The Best Day Trading Stocks in 2025

Day trading stocks isn’t for the faint of heart. Buying and selling the same stock within a single day, often using borrowed funds (trading on margin), is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. It requires good timing, an understanding of market dynamics and economic indicators, as well as a tolerance for a high level of risk.

For day trading to be lucrative, it’s best to invest in stocks that have high trading volume and high volatility. These are the stocks likely to produce the kind of price moves day traders can profit from. It helps if they also represent solid long-term investments. That way, if a stock’s price plummets, traders can hold onto it until it recovers. For those keen to try out this strategy, we reviewed the best stocks available in US markets for day trading. Read on to see our picks:

An in-depth look at these top stocks for day trading

Now, let’s take a more detailed look at the most popular day trading stocks and why they are worth considering.

1. Nvidia: AI dominance should drive stock, despite recent slump

The rapid growth of generative AI applications, and cloud infrastructure should continue to power the GPU maker’s sales for years to come. That’s good news for a company benefiting from strategic AI innovation collaborations with Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Microsoft and Oracle, among others.

After gaining 170% 2024, the stock recently slumped 17% in a single day when Chinese startup DeepSeek revealed R1, a free AI assistant that’s cheaper to run than rival large language models, threatening the dominance of the biggest beneficiaries of the AI boom, including Nvidia. The US chipmaker shed $593 billion of its market value, a record one-day loss by any company on Wall Street. Still, Nvidia remains the world’s third-largest company by market capitalization and continues to grow.

In the third quarter, the company had earnings per share (EPS) of $0.78, rising 111% from the same period a year earlier and an increase of 16% from the second quarter. Revenue rose 93.6%, year over year, and 17% over the prior quarter, to a record $35.08 billion. It topped analysts’ estimates of $33.15 billion.

The company continues to show high profit margins. It’s estimating gross margins of between 73% and 73.5% in the fourth quarter (it reports Feb. 28) and fourth-quarter revenue of $35.5 billion.

A stock split that took effect on last summer has made Nvidia’s shares even more approachable for beginner investors. Its recent slump gives the stock a better price point for day traders to enter. Also, any developments on DeepSeek and its competitors that use Nvidia’s chips, can produce fluctuations worth exploiting for day trading.

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2. Tesla: EV maker continues to surprise, controversial CEO moves share price

Tesla is one of the most popular stocks with day traders. It always has high volume and liquidity, making it an easy stock to buy and sell. Based on market cap, it’s a more valuable stock than all the other major automaker stocks combined. The company has a strong market share among EV maker as well as among charging stocks, making it a growth stock in two areas.

Tesla, though, seemingly came out of nowhere to produce the best-selling vehicle in the world, the Model Y sport utility vehicle, along with four other Tesla EV models. It’s also the only EV maker to be consistently profitable. Last year, it reported its fourth consecutive year of net profit, though its profitability has eroded a bit.

Full-year net income came in at $8.4 billion, down 23% from 2023. However, revenue climbed by 1% to $97.7 billion. In addition, Tesla is ideal for day trading, given the volatility of its shares. The stock, now trading at around $386, went from $1 a share in 2010 to a high of $415 a share in November of 2021. Over the past year, its shares have risen 112% and its volatility and ability to bounce back make it a day trader’s dream.

There are some clouds on the horizon, though, CEO Elon Musk, now the head of the Trump Administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, continues to be a lightning rod for attention and his statements can easily drive the stock’s price up or down.

In addition, in the fourth quarter, Tesla earnings were disappointing, $25.7 billion of sales last quarter and $0.73 adjusted earnings per share, both far below consensus analyst estimates of $27.3 billion in sales and $0.77 EPS. The $25.7 billion in revenue was up 2%, year over year, but diluted EPS of $0.72 was down from $2.49, compared to the same quarter a year ago.

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3. Broadcom: Diversity drives continued double-digit sales growth

The fabless chipmaker and infrastructure software provider makes custom AI server chips for Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Dell, Cisco and other enterprise customers, service providers, and government agencies. 

While AI has boosted its business, its greatest strength may be in its diversity of tech products. In addition to its prime semiconductor and infrastructure software businesses, it makes money from storage controllers, RAID adapters and other products used in enterprise storage. It also makes money from the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips it makes for cell phones, and other mobile devices.

In fiscal 2024, Broadcom revenue rose by 44% over 2023 to $51.6 billion, led by a record $30.1 billion in semiconductor revenue, thanks to the rise in AI sales. The company also had $21.5 billion in infrastructure software revenue. EPS for the fourth quarter was $0.90, just a year after the company had an EPS loss of $0.40 in the same quarter.

The company forecasts first-quarter revenue of $14.6 billion, compared to $11.96 billion last year, and first-quarter adjusted EBITDA of 66% of projected revenue, compared to 60% of revenue in the first quarter of 2023.

Thanks to increased cash flows, Broadcom also increased its quarterly dividend by 11% to $0.59 per share for fiscal year 2025, the 14th straight year of consecutive increases since it began payouts in 2011. The yield is still modest, at 1.17%, thanks the to the stock’s meteoric rise.

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4. Eli Lilly: New drug approvals could fuel stock’s steady rise

The pharmaceutical company’s shares have risen more than 14% over the past year, and more than 5% so far this year. Healthcare stocks can be great day trading stocks because they can soar when a company gets a new drug approved. Last year, Lilly led all companies with approvals for two new biologics, which are drugs made from living organisms, made to activate the body’s own immune system.

The first was Kisunla (donanemab-azbt) for treating early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July. The injection’s annual sales are expected to eventually reach $7 billion.

Next, in September, came the FDA approval of Ebglyss (lebrikizumab-lbkz) for treating moderate-to-severe eczema (atopic dermatitis). Ebglyss should compete well against Sanofi’s and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals’ Dupixent, another eczema drug that had more than $14.2 billion in sales in 2024.

The company is scheduled to announce fourth-quarter and full-year results on Feb. 6. It recently said that it expects quarterly revenue of $13.5 billion, up 45% year over year, but $400 million below the low range of its own earlier estimates. It also said it expects 2025 revenue of $58 billion to $61 billion, up 32% at the midpoint compared to 2024 revenue.

The company’s lead seller continues to be its two versions of tirzepatide, labeled as Mounjaro to treat diabetes and Zepbound to produce weight loss. The company said it expects sales of $3.5 billion for Mounjaro, up 104% year over year, and $1.9 billion for Zepbound, up 981%, compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. Lilly said it is also seeing strong sales from its oncology, immunology and neuroscience medicines.

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5. Meta: Counting on its big AI spending paying off

Meta stock is up 59% over the past year, including a 20% rise in 2025. It also just posted another quarter that went beyond analysts’ estimates. Meta is one of the leading companies promoting open-source AI. Its Llama 31. 405B is the biggest open-source AI large language model, meaning it can generate human language text in several languages.

In the fourth quarter, revenue climbed 21% year over year to $48.4 billion, and EPS was up 50% from the same period last year at $8.02. The company saw an additional 160 million daily active users across its family of apps of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The ban on TikTok in the US, imposed this January, also helps it by hurting a competitor.

For fiscal 2024, revenue was reported as $164.5 billion, up 22% over 2023. EPS was up 60% at $23.86. About the only down note was somewhat lackluster 2025 guidance that predicted revenue growth to slow to between 8% and 15%.

The company is one of the biggest spenders on AI technology and the thinking among many investors and analysts it will be ready for the coming boom.

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6. Microsoft: Software and cloud giant benefiting from AI in multiple ways

There’s a lot of hype regarding AI, but Microsoft has been one of the legitimate beneficiaries of the technology, with an annual AI revenue run rate of $13 billion, up 175% year over year.

The company has a strong portfolio of diversified assets and has a high gross profit margin. It has been able to hold onto its market-leading positions in software while building its business through acquisitions.

Microsoft is midway through its 2025 fiscal year. In the fiscal second quarter, it had revenue of $69.6 billion, up 12% over the same period in fiscal 2024. EPS was up 10% year over year to $3.23. A big driver, besides AI, was Microsoft Cloud revenue, which climbed 21% over the same period last year to $40.9 billion.

The emergence of DeepSeek hasn’t dimmed the company’s outlook or planned spending because Microsoft also benefits from the upgraded platforms companies are using to expand AI. The company has added DeepSeek R1 to the third-party AI models available via its Azure AI Foundry and GitHub software development platform.

The company reported revenue growth of 31% in from its Microsoft Azure cloud platform and other cloud services, including 13 percentage points of growth from AI services. Azure will likely drive the company’s gains in the third quarter, if its guidance is correct. The company is predicting a 31% to 32% Azure revenue gain, year over year, in the quarter.

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7. Visa: Rise in payments volume, discretionary spending boosts stock

Visa’s shares are up more than 24% over the past year, and the company continues to be one of the most traded stocks, with a 30-day average trading volume of more than 6.43 million. It may be a surprise to many that Visa doesn’t actually issue cards. It earns revenue from fees it charges the 14,500 banks and other card issuers for its branded products, including credit cards, debit cards and cash access programs. All in all, the company continues to see steady growth in payments volume, cross-border transactions and processed transactions.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2025, the company reported revenue of $9.51 billion, up 10% year over year, and surpassing the consensus forecast of analysts. It also said it had $2.75 in EPS, up 14% over the same period last year.

A growth in discretionary spending by consumers, especially in travel and entertainment, as well as double-digit growth in cross-border payment volume, is driving the company’s earnings. A smaller but significant improvement was shown in value-added services, which rose 18% year over year to $2.4 billion in revenue.

Like other companies, Visa has seen its AI spending rise. It bought, in the quarter, Featurespace, a developer of real-time AI payments protection technology that prevents and mitigates payments fraud and financial crime risks.

The company said it expects revenue growth at a high-single-digit to low-double-digit rate for the second quarter.

While a recession could set back the company on its heels, in the long run, Visa should continue to gain from the switch to digital payments that accelerated during the pandemic. It’s also set to benefit from the rise of e-commerce. Visa’s bread and butter is the 1% to 4% commission it earns from every transaction its network processes.

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8. Palantir Technology: Blowout quarter bodes well for future

Palantir’s stock has soared more than 400% over the past year and there seems little to slow it down. The company’s software tools help other companies utilize large language models used in AI. Its primary clients are in the defense and intelligence industries, but it is seeing more business by commercial businesses as well.

The company just posted its fourth-quarter earnings and blew past Wall Street’s consensus estimates. Adjusted EPS of $0.14 was up 75% year over year, and well above estimates for $0.11, according to FactSet. Revenue for the year was $828 million, well above expectations of $776 million, and an increase of 36% over the same period last year.

Breaking down those numbers, US revenue soared 52% year over year, and 12% sequentially to $558 million. While revenue from US government projects rose 45% over the same period last year to $343 million, US commercial revenue jumped 64% year over year to $214 million.

The company’s stock also got a boost from its 2025 guidance, which said it expected annual revenue between $3.741 and $3.757 billion (compared to $2.87 billion in 2024), as well as US commercial revenue to grow past $1.079 billion, a rise of at least 54%.

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9. Apple: Climb in services revenue underpins stock’s gains

It’s hard to ignore the company with the largest market cap in the world ($3.47 trillion at last count). Its sheet size makes it a great stock for day trading and that guarantees liquidity. While it’s justifiably known for its hardware sales (iPhone, Mac, iPods, etc.), the company is also seeing huge growth in services, which should improve its margins.

The effect that US tariffs might have on Apple and any retaliatory efforts by China might have in impacting Apple’s iPhone sales there, have pushed the stock down more than 7% this year, but over the past year, its shares have climbed more than 23%.

In its 2025 first-quarter earnings, the company had revenue of $124.3 billion up 4% on the year, and quarterly EPS of $2.40, up 10% on the same period last year. Both numbers were company records. Those numbers were in spite of a sales slowdown for China, its third-leading customer behind the US and Europe. Sales in China were $18.5 billion, down from $20.8 billion in the same period a year ago.

Perhaps the biggest bright spot for Apple growth is its steadily increasing services revenue, which has a higher gross margin (around 75% compared to 35% for products) than its products revenue. It reported revenue of $23.6 billion, up from $23.1 billion in the same period a year ago.

Analysts had expected that the company’s newly released iPhone 16 would spur greater iPhone sales, but that hasn’t happened yet. However, as the AI-enabled phone is still expected to see increased sales this quarter, particularly in India. The company, in its guidance for the second quarter, said it expected revenue growth in the low- to mid-single digits, with service revenue predicted to increase in the low double digits.

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10. Amazon: International growth, adoption of AI services propel earnings

Amazon is a market leader in US e-commerce and as a cloud platform merchant through Amazon Web Services. Its strong niche is expected to propel earnings for years to come. On top of that, the company is diving headlong into AI-enhanced services and even the DeepSeek scare hasn’t hurt the stock. It’s up more than 10% so far this year and more than 42% over the past year.

Last year, it launched AI-powered features as shopping assistant Rufus for all US mobile customers, playlist generator Maestro for Amazon Music. It also introduced a new search experience for Fire TV and other AI shopping guides, as well as Project Ameilia, an AI assistant for Amazon sellers.

The company’s diversity of revenue gives it a bulwark against recessionary pressures. It’s seemingly in everything, from healthcare to television and film production.

In the third quarter, it reported sales of $158.9 billion, up from $143.1 billion in the same quarter of 2023. EPS was $1.43, compared to $0.94 in the same period last year. Both numbers exceeded analysts’ estimates. The company is seeing greater gains percentage wise, internationally compared to in the US.

Analysts expect more of the same growth when the company reports fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 6. They predict revenue will grow 10% year over year to $187.3 billion, while EPS is predicted to be $1.49, a jump of 48% over the same period a year earlier.

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Year-to-date performance of the best stocks for day trading

What is day trading?

Day trading is an investment strategy when individuals buy and sell stocks, currencies and options in the same trading day. The traders pursuing this strategy take advantage of short-term price fluctuations. Instead of worrying about long-term growth of their stocks, day traders are looking to profit from small, daily price movements, making big bets on those movements.

The point of day trading is making a quick profit and then getting out to limit risks. Day traders often make multiple trades during the day and some use the leverage of margin accounts to multiply their profits.That means they borrow money from their broker to wager more funds in their positions. It’s a high-risk strategy that requires a lot of research and technical analysis.

Because they don’t intend to hold their stocks for a long time, day traders don’t need to worry about what kind of dividend they have.

Some of the best stocks for day trading are well-known companies that engender a lot of investor enthusiasm. Day traders exploit that enthusiasm, when say, the market overreacts to bad news, knowing the pendulum will likely swing back. They can, by shorting the stock, gain from good news, knowing the hype will spike the stock, but it will come back down. The reason you want stocks with high trading volume is they often have more liquidity. This means less play between the expected and actual price of a stock. 

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How to choose stocks for day trading? 

Any stock could be suitable for day trading, given the right circumstances. Ideally, you want stocks that are well-known, where information about the company is abundant.

Furthermore, it’s important to choose stocks that have a relatively high level of volatility and a high daily trading volume. That will give you a better opportunity to enter the stock at the price point you want and to exit it at a certain price point.

What type of stocks are best for day trading?

The best stocks for day trading are companies that see a large volume of trading, allowing day traders to more easily get in or out of a position at a certain price.

It’s also wise to pick companies with solid track records, because if you are unable to get out of your position at the desired price, you still want a stock with good long-term prospects.

What is the difference between day trading and investing? 

The difference between the two is in the timing. On the one hand, day trading is all about having a short-term focus, buying and selling securities within the same day to capitalize on small price movements. It’s associated with frequent trading and due to its reliance on volatility, involves a relatively high level of risk. On top of that, transaction fees and slippage can eat into profits, especially for high-frequency trading.

On the other hand, investing requires a long-term focus. It means holding onto investments for months, years or even decades and looks to generate returns through capital appreciation and dividends, and in some cases, dividend reinvestment. It requires patience and usually means less-frequent trading. As investing is less reliant on market fluctuations, it’s considered less risky than day trading.

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What are the main types of day trading?  

Day trading encompasses a variety of strategies, each with its own risk profile and potential rewards. Here are five of the most popular day-trading strategies.

Scalping

The point of scalping is to quickly buy and sell securities, holding positions for seconds or minutes, just long enough to make money. Investors basically invest big in small price movements. It’s the most short-term style of investing and is best done with stocks that have a high level of liquidity, though it can be done with any type of stock. It also helps to have a broker with low transaction costs and one that can execute trades rapidly.

Gap Trading

Gap trading occurs when traders try to benefit from price gaps that are present when the market opens. Basically, this happens when a stock opens at a significantly higher or lower price than what it closed at the day before. Traders then buy or sell based on their expectation of where the stock’s price will go next.

To do gap trading well, you need to understand market news and events that might drive a stock’s price during non-trading hours, such as a quarterly report or other important news that might affect the company. Traders that use gap trading need to have a clear entry and exit plan. Gaps can be upward, when the opening price is higher than the previous day’s high, downward, when the opening price is lower than the previous day’s low or be an exhaustion gap, when an upward or downward movement at the opening signals a reversal of a trend.

Momentum Trading

Momentum occurs when traders find securities with a strong upward or downward momentum and try to buy a stock when the price is riding. Essentially, that means riding a wave of enthusiasm toward a particular stock. To do this successfully, investors need to be able to quickly identify trends and use stop-loss orders to minimize risk.

The key to momentum trading is the ability to pay attention to a stock, identify and buy early when an upswing occurs. Then, as soon as the stock begins a downward movement, traders sell it to lock in a gain. Traders essentially work with volatility to find short-term uptrends, often buoyed by market news. Then they sell it when the stocks lose momentum.

Breakout Trading

Breakout trading happens when an asset moves above or below a support or resistance level. It usually means the stock will continue moving in the breakout direction. For a breakout to succeed, it requires higher than normal trading volume to continue because it shows there’s significant conviction the stock will continue to move in a particular direction.

Contrarian trading

Contrarian trading is based on the assumption that a security whose price has been steadily rising or declining for a while is due for a correction. Using a contrarian strategy, a day trader will look for signs of an impending reversal in price direction and trade accordingly.

Range Trading

The point of range trading is finding securities that trade within a specific price range. Day traders may then buy when the stock reaches the lower end of the range and sell when it reaches the upper level of the range. It means identifying support and resistance levels for the stock and then using stop-loss orders to minimize risk in the trade. Traders using this method need to research the technical elements of a security’s price history and understand market volatility.

News-Based Trading

The point of news-based trading is looking at current news reports and then using the information to quickly decide whether to buy or sell a stock. In some cases, this may mean seeing an overreaction to news and betting for a reversal, whether it means a rise or a decline. To do day trading on a stock based on news reports, you need to understand whether the news will have a long-term impact, a short-term impact or no impact at all. Often, traders will see a stock rise or fall based on news, then buy or sell similar companies in the same sector based on that information, something called the sympathetic effect.

What type of day trading is most profitable?

All of the above methods have their proponents and depending on the circumstances can be quite profitable. Oftentimes, the most profitable type of day trading is breakout or contrarian trading. The reason is that instead of depending on small price fluctuations, these involve betting on larger market moves. Both methods present more risks than other day trading strategies, such as scalping or range trading.

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Pros and cons of buying stocks for day trading 

Research shows that the majority of day traders lose money in the long term. There are a variety of reasons for that, but much of the time it has to do with chasing gains. Often, they are getting in on a rising stock near its peak price.

Day trading can be a solid strategy in some circumstances, but only by experienced investors willing to trade without emotion and with those willing to do significant research. Some of the pros and cons of buying stocks for day trading:

Pros of Day Trading

• Potential for high returns: Successful day traders can generate substantial profits in a short period.
• Independence and flexibility: Day traders are their own bosses and can set their own hours.
• Intellectual stimulation: Day trading requires constant analysis and decision-making, which can be intellectually rewarding.
• Opportunity to learn: The market is constantly evolving, providing continuous learning opportunities.

Cons of Day Trading

• High risk of loss: Day trading is inherently risky, and losses can be substantial.
• Time-consuming: Successful day trading requires significant time and dedication.
• Stressful: Market volatility can lead to high levels of stress.
• High transaction costs: Frequent trading can result in significant transaction fees.
• Emotional toll: Dealing with constant market fluctuations can take toll on traders’ mental wellbeing.

Methodology: How we chose the best stocks for trading

Unlike traditional long-term investing, there are a lot of things you don’t need to worry about when considering the best stocks to day trade. The main thing you are looking for in day trading stocks is likely big movement swings that you can take advantage of and a large volume of trading. All of the above stocks fit that bill. However, whenever you are buying a stock, it makes sense to see which direction it is headed in and whether its valuation is justified by its movement.  

• High liquidity: Liquidity refers to how easily a stock can be bought or sold without affecting its price. High liquidity means there’s a large volume of shares traded, allowing you to enter and exit positions quickly without significant price slippage.
• Volatility: Volatility measures how much a stock’s price fluctuates. While high volatility can lead to larger potential profits, it also increases the risk of losses. Day traders typically prefer stocks with moderate to high volatility.
• Trading volume: High trading volume indicates strong interest in a stock. It’s generally easier to execute trades quickly and at better prices in stocks with high volume.
• Large market cap: Market capitalization refers to a company’s total market value. While there’s no strict rule, many day traders focus on mid-cap or large-cap stocks due to their generally higher liquidity and stability compared to small-cap stocks.
• Recent news and trends: News events and market trends can significantly impact stock prices. Staying informed about relevant news and identifying emerging trends can help you identify potential trading opportunities.

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FAQs on stocks to day trade