Watch 5 Bigwigs in December After Double-Digit Returns Past Month

U.S. stock markets have continued their northward journey in 2025 following an impressive rally over the previous two years. Year to date, all three major stock indexes — the Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite — rallied 13.1%, 17.1% and 22.3%, respectively.

Strong third-quarter 2025 earnings results and guidance, solid fundamentals of the U.S. economy and another expected cut in interest rate by the Fed this month will likely drive stock market momentum for the rest of December.

At this stage, we have identified five corporate behemoths (market capital > $50 billion) that investors should closely focus on December. These giants have provided double-digit returns in the past month. 

These are: Carvana Co. CVNA, Walmart Inc. WMT, Applied Materials Inc. AMAT, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. FCX and Merck & Co. Inc. MRK. Each of these currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

The chart below shows the price performance of the five above-mentioned stocks in the past month.

Carvana Co.

Carvana’s operational focus, scalable model, cost-cutting efforts and market potential continue to draw investor interest and support its growth outlook. Acquisition of ADESA’s U.S. operations has strengthened CVNA’s logistics network and reconditioning processes. 

Notably, Carvana still holds only a 1.5% share of the highly fragmented U.S. automotive retail market. This suggests that there is ample room for the company to expand. By utilizing ADESA’s infrastructure, CVNA can scale refurbishment operations, improving both the quality and volume of vehicles prepared for resale. 

The focus of CVNA on driving significant adjusted EBITDA per unit bodes well. For that, the company is focusing on enhancing operational efficiency across the business, with several technology, process, and product initiatives underway. 

CVNA recorded adjusted EBITDA of $637 million (an increase of $208 million YoY) in the third quarter, with industry-leading margins of 11.3%. For the full year, management forecasts adjusted EBITDA in the band of $2-$2.2 billion, up from $1.38 billion recorded last year.

Carvana has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 44.8% and more than 100%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has remained the same over the last 30 days.

Walmart Inc. 

Walmart is benefiting from the inherent strength of its highly diversified business model. WMT’s strong omnichannel strategy has boosted traffic at physical stores and digital platforms. WMT’s focus on improving delivery services is successful, leading to steady grocery market share gains. 

WMT has significantly bolstered its delivery capabilities, as exemplified by its Express On-Demand Early Morning Delivery service, Spark Driver platform, partnership with Salesforce, the expansion of the InHome delivery service, investments in DroneUp, the Walmart+ membership program and a pilot with Cruise to test grocery delivery through self-driven all-electric cars.

Walmart has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 4.4% and 4.8%, respectively, for the current year (ending January 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year’s earnings has improved 1.2% over the last 30 days.

Applied Materials Inc.

Applied Materials is benefiting from strength in the Semiconductor Systems, owing to a rebound in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the foundry and logic space. Consistent progress in the services is aiding Applied Global Services’ performance. 

Solid momentum in AMAT’s subscription and display businesses is a plus. AMAT’s strength in IoT, Communications, Auto, Power and Sensors (ICAPS) is likely to continue aiding its position in the semiconductor industry. AMAT’s broad-based and diversified portfolio remains its key growth driver.

Applied Materials has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 2% and 1%, respectively, for the current year (ending October 2026). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year’s earnings has improved 1.2% over the last 30 days.

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

Freeport-McMoRan is conducting exploration activities near existing mines to expand reserves. FCX is expected to gain from progress in exploration activities that will boost production capacity. 

FCX is executing several smelter projects in Indonesia. FCX is also well-positioned to benefit from automotive electrification, which is positive for copper, as electric vehicles are copper-intensive. FCX’s efforts to reduce debt are also encouraging. A solid financial health also bodes well.

Freeport-McMoRan has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of -1.9% and 0.7%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.7% over the last 30 days.

Merck & Co. Inc.

Merck’s blockbuster drug, Keytruda, and new products have been driving sales. With label expansion into new indications, particularly earlier-stage launches, Keytruda is expected to see continued growth. Animal health is also contributing to growth. 

MRK has been making meaningful pipeline progress. Moreover, MRK is actively pursuing M&A deals to enhance its pipeline and diversify away from Keytruda. MRK’s RSV antibody, Enflonsia (clesrovimab), was approved in the United States in June 2025, while it is under review in the EU. A fixed-dose combination of MRK’s doravirine and islatravir for the treatment of HIV is under review in the United States (PDUFA Date: April 28, 2026).

Merck & Co. has an expected revenue and earnings growth rate of 1% and 17.4%, respectively, for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has improved 0.3% over the last 30 days.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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