The Mag 7 report card

The Magnificent Seven: To someone not closely following finance news (and who is therefore free and happy) that term might sound like the latest unwanted Marvel franchise created by executives desperate to squeeze as much money out of middle schoolers as humanly possible. But we degenerates know it’s actually the tech stocks underpinning the entire stock market.

Overall, the Mag 7 drove a huge bulk of the S&P 500’s 17.25% return this year. But not every member of the squad pulled their weight equally. Let’s take a look at who carried the entire market on their back—and who was stuck on the bench.

• Alphabet led the group, soaring 65.8% in 2025 thanks to the performance of its chatbot, Gemini 3 Pro, which came out in mid-November and impressed users—and finally assuaged investors’ fears that Alphabet had been left behind in the AI race.
• Nvidia gained 39.65% this year thanks to robust chip demand, the growth of data centers, and innovation in its chips business. While AI trade fears rose this year, Kingvidia is still the top dog in the biggest industry in the market.
• Microsoft jumped 15.67% thanks to growth from its Azure cloud unit, while the company made a hefty AI capex investment to the tune of $80 billion over the fiscal year.
• Meta Platforms rose 13.75% as it maintained healthy advertising revenue growth throughout the year, largely thanks to its strong user metrics. But it also faced scrutiny from investors critical of its AI capex spending plans.
• Tesla rose 12.48%, a figure that masks the wild year the company endured. Despite reporting record delivery figures, the company’s profit shrunk as EV tax credits expired and it dealt with tough competition from China, along with its own CEO’s political antics.
• Apple rallied 9.02% as it focused on debuting its iPhone 17 and a slew of other new product upgrades. While the company lagged somewhat in the AI race, as it was slower to roll out AI features into its products compared to some of its peers, analysts are starting to think that actually may be a good thing.
• Amazon rose 5.99% as its cloud segment remained a key driver of profit for the company. But its high capex spending, along with regulatory and legal pressures, put a damper on the stock in comparison to other Mag 7 names.

That’s the scoreboard at the end of 2025, but the long term AI race is far from over, so stay tuned for who speeds ahead and who fumbles their lead by the end of 2026.—LB