Our top 3 and bottom 3 stocks during a volatile month on Wall Street
The stock market has been on a wild ride over the past month. Since our December Monthly Meeting, there has been a steady stream of news from Washington, including a surprise U.S. military operation in Venezuela and tariff threats related to Greenland. President Donald Trump on Wednesday backed away from imposing European tariffs, telling CNBC in an interview from Davos, Switzerland, that he reached a “concept of a deal” regarding Greenland. Trump also said that Venezuela will receive some revenue from the sale of 50 million barrels of oil that it shipped to the United States. From Dec. 15 to Wednesday’s close, the S & P 500 and Nasdaq gained 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Qnity Electronics, Boeing , and Texas Roadhouse were our top-performing stocks over the stretch. Each handily beat the market, securing double-digit percentage gains. Here’s a look at what drove our three best and our three worst — Apple , CrowdStrike , and Salesforce — ahead of the Club’s January Monthly Meeting, which will be livestreamed Thursday at noon ET. Top 3 Qnity Electronics: up 30.1% The DuPont spinoff, which supplies materials for semiconductor fabrication, surged amid broader strength across the chipmaking cohort. A solid quarterly earnings report from chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing , in particular, lifted shares earlier this month. TSMC management said it was increasing its capital budget due to strong demand. Investors saw that as a positive read-through for supply-chain players like Qnity. A handful of positive Wall Street analyst calls on Qnity also lifted sentiment. Boeing: gained 22.6% Shares jumped on positive demand signs for the U.S. company’s aircraft, securinga new 52-week high on Wednesday. Boeing on Tuesday announced more orders with Ethiopian Airlines. The bulk of Boeing’s monthly gains came after news last week that it outsold European rival Airbus in 2025 for the first time since 2018. Alaska Airlines ‘ order of more than 100 Boeing jets earlier this month helped put it over the top. Texas Roadhouse: rose 14.1% The restaurant stock is off to a strong start in 2026. Investors expect a better year, thanks to a bump in consumer spending from tax refund-related stimulus.This follows a disappointing 2025 for Texas Roadhouse, when cattle inflation weighed on the company’s margins. The Club trimmed our position into strength on Jan. 12. We’re hopeful that the stock will have more upside ahead, but only if the company catches a break on beef prices. Bottom 3 Salesforce: down 15.5% It’s no surprise that this was our worst performer. Enterprise software stocks like Salesforce continued to take hits as the market struggled with AI-driven disruption risks. The new technology could pose an existential threat to Salesforce’s seat-based business model because, if AI reduces headcount, fewer software licences will be needed. CEO Marc Benioff has repeatedly refuted this notion, saying AI enhances its software platforms. We’re sticking with the stock for now, based on Benioff’s track record as a leader. CrowdStrike: lost 11.7% Shares declined earlier this month after Chinese authorities reportedly banned domestic companies from using CrowdStrike’s cybersecurity software, citing national security concerns. A handful of other American firms, including Palo Alto Networks and Broadcom ‘s VMWare, were included on that list. It doesn’t change our thesis on any of these stocks. We like CrowdStrike’s recent acquisition of identity management startup SGNL for $740 million. It gives the company a stronger foothold in one of the fastest-growing segments in the sector. Apple: fell 11% This stock is headed for its eighth week of losses on concerns over rising memory costs and a rotation out of megacap tech names. The decline is unwarranted because Apple recently announced a promising AI partnership with fellow Club holding Alphabet . The iPhone maker will use Google’s Gemini for some of its AI features, which should ease Wall Street’s concerns. Jim Cramer said Tuesday the decline gives new investors a chance to get in the stock. “This is a great opportunity to realize that they happen to get the premier AI by dealing with Gemini,” he said of Apple. “They ended up being a winner here.” (See here for a full list of the stocks in Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust’s portfolio. 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