Judging by headlines alone, Wall Street is walking quite a tightrope in 2025. Still, the S&P 500 has defied gravity with roughly 10% returns year to date.
This phenomenon is not uncommon in troubled times, with the tendency of stocks to climb a “wall of worry” to new heights as skeptical investors and news events fail to derail longer-term uptrends for the market.
In such an environment, smaller and riskier plays continue to win over investors despite sometimes not having a long track record of much in the way of current profits. In fact, some of the biggest winners this year have been up-and-coming stocks that present unique opportunities.
This post originally appeared at U.S. News & World Report.