The big stocks that doubled investors’ money in 2025

It’s been a great year for markets around the world, and even better year for anyone who picked one of the stocks that doubled investors’ money in 2025 when factoring in share price gains and dividends.

Here are some of the big names to have hit the jackpot for investors from the UK and the US stock market.

FTSE 100

Starting in the UK, four companies in the FTSE 100 delivered returns more than 100% between 1 January and 12 December 2025.

Precious metals miner Fresnillo benefited from a surge in gold and silver prices as well as operational progress, with a similar dynamic at play for its peer Endeavour Mining.

If you’d invested £1,000 in Fresnillo at the start of the year, you would now be sitting on an investment worth £4,780 (including dividends and not factoring in any transaction fees).

Mobile phone and internet carrier Airtel Africa may go under the radar of many investors, but it is growing rapidly. It entered the African mobile market in 2010 and has established leading or strong market positions in 14 countries on the continent in the intervening period.

The business has invested significant sums across several markets in mobile infrastructure and network modernisation to enable the provision of digital services such as data and digital payments to customers.

This investment appears to be paying off. Results for the six months to 30 September 2025 showed a 35.9% increase in operating profit and 41.8% advance in operating cash flow.

Meanwhile, contractor Babcock International generated more than 100% returns for investors who held the shares for the whole of the year, driven by greater government spending in defence activities and a resurgence in the nuclear space – two areas where it has longstanding expertise.

S&P 500

Across the Atlantic, there are 10 names in the S&P 500 which returned at least 100% in the year, including software outfit Palantir.

Despite a recent wobble on valuation concerns, shares in Palantir have still enjoyed significant gains overall thanks to bumper AI-driven revenue growth. To place this growth in context, revenue was up 63% year-on-year in the three-month period to 30 September.

The company’s work with government agencies and intelligence communities means its operations are secretive and the business has faced criticism in some quarters about a lack of transparency. Notably hedge fund manager Michael Burry, who gained prominence thanks to the 2015 film The Big Short, revealed a short position on the stock in November. This meant he stood to profit if the share price declined in value.

Another artificial intelligence beneficiary was Seagate Technology which is top of the 2025 performance charts on the S&P 500 thanks to surging demand for its data storage services.

Elsewhere, gold miner Newmont has benefited from a similar dynamic to its UK counterparts Fresnillo and Endeavour as the metal price shot up. Entertainment firm Warner Bros Discovery leapt on takeover interest.

While the performance figures are impressive, it’s important to remember that just because a stock has done well one year doesn't mean it will do so again next year.