The Nasdaq-100 is composed of the 100 largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC -0.53%). For those who have followed the market in recent years, it should come as no surprise that this tech-heavy index, which is full of some of the largest artificial intelligence companies in the world, has been a good long-term investment.
Over the last five years, the Nasdaq-100 is up 154%. However, the index has struggled this year and is down about 8.4%. Some investors have moved out of high-flying artificial intelligence (AI) and tech stocks due to concerns about the economy, elevated valuations, and U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans.
But sell-offs can sometimes be good opportunities. Should you buy the three worst-performing stocks in the Nasdaq-100 in 2025?
The Trade Desk -- Down nearly 53% in 2025
No stock in the Nasdaq-100 has performed worse than digital advertising company The Trade Desk (TTD +0.70%). The Trade Desk serves advertisers and ad agencies through a cloud platform that enables them to buy ads and gain more insights about their customers through data, while delivering integrated ad campaigns through a variety of different channels. The main culprit for the sell-off came after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that fell short of analyst estimates for the first time in over eight years.
"TTD missed revenue for the first time in the past 33 quarters on slower adoption of next-gen platform Kokai," Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein wrote in a research note at the time. "We attribute the miss to lack of oversight/decision-making as TTD has grown to ~4K employees with an increasingly complicated go-to-market strategy, targeting both ad agencies and advertisers with overlapping teams."
NASDAQ: TTD
Key Data Points
Kokai is The Trade Desk's artificial intelligence assistant that tries to better use AI to analyze data and offer better ad-buying decisions to clients. The Trade Desk launched Kokai in 2023. The company also launched a big reorganization to streamline its various teams to better position the company for growth. On the company's earnings call, CEO Jeff Green noted that The Trade Desk controls $12 billion of ad spend in a $1 trillion advertising market and is trying to further scale up its businesses.
The company's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 33 is way down from a peak of well over 80 in late 2024. However, investors should remain cautious about the stock right now. Worries about a potential recession are growing as the economy beginning to show cracks. Ad spending can get hit hard in a recession. Additionally, I would like to see progress on getting Kokai and the reorg back on track.
Marvell Technology -- Down nearly 44% in 2025
The semiconductor company Marvell Technology (MRVL -2.52%) had benefited significantly from the AI trade. But like The Trade Desk, the stock got hit hard after reporting disappointing guidance following its Q4 earnings for its fiscal year 2025. Marvell actually had a pretty good quarter. It reported adjusted earnings of $0.60 on revenue of $1.82 billion, both of which beat analyst estimates, according to data provided by Visible Alpha.
However, management guided for earnings in its first fiscal quarter of 2026 to come in at $0.61 at the midpoint of its range, and for revenue to come in at $1.875 billion at the midpoint. Those numbers were pretty much what analysts had been projecting, but it apparently wasn't good enough for the market. The stock got hammered and fell by close to 20%. Some investors were apparently hoping to see more upside. The lack of a big beat on guidance gave them concerns about the company's partnership with Amazon and, more broadly, about its custom chip business.
NASDAQ: MRVL
Key Data Points
"Solid numbers missed the high watermark set by the rest of the AMZN supply chain," Barclays analyst Tom O'Malley wrote in a research note following earnings, according to CNBC. "While the company continues to sound good re: the future of their ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) prospects, the AMZN numbers near term are a bit lower, which is the real sticking point for a market punishing anything not perfect in AI."
Earlier this year, Marvell had traded as high as 80 times forward earnings. When you trade like that, you can't miss expectations. In fact, you generally have to blow them out of the water. Now trading at 24 times forward earnings, the valuation is much more attractive, and the custom chip business could be a game changer. But the stock will likely trade in step with much of the AI sector in the near term.
Tesla -- Down nearly 35% in 2025
While it's not the worst-performing stock in the Nasdaq-100 this year, Tesla (TSLA +4.34%) might be the most discussed stock and the most controversial. CEO Elon Musk's involvement in U.S. government operations as well as his public comments about various issues have clearly spooked investors and analysts, as some worry that his political involvement might be turning existing and potential customers away from the company.
The electric car maker has become a battleground stock. Over the last three months, 36 analysts have issued research reports on the company. Of this group, 14 say the stock is a buy, 11 say hold, and 11 say sell, according to TipRanks. A number of different data points throughout the quarter have pointed to plummeting deliveries in Europe and China, and to existing customers trading in their Teslas. The bears expect the company to report deliveries that are way down, potentially the lowest in three years.
NASDAQ: TSLA
Key Data Points
The bulls will tell you that any negative effect from Musk on sales is likely short-lived and that key catalysts are approaching, including the launch of the company's self-driving and Optimus robotics divisions, which could be new revenue streams for Tesla.
With the stock now trading at over 100 times forward earnings, I am on the sidelines for now. Tesla's upcoming first-quarter earnings report could lead to a huge move in one direction or the other. I think it's a bit early to put so much emphasis on new businesses when the company's core business seems to be struggling.
