These 5 S&P 500 Winners Held Strong In Q1 — Can The Rally Continue?

Despite Wall Street continuing to tumble at the start of the second quarter of 2025, a small group of S&P 500 stocks has remained nearly untouched by the chaos triggered by Donald Trump's tariff policies.

Stocks that delivered standout gains in the first quarter have held their ground through the opening week of the second quarter, showing resilience as the broader market sank under pressure from tariffs and softening earnings outlooks.

The five best-performing S&P 500 names in Q1 2025 — CVS Health Corp. CVS, Philip Morris International Inc. PM, Newmont Corp. NEM, Cencora Inc. COR and Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. VRTX — have seen only minimal declines in recent days, defying a sharp 10% drop in the S&P 500 index fueled by mounting trade tensions and concerns over recession.

Quarterly Stars In A Cloudy Market

Let's break it down:

• CVS Health soared 50.9% in Q1, posting its best quarterly gain since 1975. While the S&P 500 dropped 10% in the first week of April, CVS is only down 5% in Q2.
• Philip Morris jumped 31.9% last quarter, reaching multiple record highs and logging its second-best quarter since going public in 2008. PM is down 4.8% thus far in April.
• Newmont rode the gold wave. With gold prices up 19%, the mining giant surged 29.7%, its strongest 3-month performance since early 2020. NEM fell 7.2% in Q2, yet showed a more contained drop than the broader market.
• Cencora, formerly AmerisourceBergen, posted a 23.8% rise, and remains up 0.2% this month, dodging the tariff-driven downturn.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals climbed 21% in Q1, and has stayed flat so far in Q2, showing impressive stability in biotech.

But How Much More Room To Run?

Despite their impressive runs, future gains may be limited. Analyst consensus shows only Newmont and CVS have potential upside of 25.8% and 13.2%, respectively, based on median price targets.

For the others, the path forward looks far less compelling. With valuations already stretched and macroeconomic risks mounting — from renewed trade tensions to signs of weakening corporate margins — the potential for further gains could quickly evaporate if analysts begin slashing forecasts in the coming weeks.

Read Next:

• Emergency Fed Rate Cut Odds Spike As Trump Says ‘No Inflation,’ Calls for Immediate Action

Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.