The choices for 2025: Where to place your capital in turbulent markets?

The Current Context: When Tariffs Redefine the Game

By mid-2025, investors face a dramatically different scenario from 2024. While that year closed with historic returns, the first part of 2025 has brought a complete reconfiguration of the financial landscape. The imposition of new tariffs by the U.S. administration —10% base on all imports, up to 50% for the EU, 55% accumulated for China, and 24% for Japan— triggered an initial wave of stock market panic that turned the major global indices red.

However, what came after is the most interesting part. After the March-April correction, markets transitioned from initial panic to a gradual rebound, recovering lost ground until reaching new all-time highs. Meanwhile, gold surpassed $3,300 per ounce, reflecting a search for safe-haven assets. This is the backdrop: geopolitical uncertainty, trade tensions, but also selective opportunities for those who know where to look.

Five Notable Options Combining Strength and Potential

In an environment where volatility punishes indiscriminately, careful selection becomes decisive. Below, we identify five assets worth attention for their combination of financial strength, sector leadership, and medium-term profitability potential.

Novo Nordisk: Innovation Under Competitive Pressure

The Danish pharmaceutical company has experienced one of the most dramatic turns of the year. A global leader in treatments for diabetes and obesity, it recorded a 26% sales growth in 2024, reaching approximately $42.1 billion. However, in March 2025, it suffered a 27% drop, its largest plunge since 2002, driven by concerns over emerging competition —particularly Eli Lilly’s Zepbound— and the relative failure of CagriSema in Phase III trials.

The response has been swift. In December 2024, it completed the acquisition of Catalent for $16.5 billion to expand production capacity. In March 2025, it licensed LX9851 from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion, gaining access to an innovative mechanism of action against obesity. Its operating margin remains solid at 43%, with robust R&D investment supported by a dual GLP-1/amylin molecule that achieved 24% weight loss in early studies.

Despite competitive challenges and lowered sales forecasts in May (range 13%-21%), the structural demand for metabolic therapies continues to rise, positioning the company for long-term recovery.

LVMH: Luxury in Correction, Opportunity in Perspective

The French LVMH closed 2024 with revenues of €84.7 billion and an operating profit of €19.6 billion (margins 23.1%), demonstrating resilience even under macroeconomic pressure. Its portfolio of iconic brands —Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Fendi, Bulgari, Sephora— provides unprecedented sector diversification in the luxury industry.

2025 has been volatile for the stock: a 6.7% decline in January, a further 7.7% retreat in April after reporting first-quarter revenues of €20.3 billion (drop of 3%). U.S. tariffs of 20% (temporarily reduced to 10% until July, with threats of escalation to 50%), have worsened the situation, affecting critical sales in the U.S.

However, the company identifies counter-cyclical growth areas: digital expansion through the AI platform Dreamscape for personalization, recovery in Japan (double-digit sales in 2024), presence in the Middle East (+6% regional), and India with new Louis Vuitton and Dior stores in Mumbai. The stock correction creates an attractive entry point for patient investors.

ASML: The Key Technological Bottleneck

Dutch ASML produces extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, being the only global provider of essential equipment for manufacturing advanced chips. In 2024, it achieved net sales of €28.3 billion and a net profit of €7.6 billion (margins 51.3%). Q1 2025 recorded €7.7 billion in sales and a record gross margin of 54%, with projected revenues for 2025 between €30-35 billion.

Despite this, the stock fell approximately 30% from its highs. Causes include reduced capex by clients like Intel and Samsung, the rise of Chinese competitors in lithography, and Dutch export restrictions (implemented on January 15, 2025, which ASML estimates will cut sales to China by 10-15% without affecting the annual guidance).

The structural demand for advanced chips for AI and high-performance computing provides a solid foundation. The recent correction presents a selective opportunity in a sector with virtually insurmountable entry barriers.

( Microsoft: A Giant in Strategic Transition

The U.S. company reported fiscal year 2024 revenues of $245.1 billion )+16% year-over-year###, operating profit of $109.4 billion (+24%), and net income of $88.1 billion (+22%). Its Copilot ecosystem and partnership with OpenAI position it as a central provider of enterprise generative AI.

The Q1 2025 correction —about 20% from highs, with a low of $367.24 on March 31— reflected doubts about valuation and the relative slowdown of Azure. Regulatory investigations by the FTC into monopolistic practices in cloud and cybersecurity added pressure.

Q3 fiscal results (April 2025) showed recovery: revenues of $70.1 billion, a 46% operating margin, and Azure/cloud services advancing 33%. Aggressive AI investment requires record spending, with over 15,000 layoffs between May-July 2025 to redirect resources. Strong finances and strategic AI positioning maintain long-term attractiveness.

( Alibaba: Chinese Technology in Selective Rebound

The Chinese giant, founded in 1999, dominates e-commerce )Taobao, Tmall###, cloud, and digital services, with international presence via AliExpress. It announced a three-year plan of $52 billion for AI/cloud infrastructure, plus a campaign of 50 billion yuan in coupons for domestic consumption.

Q4 2024 recorded revenues of ¥280.2 billion (+8% year-over-year). Q1 2025 showed ¥236.45 billion with +22% net profit, driven by Cloud Intelligence (+18%). However, shares fell 35% from 2024 highs due to concerns over massive AI/cloud investments and China’s economic slowdown.

Subsequent volatility: a 40% rebound in mid-February with a tech rally, followed by a 7% drop after March results were considered weak. The current depressed prices could offer an opportunity for those betting on a structural recovery of Chinese consumption.

Diversification Beyond the Top 5

Complementing the previous selection, the range expands with assets such as JPMorgan Chase (benefited from high rates, YTD return 23.48%), Tesla (lead in electric mobility, though down 21.91% YTD), NVIDIA (dominance in AI chips, corrected -17% YTD), TSMC (key semiconductor manufacturer, +18.89% YTD), Alphabet (robust digital ecosystem, -5.16% YTD), Apple (stability and services, -4.72% YTD), Amazon (diversified commerce/cloud, +1.83% YTD), Exxon Mobil (energy with disciplined finances, +4.3% YTD), and BHP Group (metals for emerging economies, +3.46% YTD).

This expanded portfolio offers balanced exposure to key sectors —energy, finance, pharmaceuticals, luxury consumption, technology, semiconductors— reducing idiosyncratic risk.

Strategy in the Face of Uncertainty: What Works Now

In 2025, rationality prevails over sentimentality. Investors should consider:

Diversification as defense: Combining sectors across different geographies is fundamental. In protectionist scenarios, prioritize companies with strong domestic roots or business models less dependent on cross-border trade.

Quality as an anchor: Identify companies with solid financial positions, leadership in innovation, and proven adaptability. Structural demand —AI, semiconductors, energy transition— provides a real catalyst even amid uncertainty.

Tactical flexibility: Staying informed about political, economic, and geopolitical changes allows agile repositioning. The difference between protecting capital and suffering unnecessary losses lies in the ability to read and adjust.

Complementary safe assets: Bonds and gold offer a cushion against extreme volatility, especially relevant in the context of tariffs and trade tensions.

How to Access These Alternatives

Investors interested in executing this strategy have multiple channels: direct purchase of individual stocks through banks or authorized brokers; thematic investment funds by country or sector with active or passive management; derivatives like CFDs that allow leverage and volatility hedging.

In environments of aggressive policies and increasing commercial risk, a balanced combination of derivatives and traditional assets provides long-term exposure to promising sectors while managing short-term risks.

Final Reflection

2025 will likely be remembered not as a continuation of the previous rally, but as a turning point toward unprecedented volatility. Past returns do not guarantee future results, and the current reality is without precedent.

What can investors do? Build sector- and geographically diversified portfolios. Complement with safe assets. Avoid impulsive decisions driven by panic. And above all, stay informed: in complex markets, timely information is the best defense against uncertainty.