Wall Street closed at a record-high level to finish a turbulent first half of 2025. However, a microscopic analysis of U.S. stocks reveals that despite a solid finish, the indexes witnessed the weakest first-half performance since 2022. Nevertheless, the bull run of U.S. stocks, which started at the beginning of 2023, continued till the first half of 2025.
U.S. stock markets started July with much vigor as both the broad-market S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite recorded all-time intraday and closing highs. However, the blue-chip Dow lagged its two large-cap peers despite experiencing a northward journey this year.
Year to date, the three major indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are up — 4.9%, 6.7% and 6.9%. Technically, at its current level of 44,458.30, the Dow is well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of 42,450.91 and 42,692.75, respectively.
At this stage, from an investment perspective, we have narrowed our search to three blue-chip stocks. Each of our picks carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
These stocks have strong earnings growth potential for the rest of 2025. These stocks are: Visa Inc. V, The Walt Disney Co. DIS, Microsoft Corp. MSFT, The Coca-Cola Co. KO and International Business Machines Corp. IBM.
The chart below shows the price performance of our five picks year to date.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Visa’s strong market position is underpinned by consistent volume-driven growth, acquisitions and technological leadership in digital payments. Expansion in cross-border volumes, rising digital transactions, and investments in AI and stablecoin infrastructure enhance V’s prospects.
Visa’s strategic acquisitions and alliances are fostering long-term growth and consistently driving revenues. V is fueled by continued increases in payments, cross-border volumes and sustained investments in technology, and is witnessing significant profit growth.
The ongoing shift to digital payments is advantageous for Visa, with strong domestic volumes supporting its overall performance. With fraud cases on the rise and AI adoption increasing, V’s services are in high demand. V has embedded AI and generative AI into over 100 products, primarily for fraud prevention and cybersecurity.
Visa has invested $3.5 billion in rebuilding its data platform. V’s technology helps prevent $40 billion annually in fraud attempts. Through strategic diversification, innovation, and AI-driven security, V is well-positioned for long-term growth.
