Investment Portfolios 2025: Strategies in the Face of Global Volatility

The Current Context: Radical Changes in Markets

The international economic landscape has undergone significant transformations in 2025, markedly contrasting with last year’s performance. The introduction of new tariff policies has caused turbulence in global markets, with rates of 10% on general imports, 50% toward the European Union, 55% accumulated to China, and 24% to Japan. These movements have triggered immediate volatility in U.S., Asian, and European indices.

However, after the initial corrections in March and April, markets have shown signs of recovery, with many indices returning to levels close to historical highs. Gold, for its part, has reached unprecedented highs surpassing $3,300 per ounce, reflecting investors’ search for safe-haven assets.

In this context, identifying companies to invest in 2025 that combine financial strength, adaptive capacity, and innovation is critical to protect and enhance investment portfolios.

Overview of 15 Strategic Companies for Current Investment

Reference data as of July 7, 2025

Fundamentals of the Selection: Why These Companies Deserve Attention

The strategy behind this portfolio focuses on balancing three factors: short- and medium-term performance potential, diversified geographic and sector exposure, and financial robustness in uncertain scenarios.

Energy and Commodities: Exxon Mobil benefits from sustained oil prices, while BHP leverages demand for industrial metals from emerging economies, especially in sectors like clean energy and electronics.

Banking Sector: JPMorgan Chase maintains a privileged position thanks to its diversification across commercial banking, investment services, and credit cards, with favorable margins in high-interest rate environments.

Pharmaceuticals and Medical Innovation: Novo Nordisk leads in diabetes and obesity treatments with high-value products, despite recent competitive pressures.

Luxury and Discretionary Consumption: LVMH, with its portfolio including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, and Sephora, is positioned to capitalize on the recovery of international tourism and demand from emerging markets, especially Japan, the Middle East, and India.

Automotive: Toyota offers technological stability in hybrids and alternative vehicles, while Tesla maintains its disruptive leadership in electric mobility.

Semiconductors and Digital Infrastructure: TSMC dominates advanced chip manufacturing; ASML is essential for next-generation lithography; NVIDIA and NVIDIA control critical markets in data processing and artificial intelligence.

Tech Giants: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet combine cloud services, enterprise software, e-commerce, and digital advertising, generating resilient cash flows across economic cycles.

Five Priority Stocks: Detailed Analysis

1. Novo Nordisk: Correction Opportunity

Novo Nordisk experienced a 27% drop in March 2025, the worst since 2002, driven by competitive concerns over drugs like Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. However, the Danish company reported sales of 290.4 billion Danish kroner (42.1 billion USD) in 2024, up 26%.

The corporate strategy includes acquiring Catalent for $16.5 billion, expanding production capacity, and a deal with Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for $1 billion to license LX9851, an experimental drug with a differentiated mechanism. The pipeline highlights the dual GLP-1/amylin molecule amycretin, which achieved 24% weight loss in early studies.

Despite lowering sales projections to 13%-21% after temporary restrictions on Wegovy in the U.S., it maintains margins of 43% and robust R&D investment. The sustained global demand for metabolic therapies underpins recovery expectations.

2. LVMH: Recovery from Depressed Levels

LVMH reported revenues of €84.7 billion in 2024 with an operating margin of 23.1%. However, January and April 2025 saw declines of 6.7% and 7.7%, respectively, partly due to 20% U.S. tariffs.

Q1 2025 revenues totaled €20.3 billion, down 3%, raising doubts about recovery speed. Nonetheless, the company is launching personalization initiatives with AI (platform Dreamscape) and expanding presence in Japan (double-digit sales in 2024), Middle East (+6%), and India with new Louis Vuitton and Dior stores in Mumbai.

The correction presents an entry point for exposure to the international luxury sector.

3. ASML: Critical Chip Infrastructure

ASML achieved €28.3 billion in sales in 2024 with a gross margin of 51.3%. Q4 exceeded expectations with €9.3 billion in sales. Q1 2025 recorded €7.7 billion with a record gross margin of 54%, reaffirming the annual guidance of €30-35 billion.

Despite these solid numbers, shares fell ~30% over the past year due to reduced capex from Intel and Samsung, emerging Chinese competition, and export restrictions from the Netherlands (projected at 10-15% of sales to China).

The structural demand for advanced semiconductors for AI and high-performance computing sustains positive outlooks. Recent controls do not alter the annual guidance, and the company continues investing in capacity and technology.

4. Microsoft: Leader in Digital Transformation

Microsoft reported fiscal 2024 revenues of $245.1 billion (+16% annually), operating income of $109.4 billion (+24%), and net income of $88.1 billion (+22%). Its Copilot ecosystem and partnership with OpenAI position it as a leading enterprise AI provider.

Early 2025 saw a 20% correction from all-time highs (lows of $367.24 on March 31). Valuation concerns, Azure deceleration, and macro tensions weighed. Q3 fiscal 2025 showed recovery: revenues of $70.1 billion, 46% operating margin, and Azure/cloud services up 33%.

The company is making record investments in AI and infrastructure but needs operational adjustments (15,000+ layoffs announced May-July 2025). The recent correction offers an attractive entry point into a fundamentally solid company.

5. Alibaba: Post-Regulation Resurgence

Alibaba reported revenues of ¥280.2 billion in Q4 2024 (+8% annually) and ¥236.45 billion in Q1 2025, with adjusted net profit growth of 22%, driven by Cloud Intelligence (+18%).

Shares fell 35% from 2024 highs, influenced by doubts over massive AI/cloud investments and China’s economic slowdown. However, the company announced a three-year plan of $52 billion for AI/cloud infrastructure and a campaign of ¥50 billion in coupons to stimulate consumption.

After extreme volatility (+40% rise in February, -7% fall after March earnings), current momentum reflects gradual confidence. Exploiting depressed valuations could be profitable in the medium-term perspective.

Stock Selection: Practical Criteria for Investors

In a context of protectionism and uncertainty, investors should consider:

• Sectoral and Geographic Diversification: Companies with multinational presence but with business models less dependent on cross-border trade flows show greater resilience.

• Financial Strength: Firms with robust operating margins, positive cash flows, and low leverage better absorb shocks.

• Structural Innovation: Businesses responding to persistent demands (AI, semiconductors, sustainability, digital transformation) maintain growth in adverse cycles.

• Constant Monitoring: Changes in trade policies, regulatory decisions, and geopolitical conflicts require active tracking to rebalance portfolios.

Investment Options in These Stocks

Investors interested in accessing these opportunities have multiple channels:

Direct Stocks: Purchase through accounts at authorized institutions, offering full control over selection and timing.

Investment Funds: Thematic vehicles (by geography, sector, or strategy) managed actively or passively, enabling automatic diversification.

Derivative Instruments: CFDs (contracts for difference) allow amplifying positions with reduced capital, useful for hedging against volatility. However, leverage magnifies both gains and losses, requiring discipline and deep knowledge.

In scenarios of more aggressive economic policies, a well-diversified combination of traditional assets and derivatives balances risks while maintaining long-term exposure to growth sectors.

Final Reflection: Investing in Uncertainty

2025 likely marks the break between the record-margin cycle of previous years and a new era of unprecedented volatility. Historical gains do not guarantee future returns; the current reality lacks comparables, limiting precise predictions.

In this scenario, the rational investor should:

• Build balanced, sector- and geographically-diversified portfolios
• Include defensive assets (bonds, gold) to offset potential declines
• Resist panic selling: severe corrections are often followed by recoveries; panic sales crystallize unnecessary losses
• Stay informed about ongoing political, economic, and conflict developments, turning information into a competitive advantage

A well-founded, balanced, and flexible strategy remains the best defense against uncertainty in volatile markets.