A year after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, seven stocks in the Russell 1000 ETF have delivered staggering returns, each topping 200% gains.
The performance table reads like a mood board for the market narrative of the past year: space, defense, AI supply constraints, precious metals and a national-security scramble for critical minerals.
7) MP Materials: Rare Earths Become A National Security Matter
MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) has rallied 225.84% since Jan. 20, 2025, as Washington got directly involved in the rare-earth business.
In July 2025, the Department of Defense would become MP's largest shareholder under a deal to boost U.S. rare earth magnet supply.
The market repriced MP as strategic infrastructure rather than a cyclical materials producer.
6) Western Digital: The Memory Market Turned Scarce Again
Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC) and other storage makers have sharply rallied as AI data centers turned storage into a major supply constraint. Shares of WDC have risen nearly 245% over the past year as cloud providers ramped up demand for high-capacity enterprise storage, tightening supply and improving pricing.
5) Micron Technology: The New AI Winner
Also, Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) became a poster child for the "AI memory crunch," with shares rallying over 250% since Trump’s return to the Oval Office.
High-bandwidth memory (HBM) became scarce, pricing power returned, and supply couldn't respond fast enough. Micron moved from commodity exposure to scarcity-driven infrastructure, benefiting directly from AI training and inference workloads.
4) Lumentum: AI Data Centers Needed More Light
Lumentum Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LITE) has soared 277% over the past year as demand for high-speed optical components — key to connecting AI accelerators and massive data flows in next-generation data centers — exploded.
Strong earnings beats and guidance tied to AI infrastructure buildouts reinforced the thesis that photonics are becoming mission-critical. The market now treats Lumentum as an essential AI backbone play rather than a traditional networking supplier.
3) Anglo Ashanti: Gold Fever Is Back
Anglo Ashanti plc (NYSE:AU) ranked among the top-performing gold miners over the past year, with shares surging more than 280% as the precious-metals rally accelerated.
Gold reasserted its role as a preferred safe-haven amid macro uncertainty, shifting interest-rate expectations and elevated geopolitical risk, with prices climbing more than 70% over the past year.
The powerful move across the complex — with silver up more than 200% over the same period — translated directly into a sharp re-rating of gold miners, amplifying equity gains through operating leverage.
2) Rocket Lab: Defense Money Met Space Hardware
Rocket Lab Inc. (NASDAQ:RKLB) rallied 290% as its space systems business pulled in large government work.
In December 2025, Rocket Lab announced a $816 million prime contract to build a missile-defense satellite constellation for the U.S. Space Force through the Space Development Agency.
1) AST SpaceMobile: The ‘Direct-to-Cell’ Dream Got Real
Shares of AST SpaceMobile Inc. (NASDAQ:ASTS) have exploded by 450% as the company pushes to build a global, direct‑to‑phone satellite broadband network.
Investor enthusiasm was further fueled by high-profile partnerships with wireless carriers and AST's role as a prime contractor for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's SHIELD program, linked to the Trump administration's Golden Dome defense initiative.
The combination of commercial telecom upside and defense-backed funding positioned AST at the intersection of national security, space infrastructure, and next-generation connectivity.
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