This year has brought all sorts of twists and turns for investors.
Remember the “Liberation Day” tariff spectacle the market had to digest in April? The S&P 500 (^GSPC) tanked 4.8% the day after President Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs on April 2. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) dropped a staggering 1,679 points.
Tariffs are now in effect, though they are not as severe as first advertised. Markets have clawed back losses to trade near record highs.
Crypto has finally been embraced by major financial institutions. And the Federal Reserve has started cutting interest rates again.
But when the Yahoo Finance team sat down to discuss who deserves to win our 11th annual Company of the Year award, one thing became abundantly clear: This year’s winner of our newsroom’s highest honor must be super grounded in artificial intelligence. (Though I could have given my vote to last year’s winner, Walmart (WMT), for another monster year of performance.)
2025 has been the year when AI has permeated markets and infiltrated our everyday lives.
Nvidia (NVDA) is still seen as the leader in AI chips, but Google (GOOG) is now nipping at its heels. Nvidia was also the first public company to reach a staggering $5 trillion valuation.
AMD (AMD) managed to make inroads into Nvidia’s domination after inking a headline-making deal with OpenAI (OPAI.PVT). The deal will bring massive money into AMD and establish OpenAI as a long-term investor.
Microsoft (MSFT) and OpenAI reinforced their relationship with an eye toward the next decade of AI.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm (QCOM) said it would get in on the AI chip game next year. Intel (INTC) gained two new investors in the US government and Nvidia. And the “Magnificent Seven” stocks earmarked billions of dollars to build more data centers to support their AI ambitions.
Recall billionaire Larry Ellison’s Oracle (ORCL)? It stunned investors in September with an insane amount of AI-related backlog, though not everyone on the Street was bullish on Oracle as a major player in AI.
With that as a backdrop, it’s my honor to reveal the three contenders for our 11th annual Company of the Year award: OpenAI, Oracle, and Nvidia. Over the next week and a half, you will see us preview each of these companies live on Yahoo Finance and discuss why they are in the running to take home the crown.
The winner will be revealed on the morning of Dec. 8 on the Yahoo Finance homepage and app, with a full day of live coverage.
In the meantime, I want to hear from YOU. Who do you think should win our Company of the Year award out of these three, and why? If you have other worthy names, I would love to hear them too. Just drop me a line @BrianSozzi on X, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Be sure to tag Yahoo Finance!
