The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI), that venerable relic of a bygone era, has long since surrendered its crown to the S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the technorati’s favored Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC). To some, its 30 handpicked constituents read like a guest list for a rather exclusive but ultimately unrepresentative soiree. Yet within this narrow circle, one might find gems overlooked by the crowd-stocks poised to dance to a different tune in 2025 and beyond.
1. Apple
Apple (AAPL)’s stumble into the artificial intelligence epoch was less of a triumph and more of a misstep, to put it politely. The company’s October 2024 unveiling of Apple Intelligence, while brimming with promise, failed to stir the masses-or their pocketbooks. The result? A rather unseemly dip in share price, from $256 to $188, as investors exchanged glances over lukewarm coffee. Yet, as the seasons turned, so too did fortune’s wheel. Consumers, it seems, were equally unprepared to wade into AI’s murky waters, preferring to let the kinks be ironed out by others. Now, both parties-Apple and its clientele-find themselves primed for a more harmonious duet.
Recent whispers of robust demand for the iPhone 17-despite its AI capabilities still being in their infancy-suggest the market is abuzz with anticipation. Bank of America, JPMorgan (JPM), and Wedbush, among others, have chimed in with their symphony of optimism. Even the delayed arrival of the next-gen Siri, slated for early 2026, has done little to dampen enthusiasm. After all, the global generative AI market, in which Apple holds a seat at the table, is forecast to balloon to $200 billion by 2033, expanding at a 32% clip. One might say the company’s Services division, bolstered by this AI-driven tide, will find itself in a rather lucrative position.
2. Johnson & Johnson
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has, like many pharmaceutical peers, endured a rather trying decade since 2022. The taming of the COVID-19 beast, while a triumph for humanity, proved a financial catastrophe for vaccine sales. Development pipelines, once bustling, ground to a halt as the world’s attention turned elsewhere. The stock’s performance, predictably, reflected this stagnation. But lo! A renaissance of sorts is afoot. The developmental efforts once shelved now hum with renewed vigor, and the oncology division, in particular, has set its sights on a $50 billion annual revenue target by 2030-an ambitious figure, to be sure, but one underpinned by a pipeline brimming with phase 3 trials and FDA hopefuls.
While $50 billion may seem a modest fraction of JNJ’s $90 billion revenue forecast, it is, in fact, threefold the 2028 consensus estimate. Drugs such as TAR-200 for bladder cancer and the Rybrevant-Lazcluze combo for lung cancer are but the opening acts in a grander opera. The company’s 18 phase 3 cancer trials and eight FDA submissions suggest a crescendo is near. And this is but the oncology chapter; the full libretto includes over 100 drug trials in total. One might say the market has underestimated this pharmaceutical titan’s industriousness.
3. JPMorgan Chase
Mega-bank JPMorgan Chase (JPM), that stalwart of the financial establishment, has already staged a 200% rally from its 2022 nadir. Yet at 16 times forward earnings, the stock remains a mere trifle compared to the grander schemes of the financial aristocracy. The banking sector, as one might expect, has been a tiresome affair of late-stagnant revenues, flat earnings, and the dreary specter of economic lethargy. But all is not lost. Goldman Sachs, that shrewd oracle of M&A, predicts a $3.9 trillion global dealmaking bonanza in 2026, a figure that suggests corporations have grown weary of waiting for certainty.
As Goldman so elegantly put it, “We believe we’re in the second year of a five-to-seven-year M&A market recovery.” With interest rate cuts likely to fan the flames of dealmaking, JPMorgan’s underwriting prowess-though not its primary revenue driver-will find itself in a favorable position. After all, in the grand theater of finance, even the side acts benefit when the spotlight shifts. One might raise a glass to that. 🚀
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2025-09-25 12:28