What are the key takeaways from this Animal Spirits episode?

Key insights include: **Technology Stock Performance:** Sandisk, Western Digital, Micron, and Seagate Technologies led S&P 500 gains in 2025, up 130-600%, as AI infrastructure demand drove pick-and-shovel semiconductor companies to outperform despite being legacy tech firms from the dot-com era.; **International Small Cap Surge:** DFA international small cap value funds returned 48% in 2025 versus 10% for US counterparts, marking the widest performance spread since 2008 data began, with developed markets outperforming US small caps by 27 percentage points during the year.; **Private Credit Expansion:** Private credit firms including KKR, Blue Owl, and Sixth Street purchased $136 billion in consumer debt in 2025, up from $10 billion in 2024, a 14x increase as they moved into riskier credit cards and buy-now-pay-later loans.

What did Michael Batnick and Ben Carlson discuss on Animal Spirits?

Michael and Ben analyze 2025's best and worst performing S&P 500 stocks, discuss the explosive growth of private credit and family offices, examine retirement spending patterns, and evaluate whether 401(k) plans successfully replaced traditional pensions. Key topics include: **Technology Stock Performance:** Sandisk, Western Digital, Micron, and Seagate Technologies led S&P 500 gains in 2025, up 130-600%, as AI infrastructure demand drove pick-and-shovel semiconductor companies to outperform despite being legacy tech firms from the dot-com era.; **International Small Cap Surge:** DFA international small cap value funds returned 48% in 2025 versus 10% for US counterparts, marking the widest performance spread since 2008 data began, with developed markets outperforming US small caps by 27 percentage points during the year..

How long is this episode of Animal Spirits?

This episode is 56 minutes long. SignalCast provides an AI-generated summary so you can get the key insights in about 3 minutes.

Animal Spirits

The Best Performing Stocks of 2025 (EP. 445)

December 31, 2025

56 min episode · 2 min read

Michael Batnick,Ben Carlson

Episode

56 min

Read time

2 min

Topics

Relationships, Investing, Fundraising & VC

AI-Generated Summary

Published Jan 1, 2026

Key Takeaways

✓Technology Stock Performance: Sandisk, Western Digital, Micron, and Seagate Technologies led S&P 500 gains in 2025, up 130-600%, as AI infrastructure demand drove pick-and-shovel semiconductor companies to outperform despite being legacy tech firms from the dot-com era.
✓International Small Cap Surge: DFA international small cap value funds returned 48% in 2025 versus 10% for US counterparts, marking the widest performance spread since 2008 data began, with developed markets outperforming US small caps by 27 percentage points during the year.
✓Private Credit Expansion: Private credit firms including KKR, Blue Owl, and Sixth Street purchased $136 billion in consumer debt in 2025, up from $10 billion in 2024, a 14x increase as they moved into riskier credit cards and buy-now-pay-later loans.
✓Retirement Plan Success: 90 million Americans now participate in 401(k) plans versus 10 million in traditional pensions, up from 30 million pension participants at peak, proving defined contribution plans expanded retirement savings access despite critics predicting failure when pensions disappeared.

What It Covers

Michael and Ben analyze 2025's best and worst performing S&P 500 stocks, discuss the explosive growth of private credit and family offices, examine retirement spending patterns, and evaluate whether 401(k) plans successfully replaced traditional pensions.

Key Questions Answered

•Technology Stock Performance: Sandisk, Western Digital, Micron, and Seagate Technologies led S&P 500 gains in 2025, up 130-600%, as AI infrastructure demand drove pick-and-shovel semiconductor companies to outperform despite being legacy tech firms from the dot-com era.
•International Small Cap Surge: DFA international small cap value funds returned 48% in 2025 versus 10% for US counterparts, marking the widest performance spread since 2008 data began, with developed markets outperforming US small caps by 27 percentage points during the year.
•Private Credit Expansion: Private credit firms including KKR, Blue Owl, and Sixth Street purchased $136 billion in consumer debt in 2025, up from $10 billion in 2024, a 14x increase as they moved into riskier credit cards and buy-now-pay-later loans.
•Retirement Plan Success: 90 million Americans now participate in 401(k) plans versus 10 million in traditional pensions, up from 30 million pension participants at peak, proving defined contribution plans expanded retirement savings access despite critics predicting failure when pensions disappeared.

Notable Moment

Silver surged 170% in 2025 while gold gained 70%, with Newmont becoming the only gold mining company in the S&P 500 after years of consolidation, leaving analysts struggling to explain why silver outperformed during a technology boom.

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