Ten Bull Market 10-Baggers

Sep 22, 2025

Since 10/12/22 – a little over a month before the launch of ChatGPT on 11/30/22 – US stocks have been in what we call the “AI Boom” bull market. While broad market performance has been robust, one striking aspect of this cycle has been the extraordinary gains in a handful of individual equities. Ten stocks in the large-cap Russell 1,000 have now advanced more than 1,000% since the start of this period.  These “10-baggers” reflect a mix of AI-driven demand, structural turnarounds, and thematic speculation. Below we take a look at each of these names to provide insight into the breadth of forces powering this bull market beyond the headline indices.

Bull Market 10-Baggers:

AppLovin (APP): AppLovin provides a mobile app monetization and ad-tech platform. The company has benefited from stronger demand for performance-based advertising and the application of AI tools to improve targeting and user engagement. As digital advertising rebounded, investors rewarded APP’s ability to scale profits in an AI-enhanced ecosystem.

Palantir (PLTR): Palantir develops advanced data analytics platforms serving governments and enterprises. Investor enthusiasm has accelerated as the company positioned itself as a key player in applied AI and national security technology. Commercial adoption of its Foundry platform and new AI pilots with large enterprises have reinforced growth expectations.

Carvana (CVNA): Carvana operates an online platform for used-car sales. While not directly tied to AI, its turnaround has been among the most notable of the cycle. Balance sheet repair, improved unit economics, and a favorable used-car pricing environment drove a re-rating, amplified by high short interest and renewed investor risk appetite.

Summit Therapeutics (SMMT): Summit Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology firm. Its dramatic share price increase followed the licensing of an oncology candidate with substantial market potential. Investor interest in high-upside biotech, coupled with a supportive capital-raising environment during the bull market, propelled the stock to outsized gains.

MicroStrategy (MSTR): MicroStrategy, while a software company by origin, has effectively become a proxy for Bitcoin exposure due to its significant cryptocurrency holdings. The resurgence in digital assets, particularly following the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, has driven MSTR’s equity performance well beyond the market average.

NVIDIA (NVDA): NVIDIA is the market leader in GPU semiconductors and has emerged as the clear beneficiary of the generative AI buildout. Surging demand for AI infrastructure, expanding gross margins, and a growing software ecosystem have supported the company’s transformation into one of the world’s most valuable enterprises.

Vertiv (VRT): Vertiv supplies power and thermal management systems for data centers. As hyperscale cloud providers and enterprises expand AI capacity, demand for data center infrastructure has accelerated sharply. VRT has been viewed as a critical “picks and shovels” supplier to the AI cycle, driving its substantial re-rating.

FTAI Aviation (FTAI): FTAI Aviation specializes in leasing and servicing jet engines, particularly the widely used CFM56. Strong air travel recovery, tight supply of engine parts, and lucrative maintenance economics have supported earnings growth. Structural demand for fleet reliability has reinforced investor confidence in the company’s business model.

Rocket Lab (RKLB): Rocket Lab operates as a space launch and satellite systems provider. Investor enthusiasm has centered on its role as a disruptive competitor in small-satellite launches, supported by increasing defense and commercial contracts. While profitability remains distant, the strategic importance of low-Earth orbit systems has underpinned the stock’s advance.

Robinhood (HOOD): Robinhood operates a digital brokerage platform offering commission-free trading. Increased retail participation, higher interest income on customer balances, and growth in crypto trading have supported its rebound. The return of risk appetite during the AI Boom has allowed HOOD to re-emerge as a favored retail engagement vehicle.

The ten stocks that have delivered gains in excess of 1,000% since the onset of the AI Boom highlight the breadth of leadership within this cycle. Some represent clear beneficiaries of AI infrastructure investment (NVIDIA, Vertiv), others reflect speculative enthusiasm in turnaround or emerging growth stories (Carvana, Rocket Lab), and a few embody broader macro themes such as digital assets or retail trading (MicroStrategy, Robinhood). Taken together, they illustrate the defining characteristic of the current bull market: investors are rewarding both transformational innovation and asymmetric recovery opportunities at an extraordinary scale.

While the gains in these ten stocks are remarkable, investors should recognize the speculative nature of such moves. Equities that advance 1,000%+ in less than three years rarely sustain that pace, and history shows that many such names ultimately experience sharp drawdowns. Valuations have expanded dramatically, and future performance will require fundamental follow-through that may not match current expectations. In other words, while these companies illustrate the extremes of the AI Boom bull market, they also highlight the risks of extrapolating past returns too far into the future.

Small-Caps Finally Make New High

Sep 19, 2025

Yesterday, the small-cap Russell 2,000 finally managed to close at a new all-time high when it broke above prior peaks made in December 2024 and December 2021.  The last time the index had a breakout after a long period without one was in late 2020 following the COVID Crash.  Back then, the index made a huge leg higher after the breakout.  Small-cap bulls would love to see a repeat.

Yesterday also marked the end of a 967-trading day streak without a new all-time high for the Russell 2,000.  It was the second-longest streak without a new all-time high in the index’s history behind the 1,177 day streak that ended in November 2004.  The only other comparable streak was the 954 trading days it went without a new high that ended on April 27th, 2011.

Below is a log chart of the Russell with red dots marking the end of the two prior long streaks without new all-time highs mentioned above.  Following the 2004 streak, the index continued to chug along higher, but the index saw a pretty nasty sell-off in the months following the end of the 2011 streak.