The S&P 500 Index and its top ETFs like SPY, IVV, and VOO have done well this year as they soared by over 40% from the lowest level in April and 16% from the January level.
Why the S&P 500 Index and ETFs like VOO and SPY jumped
The index has jumped despite having major risks, including Donald Trump’s tariffs, elevated inflation, prolonged government shutdown, and troubles in the labor market.
This rally happened as Donald Trump largely abandoned his reciprocal tariffs and made deals with companies, including China and the European Union.
Most importantly, the index jumped as companies announced strong financial results, with the third-quarter growth trajectory being about 13%. It grew by double digits in the past four consecutive quarters.
At the same time, the S&P 500 Index and its ETFs like SPY and VOO rose after the Federal Reserve started cutting interest rates, a move that is expected to continue today.
Most importantly, the index continued rising as investors cheered the artificial intelligence (AI) tailwinds, which has helped boost top companies like Nvidia and AMD.
This article looks at some of the top companies that fueled the S&P 500 Index boom this year.
S&P 500 Index chart | Source: TradingView
Sandisk, Western Digital, Seagate, and Micron
Nvidia, AMD, and Palantir are the top names people think about when the concept of artificial intelligence is mentioned.
While these companies did well this year, it is the less glamorous technology companies in the AI space that led the S&P 500 Index and its ETFs like SPY and VOO this year.
Sandisk stock price has jumped by 525% this year, pushing its market capitalization to over $32 billion. Western Digital stock price soared by 275%, with its market value hitting $57 billion. Seagate and Micron Technology stocks jumped by 225% and 197%, respectively.
These companies are unique in that they provide almost similar items, which are used widely in the personal computer and data center industries. They make hard drives, which are found in all data centers.
Their rally is because of elevated demand for this storage as companies like Microsoft, CoreWeave, Nebius, IREN, Amazon, and Google continued spending heavily on data centers. This industry is growing so fast that Micron has decided to abandon retail clients to focus on large companies.
The risk, however, is that these companies operate in a highly competitive industry, meaning that they may experience a sharp reversal if the AI boom slows. There is a likelihood of elevated inventories and thinner margins in coming few years.
Robinhood Markets (HOOD)
Robinhood Markets is another top company that helped to boost the S&P 500 Index this year. The company, which became part of the index recently, has jumped by 252% this year, pushing its market cap to over $80 billion.
The company has benefited from the growing market share in the United States, and its global expansion. This week, the company acquired two Indonesian companies as it seeks to grow its market share there.
The company also moved deeper into the crypto industry by acquiring Bitstamp, a small crypto exchange, which it hopes to continue growing and make it a formidable competitor to Coinbase and Kraken. It also launched several tokenized stocks in Europe and is working on its own layer 2 solution.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD)
Warner Bros. Discovery is another top company that helped to boost the S&P 500 Index in 2025 as it surged by 168%. The company has done well this year because of the ongoing bidding war from Netflix and Paramount Skydance.
After reaching a deal with Netflix last week, Paramount Skydance made a superior offer on Monday. It plans to take this offer directly to shareholders, who will likely approve the deal as it has over $17 billion on top.
The other top companies in the S&P 500 Index and its ETFs, like SPY and VOO are Newmont, which jumped because of its exposure to gold, which has jumped to a record high this year. Other top companies in the index were companies like Palantir, Lam Research, Applovin, Intel, Amphenal, and KLA Corporation.
READ MORE: Why are Paramount and Netflix overpaying for Warner Bros stock?
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