hardware and various types of electrical and industrial equipment.
Of course, the hardware industry is beyond just AI-related stocks. PC sales are forecasted to grow by 4% to 273 million units, while smartphone shipments are anticipated to reach 1.24 billion units. Robotics and the semiconductor sector are likely going to grow at double digits annually this decade on top of that.
With that in mind, here are the hardware stocks that are spearheading these gains so far in 2025, at least in percentage terms.
A close-up of a technician’s hands assembling a hardware component of an IT solution.
Methodology
For this article, I screened the top-performing hardware stocks year-to-date. Stocks that I have covered recently will be excluded from this list.
I will also mention the number of hedge fund investors in these stocks. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds invest in? 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).
15. Aviat Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AVNW)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 14
Aviat Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AVNW) is a wireless transport and access company.
The stock is up significantly so far this year due to its record-breaking fiscal Q2 2025 results. The company posted 26.2% year-over-year revenue growth to $118.2 million. Adjusted EBITDA surged to $14.8 million compared to $12.1 million in Q2 2024.
Moreover, non-GAAP EPS of $0.82 beat expectations by 31%. This was its 18th consecutive quarter of trailing twelve-month revenue growth.
Plus, Aviat secured $35 million in quarterly orders for Pasolink microwave technology. It is now on track for a $140 million annual contribution from this strategic acquisition.
Aviat Networks expects full-year revenue at $430-$470 million, along with adjusted EBITDA of $30-$40 million.
The consensus price target of $37.6 implies 65.89% upside.
AVNW stock is up 23.91% year-to-date.
14. Franklin Wireless Corp (NASDAQ:FKWL)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders In Q3 2024: 3
Franklin Wireless Corp or Franklin Access (NASDAQ:FKWL) is an IoT company that provides products for 5G/4G mobile hotspots and other connectivity solutions for telecom and industrial uses.
The stock is up significantly so far this year as a federal jury awarded just $0.99 (yes, less than a dollar) in damages (vs. plaintiffs’ $110 million claim) in shareholder litigation.
In addition, it launched new products and shifted toward subscription-based services for its 100,000+ IoT and mobile subscribers, though financials haven’t been the best. It saw a 27% revenue decline in 2024.
FKWL stock is up 24.08% year-to-date.
