The S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq (QQQ) shone in the third quarter. They posted their best performance since Q3/2020. The Russell 2000 (IWM), which represents small-cap firms, also performed well. IWM stock posted a performance not seen since Q3/2009.
Storage suppliers stood out in Q3. Artificial intelligence content generation, especially videos, drove demand for more storage. Seagate (STX) and Western Digital (WDC) gained 63% and 88%, respectively.
Trading app supplier Robinhood (HOOD) gained 55% and is up by 284% in 2025. Futu (FUTU) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) also rewarded investors, but not as much as HOOD stock did.
AppLovin (APP) unexpectedly gained 113.4%. After a tepid outlook from its last earnings report, APP stock brushed off any bearishness. Still, bears hold a 6.65% short float against the stock.
Unsurprisingly, the AI boom saw Nvidia (NVDA) gain around 20% in Q3. But Intel (INTC) performed even better, gaining 47% in that time. Intel is far behind Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in the PC chip market. It does not have any meaningful market share in the GPU market, compared to Nvidia or AMD. Fortunately, Softbank (SFTBY), Nvidia, and the U.S.
government will invest billions in Intel. This is the bullish catalyst that few experts expected.
Among the Magnificent Seven, Alphabet (GOOG), gaining nearly 40% is a notable achievement. Apple (AAPL) added 22.5%. Investors expect the iPhone Air and the Pro models to lift revenue.
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