Despite a sluggish start in 2025, these 10 Consumer Discretionary stocks all shine bright
Consumer Discretionary Sector Performance: The Consumer Discretionary sector has struggled in 2025, with a year-to-date decline of -15.6%, making it the worst-performing sector compared to the S&P 500 benchmark.
Top Performing Stocks: Despite the challenges, Seeking Alpha highlighted the top 10 best performing Consumer Discretionary stocks, with Life Time Group Holdings leading at +26% YTD, followed by Dana Incorporated and Light & Wonder.
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Market Dynamics: Stock markets are continuously changing, with past stock picks potentially becoming new investment opportunities as trends evolve.
Technical Reset: Many previously strong stocks are undergoing technical resets after consolidations or pullbacks, indicating potential for renewed growth.
Investor Patience: Investors who are patient may find rewarding setups in stocks that are beginning to show signs of recovery.
Revisiting Stocks: It is beneficial to revisit earlier stock selections that may now present fresh opportunities due to recent market adjustments.
Holiday Spending Growth: Visa's U.S. holiday spending report indicates a 4.2% year-over-year increase in overall retail spending, with online sales rising 7.8% due to early promotions and convenience.
Category Performance: Electronics sales surged by 5.8% driven by demand for advanced devices, while home improvement sales fell by 1.0%, negatively impacting companies like Home Depot and Lowe's.
Consumer Behavior Insights: Visa's Chief Economist noted that AI is influencing consumer shopping habits, leading to more informed and intentional spending during the holiday season.
Global Spending Trends: International markets also experienced solid seasonal spending growth, with notable increases in countries like Australia, Canada, South Africa, and the U.K.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Performance: The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF rose by 1%, making it the top-performing sector among the 11 S&P groups last week.
Weakness in Major Holdings: Despite the sector's overall gain, major holdings like Home Depot and Nike saw declines of 4% and 13%, respectively.
Nike's Notable Decline: Nike's 13% drop represents its worst weekly performance since late June 2024, indicating ongoing challenges in the athletic apparel market.
Adidas Struggles: Adidas is also facing difficulties, currently trading 30% below its most recent 52-week high.
Consumer Discretionary Sector Performance: The S&P 500 consumer discretionary sector has gained +7.2% year-to-date in 2025, underperforming compared to the overall S&P 500, which has a higher gain. The sector ranks eighth among 11 major sectors, while the State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) has increased by +9.1% YTD.
Top Automotive Retail Stocks: Carvana leads the automotive retail stocks with a remarkable YTD performance of +129.02%, followed by Ultrapar Participações S.A. (+39.92%) and AutoNation (+19.15%). O’Reilly Automotive holds the highest Quant Rating at 3.97, indicating a "Buy" designation.
Struggling Stocks: CarMax has faced significant challenges, showing a YTD decline of -51.88% and receiving a "Strong Sell" Quant Rating of 1.47. Other stocks like Asbury Automotive and Group 1 Automotive also show negative performance despite having "Buy" or "Hold" ratings.
Consumer Discretionary ETFs: Various consumer discretionary ETFs are mentioned, including XLY, VCR, FXD, FDIS, RSPD, and RXI, indicating a broader interest in this sector's investment opportunities.

U.S. Stock Market Performance: U.S. stocks rose on Friday, driven by optimism in the AI sector, with the Nasdaq-100 leading gains, particularly in tech and chipmaker stocks like Micron Technology and Nvidia, which saw significant increases following strong earnings reports.
Earnings Reports Impact: Carnival Corp's shares surged 8% after exceeding quarterly earnings expectations, while Nike Inc. saw a 10% drop despite beating profit estimates due to concerns over margin pressure and slowing sales.
Commodity Market Trends: Commodities experienced gains, with silver reaching record highs and gold trading near its peak, while crude oil prices rose for the third consecutive session after recent lows.
Cryptocurrency and Equities: Crypto-linked stocks advanced alongside digital assets, with Bitcoin trading above $87,000 and notable gains in companies like Strategy Inc., reflecting a positive trend in the cryptocurrency market.








