The Dow Jones Industrial Average spent 2025 hitting fresh all-time highs, a development that President Donald Trump was quick to celebrate. But zoom into the index's 30 components, and you'll find a much more interesting story than the headline numbers suggest.
The real drama lives in the individual performance of these blue-chip stocks, where gains and losses varied wildly. Some companies soared while others crashed, and the newest members of this exclusive club faced their first full year under the spotlight.
The Winners: Construction Equipment Beats AI Darling
Twenty-three of the thirty Dow components finished 2025 in positive territory, which is actually the best hit rate in three years. For context, only 18 stocks were positive in 2024, and 19 made gains in 2023.
Here's your honor roll of top performers based on December 31 closing prices:
- Caterpillar (CAT): +59.5%
- Goldman Sachs (GS): +55.8%
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): +43.5%
- Nvidia Corporation (NVDA): +40.2%
- International Business Machines (IBM): +39.1%
Yes, you read that correctly. Caterpillar, the heavy machinery company, outperformed Nvidia, the AI chipmaker everyone can't stop talking about. Sometimes the boring industrial stocks surprise you.
Worth noting: Goldman Sachs and IBM are repeat winners, landing among the top five gainers for a second consecutive year. Clearly they've figured something out.
The Losers: Healthcare and Consumer Brands Struggled
On the flip side, seven Dow components posted negative returns for the year. The bottom five tell a story about sector-specific challenges:
- UnitedHealth Group (UNH): -35.0%
- Salesforce Inc (CRM): -20.4%
- Nike Inc (NKE): -19.1%
- Procter & Gamble Inc (PG): -13.8%
- Honeywell International (HON): -12.7%
UnitedHealth's 35% plunge stands out as particularly painful. Meanwhile, Nike finds itself in the unfortunate position of landing among the top losers for two years running. The swoosh hasn't been swooshing lately.
Overall, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, tracked by the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA), gained about 13% for the full year.
How the New Kids Did
Three relatively new additions to the Dow completed their first full calendar year in 2025, and their performance matters more than you might think.
Nvidia replaced Intel Corporation (INTC) back in November 2024. While Nvidia posted a respectable 40.2% gain and cracked the top five, Intel actually had the better year with a 90% surge. Of course, that impressive Intel comeback followed years of the chip giant dragging down the index, so the timing of the swap wasn't exactly perfect.
The other November 2024 shake-up brought in Sherwin-Williams Company (SHW) to replace Dow Inc. This trade worked out beautifully for the index. Sherwin-Williams fell just 1.3% over the past year, while Dow stock tanked more than 30%. Given that Sherwin-Williams carries one of the highest share prices in this price-weighted index, avoiding that Dow Inc. disaster was particularly valuable.
The third newcomer, Amazon.com Inc (AMZN), replaced Walgreens Boots Alliance and posted a modest 4.8% gain in 2025. Walgreens, meanwhile, struggled through a rough period before ultimately being acquired and taken private by Sycamore Partners. Another win for the index reshuffling committee.
The lesson? Even small tweaks to the Dow's roster can have outsized impacts on performance, especially when you're dealing with a price-weighted index where higher-priced stocks carry more influence.