Hot Industries: Quantum Leaps, Nuclear Gains, & Flying Cars

2025: Shades of 2020

Five years ago, amid the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, Donald Trump was president, and stocks suffered one of their most rapid corrections ever. Stocks careened lower by more than 20% in just a few months as death counters appeared on news stations and COVID lockdowns took hold. Fast forward five years to the present day and swap out tariffs for COVID, and many similarities exist. President Trump is back in office, and stocks suffered one of their most rapid corrections ever, only to be followed by one of the quickest V-shaped recoveries.

While history does not always repeat itself completely, savvy investors understand that it does tend to rhyme. In 2020 and 2025, investors did a 180-degree turn from full-on fear to “animal spirits.” Not only are investors piling into cash-rich and proven companies like the mega-cap “Magnificent 7” names, but many retail investors are flooding into the market and bidding up highly speculative, risk-on names. Today, we will discuss three of the hottest industry groups on Wall Street, including:

Nuclear Stocks Gain as US Fights to Catchup in AI Energy Race with China

Historically, the United States is in the poll position regarding new technology, with China, the world’s second-largest economy, on it’s heals. With the AI revolution, it appears to be the same circumstance – at least so far. OpenAI and Microsoft’s (MSFT) ChatGPT chatbot sparked the AI revolution, winning the first-mover advantage. Meanwhile, other big tech companies like Alphabet (GOOGL) are hot on their heels with its “Gemini” platform, which is growing rapidly in popularity.

Nevertheless, China shocked Wall Street earlier this year with the debut of its powerful “DeepSeek” chatbot, which is competitive with ChatGPT. Though most AI experts agree that the US is still in the lead, China has a critical advantage – energy. Data centers, which are used to train large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, require immense amounts of energy. Currently, China generates more electricity from coal alone than the US does from all sources combined.

Nuclear Industry Catalyst: Late last week, President Trump signed a nuclear executive order to cut red tape and speed up the approval process.

Nuclear companies like Oklo (OKLO) and NuScale Power (SMR) are breaking out of large base structures and should be beneficiaries for years to come.

eVTOLs Jump on Joby/Toyota News

Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing aircraft (eVTOLs) are aircraft that merge the take off and landing ability of a helicopter with the forward flight dynamics of an airplane. While eVTOLs are not yet legal in most places, prototypes exist and the FAA is developing operational guidelines for the future.

eVTOL Industry Catalyst: Tuesday, Toyota (TM) made a $250 million purchase of Joby Aviation (JOBY) shares.

JOBY shares exploded by nearly 30% Wednesday as investors cheered the news, and Toyota helped to legitimize the industry. Archer Aviation (ACHR) is another key player to watch in the industry group.

Quantum Computing: Moving Closer to Real-World Use

With an exponential gain in processing capability, quantum computers promise to solve these problems faster than today’s most sophisticated computers. Like the industries above, quantum computing companies are just beginning to scratch the surface of what may eventually be possible from a technological standpoint.

Quantum Computing Industry Catalyst: D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) sparked the QC industry group after it reported a 500% increase in revenue, proofs-of-concept, and new technologies.

Other stocks to watch in the group include Rigetti Computing (RGTI) and ionQ (IONQ).

Bottom Line

The “animal spirits” are alive and well on Wall Street. As investors flock back into the market after the tariff madness, the nuclear, QC, and eVTOL industries are in focus.

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

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