Less than two weeks from today, the curtain will close on 2025. When that happens, investors will likely be grinning from ear to ear. As of the closing bell on Dec. 12, the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average, benchmark S&P 500, and Innovation-inspired Nasdaq Composite have rallied 14%, 16%, and 20%, respectively, year to date.
But investing isn't about where we've been -- it's all about what comes next.
In a similar fashion to Berkshire Hathaway's soon-to-be-retiring CEO, Warren Buffett, I've been a net seller of equities amid a historically pricey stock market. Having dry powder at the ready to pounce on price dislocations when they arise is never a bad idea.
Despite increasing my available cash for future investments, I've maintained my long-term focus and intend to hold the vast majority of my 36 positions (35 stocks and one exchange-traded fund (ETF)) for years to come. My top 10 portfolio holdings account for more than 81% of my invested assets, excluding cash, and I'll be counting on them to outperform in what might be a volatile year ahead for Wall Street.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. SSR Mining
Gold and silver mining stock SSR Mining (SSRM 2.70%) has consistently been among my largest holdings over the last nine years. Shares have bounced back in a big way following a tragic mining accident at the company's Copler mine in Turkey in mid-February 2023.
The rapid rise in the spot prices of gold and silver has been the primary spark for SSR Mining's 219% year-to-date gain. With U.S. M2 money supply skyrocketing during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, it's set the stage for a historic run-up in precious metals.
In 2026, SSR Mining's biggest catalysts will likely be the ongoing rally in precious metals, as well as the possibility of having its environmental license at Copler reinstated, with remediation work ongoing.
2. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Turnaround stories take time, but pharmaceutical titan Teva Pharmaceutical Industries' (TEVA 3.84%) 180 is firmly in place.
CEO Richard Francis has shifted some of his company's focus away from low-margin generics and toward high-margin novel drug development. With tardive dyskinesia drug Austedo pacing more than $2 billion in full-year sales for 2025, it's safe to say this decision is paying off.
Teva is also benefiting from the fact that its legal woes are firmly in the rearview mirror. A $4.25 billion settlement with 48 states concerning its role in the opioid crisis paved the way for Teva to refocus its efforts on drug development and further enhanced its ability to pay down debt. This should continue to fuel multiple expansion for the stock.
NYSE: SGOV
Key Data Points
3. iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF
The lone ETF I hold is the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV +0.01%), which invests in U.S. Treasury bills that mature in three months or less.
This is the ETF where I park a substantial portion of my cash that's waiting to be invested at some point in the future. With my broker (E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley) paying a paltry 0.01% yield on uninvested cash held in my account, the highly liquid and stable iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF has been a smarter choice to generate returns on my idle cash, since it's producing an annual yield in the neighborhood of 4%.
4. Meta Platforms
My fourth-largest holding is social media behemoth Meta Platforms (META 2.52%). Although Meta's artificial intelligence (AI) spending is the talk of Wall Street, what I appreciate most is the exceptional ad-pricing power it brings to the table.
Meta is the parent company of some of the most popular social media apps, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Threads, and Facebook Messenger. During September, Meta's family of apps attracted an average of 3.54 billion daily active people. Businesses are well aware that Meta offers them the best chance to reach a broad audience with their message(s).
What's more, Meta is drowning in capital. It closed out September with approximately $44.5 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, and is on track to generate well over $100 billion in cash from its operating activities in 2025. It has the capital to aggressively invest in high-growth initiatives.
Image source: Getty Images.
5. Bank of America
Money-center goliath Bank of America (BAC 2.87%) has been a continuous holding of mine for more than 14 years, and I don't anticipate selling shares anytime soon.
On one hand, recent Federal Reserve rate cuts could prove challenging for BofA. It's the most interest-sensitive of America's largest banks by total assets. While it disproportionately benefited from the central bank raising rates from March 2022 through July 2023, the opposite is a possibility as the Fed lowers interest rates.
At the same time, the slow and well-telegraphed monetary policy moves by the Fed have allowed Bank of America to continue generating highly profitable loans that can support earnings growth in 2026.
6. PubMatic
Although I've sold more stocks than I've purchased in 2025, based on market value, there's no stock I've bought more of this year than adtech company PubMatic (PUBM 3.38%).
PubMatic appears to be ideally positioned within the digital advertising realm. In particular, connected TV ad growth has surpassed 50% from the previous year, with omnichannel video ad revenue jumping 21% in the latest quarter (excluding political ads). PubMatic is the type of company that benefits from lengthy periods of economic expansion and can outpace many of its peers in terms of operating margin, thanks to its decision to build out its own cloud-based infrastructure.
The cherry on top is that PubMatic is generating positive operating cash flow, has no debt, and ended September with $136.5 million in cash and cash equivalents. In my view, it's one of the least expensive growth stocks on Wall Street.
NYSE: AG
Key Data Points
7. First Majestic Silver
I've been a shareholder of gold and silver miner First Majestic Silver (AG 4.04%) since it acquired Primero Mining in May 2018. I had purchased shares of the struggling Primero with the thesis that it would be acquired at a premium, which came to fruition.
First Majestic Silver is the only one of my top 10 portfolio holdings that I've been actively reducing throughout the year. Although a higher spot price for silver has encouraged Wall Street analysts to lift their profit projections for the company, management has often struggled to keep mining costs down. In other words, First Majestic Silver is nearing what I'd deem a fair valuation, which is why I've sold close to half of the position I began 2025 with.
There's a good likelihood I'll continue to pare down this position in 2026.
8. Pinterest
As you may have noticed by now, I'm a pretty big fan of public companies that generate the bulk of their sales through advertising/digital ads. Social media platform Pinterest (PINS 6.53%) certainly checks all the right boxes.
Although Wall Street has been unimpressed with Pinterest's revenue guidance over the last couple of quarters, the company managed to reach 600 million global monthly active users in the third quarter. With Pinterest's average revenue per user (ARPU) still well below what Meta generates in ARPU from its apps, there's ample opportunity for the former to enhance the monetization of its users and further improve its ad-pricing power.
Furthermore, Pinterest is still inexpensive. A forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 13 is a reasonable price to pay for 15% annual sales growth, relatively steady ARPU expansion, and $2.67 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, with no debt.
NASDAQ: PYPL
Key Data Points
9. PayPal Holdings
The ninth-largest position in my portfolio, PayPal Holdings (PYPL 2.61%), is similar to Pinterest in that it's delivering on many of its key performance indicators, yet is receiving little to no respect from Wall Street analysts or investors.
Despite active account growth stalling, payment transactions per active account over the trailing 12 months have increased by 41% to 57.6 between Dec. 31, 2020, and Sept. 30, 2025, which demonstrates that active users are becoming more engaged over time. Total payment volume traversing PayPal's digital networks has also been climbing by a high single-digit or low double-digit percentage throughout much of the decade.
PayPal has become quite the capital-return hero, as well. It's initiated a quarterly dividend program, which comes on top of a share buyback program that's been meeting or surpassing $5 billion on a trailing 12-month basis. For companies with steady or growing net income, buybacks can boost earnings per share and make a company's stock more attractive to value-seeking investors.
10. Alphabet
Rounding out my top 10 portfolio holdings for 2026 is Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL 1.66%)(GOOG 1.68%). Specifically, I've owned the Class A (GOOGL) voting shares since 2022.
Similar to other companies on this list, Alphabet possesses sustainable competitive advantages. Google has controlled 89% to 93% of internet search engine market share over the last decade, according to data from GlobalStats, while streaming service YouTube (which Alphabet also owns) is the second most-visited social site in the world, behind only Google. Its virtual monopoly in internet search ensures phenomenal ad-pricing power.
However, Alphabet's cash cow in the years to come is likely to be cloud infrastructure service platform Google Cloud. Incorporating AI solutions into Google Cloud can accelerate the already lightning-fast growth rate of a high-margin operating segment.
