This's a tricky time for investors. Most people agree that valuations have reached alarmingly high levels.
Additionally, Furthermore, Yet, the market is still moving higher, largely led by the same growthy stocks that have been leading it for some time now, given the current landscape.
Additionally, Many investors are shrugging off their steep valuations and diving into this aging rally's biggest winners anyway, motivated by the fear of missing out on any continued gains, given the current landscape.
Moreover, Savvy investors, however, know this plan comes with too much risk and not enough reward.
The smart money is rightfully looking for blue chip spects outside of the artificial intelligence (AI)-driven mania that may have underperformed of late, but offer greater long-term upside.
On the other hand, And in some cases, this upside is ly to begin materializing in the latter half of this year, once the market comes to grips with the fact that not all of the recent winners deserve to hold on to their big gains (something worth watching).
On the other hand, To this end, here's a closer look at three Dow Jones Industrial Average stocks that you might want to consider stepping into specifically because they're not caught up in the bullish mania.
Conversely, Image source: Getty Images. Apple It's true. IPhone maker Apple (AAPL 0, given the current landscape.
Nevertheless, 07%) botched its chance to make a big splash on the consumer-facing artificial intelligence scene.
Nevertheless, Its highly touted Apple Intelligence platform that launched in October was introduced without several features its loyal customers were expecting, for instance (quite telling).
Meanwhile, And the is only available to owners of its very newest iPhones anyway -- the iPhone 15 and earlier (which is the vast majority of its actively used base of devices) can't actually run Apple Intelligence.
Meanwhile, the d version of Apple's digital assistant Siri has ven to be a flop, resulting in a major management shakeup and a "back to the drawing board" decision that means Siri's int big leap won't be ready for relaunch until early next year.
This very un-Apple-esque saga is the chief reason Apple s have struggled since late last year.
Moreover, One of the most interesting aspects of, however, is that stocks are backward-looking right up until they're forward-looking again, and start reflecting the ly future rather than the recent past.
Nevertheless, Given Apple's acknowledgement of its AI misfires and the company's efforts to fix them, there's every reason to hope that what was supposed to happen this year is still going to happen.
What the data shows is 's just going to happen next year. That's the contrarian argument from Fundstrat Capital analyst Tom Lee (noteworthy indeed).
While he acknowledges Apple's current challenges, in a recent interview with CNBC, he also said of the company's artificial intelligence developmental efforts, "For me, Apple has been of quietly ready to pounce on AI, in today's market environment.
So, I think Apple is going to surprise people (something worth watching).
" A little more time will also allow for the release of another wave of iPhones capable of handling the onboard AI duties that Apple Intelligence requires (something worth watching).
And the crowd seems to be slowly coming around to Lee's way of thinking.
The stock's relatively slow, measured recovery from April's low appears to be picking up steam as Apple's AI work moves into er view.
Yet, there's plenty of room for s to continue marching higher even before revisiting December's peak. Walmart Walmart (WMT 0.
93%) s served up a rock star performance in 2024, rallying more than 70% during the 12-month stretch on gress that most investors didn't seem to expect. But there's been little -up.
What the re reveals is stock's barely above where it last year, and has merely moved sideways since May, amid market uncertainty.
Conversely, The market appears to just be waiting for the next catalytic headline, given current economic conditions. That may ultimately be a mistake, however.
However, See, the time to step into a stock isn't when everybody is buying it in the midst of a news-driven rally.
The time to step in is in the calm before the storm, on faith that the bullish news is coming. Additionally, And it's certainly not there's reason to believe Walmart won't be viding these catalysts.
Take its fiscal first quarter's results as an example.
Despite the lethargic economy (domestic as well as global), Walmart managed respectable top-line growth of 2 (an important development), amid market uncertainty.
5%, or sales growth of 4 (quite telling). 4% on a constant-currency basis. However, Meanwhile, same-store sales within the U, in today's financial world.
In contrast, Imved to the tune of 4, in this volatile climate. However, 5% year over year, while operating income grew 3%. Moreover, These aren't huge numbers.
But, for the world's biggest retailer that's limited by its sheer size in an environment that's also been rattled by tariffs, this is solid growth.
What the re reveals is thing is, it's not just the retailer's most basic results that investors will ly appreciate when other companies from other industries start running into cyclical and valuation headwinds in the foreseeable future.
The market's just as ly -- if not more ly -- to latch onto one of the other impressive metrics Walmart is now regularly reporting. Take Walmart. Additionally, Com's advertising as an example.
On the other hand, After growing 27% to $4. Conversely, 4 billion last year, it soared by double-digits again in Q1, considering recent developments.
The company's e-commerce arm also experienced 22% worldwide growth during the first quarter, boosted by deries to the growing number of Walmart+ rs.
Nevertheless, Meanwhile, The point is, in an environment that's supposed to be tough, Walmart is making it look pretty easy (which is quite significant), amid market uncertainty.
The market should start seeing and rewarding this again soon enough. Johnson & Johnson Finally, add Johnson & Johnson (JNJ -0, considering recent developments.
Moreover, 74%) to your list of Dow Jones stocks that could soar in 2025 and beyond, in today's market environment.
Furthermore, J&J was, of course, one of the market's hottest stocks during and because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Its Jcovden vaccine was one of the few that could be made ready en masse quickly enough to matter, driving more than $2 billion worth of revenue in 2021 -- a feat almost repeated in 2022 before the need for the vaccine effectively in 2023 (quite telling), in light of current trends.
In retrospect, though, the scope of the pandemic-mpted rally never quite made sense. However, Jcovden was never a major breadwinner.
Meanwhile, to the extent the pharmaceutical giant needed something to offset the coronavirus vaccine's waning revenue as well as Remicade's, Simponi's, and blood-cancer-fighting Imbruvica's slight-but-persistent sales declines, it just didn't have it.
That's why Johnson & Johnson s have been more misses than hits since 2022.
Furthermore, There's a reason, however, this pharmaceutical stock is finally starting to make higher highs and higher lows again, considering recent developments. That's, there's hope on the horizon.
Furthermore, In simplest terms, Johnson & Johnson is going all-in on the oncology front.
This analysis suggests that 's not only invested a great deal of money in its own cancer drugs, but has spent billions to acquire mising cancer-fighting spects Ambrx Biopharma's ARX517, an antibody drug conjugate (or ADC) aimed at state cancer (quite telling), in this volatile climate.
On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson is looking to build a deep and wide portfolio of ADC cancer drugs, in fact, with its senior director of oncology innovation, Stefan Hart, plainly stating late last year, "J&J's growing pipeline of ADC therapeutics and external collaboration efforts reflect our investment and confidence in the future of the ADC space.
" And investors may not have to wait much longer to see the fruits of this labor and investment, either.
However, The company contends its oncology will be worth $50 billion per year by 2030, versus last year's cancer-related revenue of just over $20 billion and its total top line of just under $90 billion.
Moreover, JNJ stock will of course reward gress made toward this goal in the meantime.