Retailers are evolving to meet the expectations of modern, tech-savvy shoppers. Still, secular trends are working against their favor as e-commerce continues to take share from brick and mortars. This puts retail stocks in a tough spot, and over the past six months, the industry has pulled back by 13.4%. This drop was much worse than the S&P 500’s 2% fall.
The Russell 2000 is home to many small-cap stocks, offering investors the chance to uncover hidden gems before the broader market catches on. However, these companies often come with higher volatility and risk, as their smaller size makes them more vulnerable to economic downturns.
Regarded as defensive investments, consumer staples stocks are generally safe bets in choppy markets. Surprisingly, the sector hasn’t played its shielding role over the past six months as it tumbled 9.7%. This performance was worse than the S&P 500’s 2% decline.
Stocks trading between $10 and $50 can be particularly interesting as they frequently represent businesses that have survived their early challenges. However, investors should remain vigilant as some may still have unproven business models, leaving them vulnerable to the ebbs and flows of the broader market.
Business services providers play a critical role for enterprises, assisting them with everything from new hardware integrations to consulting and marketing. But increasing competition from AI-driven upstarts has tempered enthusiasm, and over the past six months, the industry has pulled back by 3.3%. This performance was similar to the S&P 500’s decline.
Business services providers thrive by solving complex operational challenges for their clients, allowing them to focus on their secret sauce. Still, investors are uneasy as firms face challenges from AI-driven disruptors and tightening corporate budgets. These doubts have caused the industry to lag recently as services stocks have collectively shed 3.3% over the past six months. This drop was almost identical to the S&P 500’s decline.
Companies that consistently increase their sales, margins, or returns on capital are usually rewarded with the best returns, and those that can do all three for years on end are almost always the legendary stocks that return 100 times your money.
Semiconductors are the silicon backbone of the digital revolution. But they’re also susceptible to economic fluctuations as chip demand will ebb and flow with capital spending. Unfortunately, the market seems to be predicting a downturn as the industry has tumbled by 18.3% over the past six months. This performance was much worse than the S&P 500’s 2% fall.
Sheila Shekar Pollak helped launch the activewear company’s “Power of She” brand platform and Athleta Girl clothing line.
According to LSEG data, the top 10 global companies saw a 13.2% decrease in their market value to $18.64 trillion at the end of Q1 2025, marking the biggest drop since June 2022. Tesla Inc's market value plummeted by 35.7% to $833.59 billion, while Broadcom Inc and NVIDIA Corp recorded a 27.56% and 19.59% drop in market capitalization to $787.25 billion and $2.64 trillion, respectively.