Ian Salisbury
So far 2025 has turned out to be a tough year for the stock market. The silver lining is there may be values to be had among the wreckage.
The S&P 500 has tumbled nearly 6.1% year to date, including a decline of 0.6% Wednesday afternoon. Blame the Trump administration's trade war, and an increasing sour mood among U.S. consumers. Earlier Wednesday, the Commerce Department reported U.S. GDP shrank 0.3% in the first quarter, the first year-over-year decline since 2022.
The downbeat mood on Wall Street could be a great opportunity to buy the dip, according to a Wednesday report by J.P. Morgan. To that end the firm published a list of "fallen angel" stocks -- hard-hit names it recommends based on strong fundamentals, leadership in their industries and resilient business models that can weather economic downturns.
Here are five picks from J.P. Morgan's list that Barron's has also recently recommended readers pay attention to.
Baker Hughes / BKR
Year-to-date return: -14%
Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 15
Shares of energy-services firms have struggled this year, with the price of oil tumbling about 14% in 2025. Baker Hughes has seen its stock price slide alongside the rest of the sector. Still, liquefied natural gas is in better shape than oil, and it's a bigger part of Baker Hughes' business than many competitors. Energy demand from data centers provides another potential avenue for growth.
Meta Platforms / META
Year-to-date return: -7.6%
Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 23
While shares of Meta Platforms have tumbled nearly 8% this year, that's not bad considering its Magnificent Seven peers are down 14% on average. One key Meta advantage: While it is spending billions of dollars to invest in artificial intelligence like other big tech companies, its digital-advertising business, which benefits when AI matches ads to users, gives Meta a clear path to monetize the huge upfront spending.
Vertiv Holdings / VRT
Year-to-date return: -26%
Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 24
Vertiv Holdings, which makes cooling equipment, has benefited from the boom in AI data center spending. In 2025, shares have tumbled alongside big tech names. Still, last week the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat analysts estimates, and hiked its 2025 outlook. The earnings news followed other upbeat signs, like blowout sales growth from chip fabricator Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, that the AI bet has room to run.
United Airlines Holdings / UAL
Year-to-date return: -29%
Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 6.7
Stocks in the highly cyclical airline sector have been falling amid uncertainty and weakening U.S. economy. United Airlines Holdings, which reported a better-than-expected first quarter earlier this month, also sounded less downbeat than rival Delta Air Lines on the call following earnings.
SharkNinja / SN
Year-to-date return: -18%
Forward price-to-earnings ratio: 17
This maker of popular and quirky household gadgets was hit hard by news of the Trump administration's tariff war. But the fast-growing company, with a loyal base of fans, has said it expects 90% of the goods the company sells in the U.S. to be moved out of China by the end of the second quarter. SharkNinja also has opportunities to expand its international sales, currently about 30% of the total.
Write to Ian Salisbury at ian.salisbury@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 30, 2025 14:46 ET (18:46 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.