The best (and worst) of 2025 on CNBC’s Halftime Report, Fast Money and beyond
It's that time of year ...
With thousands of stock market predictions being made on CNBC television in the course of a year (particularly on the shows Halftime Report and Fast Money), determining the best and worst takes some serious culling. We can't account for everything. Undoubtedly, people have recommended stocks that surged 100% or more, and we barely noticed if at all.
So relevance is a very important factor. We review the headlines on this page over the course of the year but also take a look at the specific stocks, sectors and news events that drove the conversation. And that provides a good starting point.
So we took an extra-long look at the reactions to Liberation Day, Eddy Cue Day, ORCL's rocketship day and a certain car company that remains perhaps the market's most reliable "trading stock." Frankly, a lot of big moves were missed and/or only noted after they happened, such as INTC (barely mentioned on this page), or Tim Cook's visit to the White House. One trade that seemed like a big winner, bitcoin, perceived as a Trump trade, was great from April to October, bad the rest of the time. We had trouble finding as many original calls as usual, maybe because the S&P was "only" up 16% on the year — not as big as some other years, and many of the strongest stocks were the same as in previous years.
Anyone who announced during 2025, "Play the AI trade all year, play most of the Trump trades, bail out before the big tariff announcement, get back in immediately after, stay out of bitcoin in the 2nd half and oh by the way pick up some precious metals and as always stick with TSLA" would've been a shoo-in for Call of the Year.
Nobody actually made that exact statement.
There were a lot of great ones though. Panelists and guests expertly reacting to political events and news events and technology events. There were also some busts. Sorry. Have to include the bad with the good. (And you'll get a chuckle out of many of them.) Here goes ... First, we have to start with the busts:
THE BUSTS
15. Jenny Harrington says 7% for 2025 would be a ‘massive win’
On the Sept. 2 Halftime Report, Jenny Harrington stated, "If we were to end 2025 at up 8%, or up 7%, I would consider that a massive win." Jenny concluded, "I don't see how we go from up 10% on the year now to up 20%." Jenny had also said on July 18, "I don't see how we end up up 14% on the year. I don't think we have another 7% in the 2nd half."
14. Joe Terranova and Jim Lebenthal on Sept. 10 seem to think ORCL is going to keep going higher
It wasn't a terrible call. But it was incorrect at a key moment in time. Sept. 10 was sort of "Oracle Day." Halftime Report panelists for days would talk about how they bought ORCL shares in the past so much lower. On Sept. 10, Joe Terranova said "parabolic moves are very tempting" for shorts who expect a "mean reversion," but Joe advised, "You should not be outthinking yourself" and don't try to short it. Jim said he doesn't see a pullback "anytime soon."
13. Judge nearly throws Weiss off the set
On Feb. 24, Judge asked Steve Weiss about Weiss' exposure to Chinese tech stocks. Weiss at first called it an "unfair question," then really got under Judge's skin when saying, "I'm gonna answer it more intelligently than you asked it." Judge even used the term "dude." Weiss said it was a "leading question." Judge went on to explain, "Everybody up here is tired of that B.S., OK. If you can't have a civil conversation ... without insulting people, then just be quiet ... And just move to the other chair. Just move to the other chair. ... Just slide down 1 chair. Or outside. Go there. Or over there." (This was definitely kind of cringeworthy, but honestly, shows need a bit of excitement like this sometimes.)
12. Marianne Lake’s Q&A at the Goldman Sachs conference causes knuckleheads to hand a gift to opportunistic JPM buyers
During Santoli's Midday Word on the Dec. 9 Halftime Report, Judge said JPMorgan was presenting at a Goldman Sachs conference for financials, and it seemed to be affecting JPM and perhaps the market. Santoli said the "CFO" (sic not the correct title) was talking about consumers being "a bit fragile." The screen text, and Judge, said the person making the "fragile" comment was Marianne Lake. Judge pointed out how JPM shares and the overall market had turned lower.
11. Judge insists Joe’s wrong about TSLA’s ‘1 month’ return without clarifying the 1-month timeframe
This one was a mess to write about and also a mess to recap. On the Aug. 4 Halftime Report, Joe Terranova told Judge, "1 month, Tesla, 1 month Tesla is actually- I don't believe it to be negative." Judge insisted, "It's negative by 2.3% over 1 month." Joe said they've got an "issue" over the data. Judge demanded, "What do you mean, you disagree with me" and asked the "control room" to verify that TSLA is "down" in the last month. Judge actually stood up at Post 9 to gesture while wondering, "Are we talkin' past each other?" Joe said "I think we're disagreeing on this." After the A Block break, Judge admitted there's "conflicting stuff all over the place" when in fact, it's as simple as defining what "month" you're measuring. Finally, Judge rather clumsily said that a viewer pointed out something Judge should've been cognizant of, that if the TSLA 1-month calculation starts with the June 30 close (317), it's a different result than if it starts with the July 1 close (300). (There again, he still didn't specify whether the endpoint would be exactly 1 month (presumably 31 days in this case) or 1 month plus the first few days of August, when the show occurred.) Given a 3rd try after another commercial, Judge explained that "Tesla is in fact down 2.3% over the last month if you use the closing price on July 3 ... to today." Joe said a "1-month time frame" will show a "5% return" because "they are taking the opening price of Monday, July 7th, the 4th was a holiday, the 4th was a holiday, and from Thursday's close on the 3rd to Monday the 7th, Tesla had that big decline. That's the difference." Joe added, "I guess it's how you define '1 month.'" Judge shot back that "Most people would define it by the actual month."
10. Brad Gerstner complains to Judge about ‘fake news’; Jim Lebenthal says some news reports are just a ‘rumor’
On April 3, Brad Gerstner disappointed Judge by claiming there's been "fake news" reported about CRWV; Judge sort of got Brad to backpedal. On Oct. 8, Jim Lebenthal said he was buying ORCL (price in the 280s) (#ouch) and dismissed the news report in The Information, cited by Judge, about margins. "Who did it come from?" Jim said, before saying, "OK, it came from a news report that suppose- supposedly, they saw an internal document. It was not a release by Oracle." "That's far different than a rumor," Judge said. "It's not far different. It's not far different from a rumor," Jim protested. Many news headlines should be met with skepticism — let's not fault the messenger.
9. This page predicts a 3-peat of the Mag 7 — and Kansas City Chiefs
This page isn't really in the market-call business, but if we make a prediction and it's a bad one, it has to be acknowledged. Sometime during the 2nd weekend of January 2025, this page foolishly put up a post titled "It's a 3-peat: For the Chiefs, and the Mag 7." Yes, it was a massive bust, and please know that the embarrassment is still felt here. We honestly can't fathom what happened to the Kansas City Chiefs since the AFC Championship Game of January 2025. We do think we were half right.
8. Paul Tudor Jones’ insufferable ‘quacks like a duck’
On Oct. 6, CNBC relentlessly aired Paul Tudor Jones' Squawk Box commentary about how right now seems like October 1999 (OK, it's fair for him to draw that comparison) and then regurgitating Paul's obnoxious quote "So it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. It's probably not a chicken, right?" throughout the day. And whatever happened to Carl Icahn's Day of Reckoning?
7. Brian Belski cuts S&P price target to 6,100 on April 9
During a week of stock market turmoil, a couple days after hectoring Brian Belski over Brian's 6,700 S&P target, Judge on April 9 said Belski has "now revised" that target, to 6,100. So basically Brian resisted lowering the target at the onset of Tariff Nightmare, then caved when it was already time to start buying. The correct response was to not change the target at all.
6. Steve Weiss on April 28 says recession ‘well on its way’
It wasn't even his strongest commentary of the month, but on April 28, Steve Weiss stated, "I believe the economy is going to recession" and is "well on its way."
5. Steve Weiss claims Trump ‘will not be good for markets’
OK, we hesitated about putting this one on here, because this page is not making a political statement here. But as a matter of record, Steve Weiss on April 4 was taking what any objective measure would be calling a too-early victory lap on a Trump presidency prediction, as Weiss said that apparently people looked "side-eyed" when he said "since he was elected" that "Trump will not be good for markets, will not be good for the economy. That's in fact turned out to be true." Whether Trump has been good for "the economy" is surely debatable. And in fact, it also could be debatable whether the S&P's gain this year should've been much higher. But the S&P 500 is up 16%-plus this year, which is a healthy return by any standard, so if you followed this bit of Weiss advice, you missed out.
4. Steve Weiss on April 2 says TSLA brand damage is ‘permanent,’ stock around $282
Bill Baruch on the April 2 Halftime Report argued that there isn't permanent brand damage to TSLA from Elon Musk's DOGE stint. But Steve Weiss argued that there is, and Dan Ives sounded somewhere in the middle. The chart indicates TSLA was about $282 on that day, and it DID fall immediately after as a tariff nightmare hit the markets, but 4 weeks later, it was back over $282 and basically never looked back.
3. Steve Grasso on Jan. 24 predicts a bitcoin double ‘in short order’
On Jan. 24, Steve Grasso declared, "Bitcoin will probably double from here — in short order." It closed at $104,000 that day, according to Yahoo Finance. But he wasn't done. Grasso on July 14 said some people think bitcoin will get to $200,000 this year; he wouldn't say if he's one of those people, but he does think it goes "much, much higher from here." Karen Finerman apparently agreed with everything Grasso said.
2. Judge’s Burry Bubble
It started, apparently, on Halloween. As annoying as Paul Tudor Jones' "quack," except it went on for weeks as Judge fell for it hook, line and sinker. It was the spree of Michael Burry (the dude who dials in trades while lying on the floor, it's really cool) comments in which Judge concluded, "Um, he thinks we're in a bubble. I mean I think he's made that pretty clear from his postings on, on social media." On Nov. 18, Judge said Burry says he's long MOH stock and long PLTR puts, which according to Burry, "like peanut butter and bananas." The Halftime Report hasn't mentioned Mike since.
1. CNBC’s new logo
The old CNBC logo with peacock was great. Everyone understands the business realities of why it had to change.
But the end result is flat, generic, colorless and obviously focus-group/consultant inspired and approved.
Stock market colors are green and red, not blue. The letter "N" in CNBC's acronym is insignificant. And in the way that our eyes play tricks on us, something about the new N can make the logo appear that it's crooked.
The obligatory statement that hosts had to read on the air — "embrace a distinct identity that aligns with our future as a brand" — was no better.
Melissa Lee, asked for an opinion on air, said she likes the new logo; "it's clean, it's modern, it's inclusive."
Judge was not asked.
And 2025 Halftime/Fast Money Call of the Year countdown ...
12. Kari Firestone buys UNH ‘right at the bottom’
Unlike TSLA, which Halftime panelists generally won't touch, UNH is a stock that everyone at some point in time seems to own. We checked the chart. It was a horrible stock to be owning through April. Since May, in general, if you happened to buy in late July or early August, great; if not, it's kinda meh. In May, Halftime Report panelists were tripping over each other to announce the super-high levels in 2025 at which they had sold UNH. There WAS, in mid-May, a really sharp plunge and bounceback that took place in a matter of days, only to have a plateau/slide again.
Several panelists — mainly Steve Weiss but also Stephanie Link and Kari Firestone — talked constantly of buying UNH. The nod here for (apparently) coming closest to catching the bottom goes to Kari. Stephanie and Weiss seemed to have some good buys and other falling-knife buys. Weiss announced purchases and sales of this stock so many times in 2025, we lost track. Kari did admit on May 21, after trumpeting UNH, that the "bad news" in the stock wassn't stopping. But on June 16, Kari told Judge she "bought some more right at the bottom," even though Judge grumbled, "The stock looks like it's at the bottom." On Oct. 29, Kari trumpeted that UNH is up "55% I think from the bottom," which evidently was around the time that she bought. Weiss did announce a UNH buy in August on Berkshire Hathaway news that apparently was up 25% in about a week. Guy Adami made a trading call on UNH earnings in July that proved a bust (it went down instead of up), but give him points for trying.
11. Steve Weiss calls Middle East headlines buying opportunities
It's not the most original call. But given how the financial markets really do react in sort of big ways to skirmishes in the Middle East (usually it has something to do with the Strait of Hormuz), month after month, year after year, it's important that someone set the market straight. Steve Weiss on June 13 said, "Look I've been in the business almost 35 years. We've seen a number of flare-ups in the Middle East. Every single one of those being a buying opportunity."
10. During week of Tariff Nightmare, Josh correctly touts Jessica Chastain to play Jenny in a movie
On the April 8 Halftime Report, Judge asked Jenny Harrington to talk a little about her new book. Josh Brown suggested "Jessica Chastain" could play Jenny in "the movie." That is easily one of the show's BEST suggestions of the year and should be getting more attention. "That's very sweet of you," Jenny told Josh.
9. Steve Grasso on Feb. 27 predicts NVDA, then 120, 90 before 150
Steve Grasso in the first half of 2025 cited Deepseek as a big headwind for NVDA (which actually was a bad call), suggesting NVDA's customers won't spend as much as anticipated; on the Feb. 27 Fast Money, a day NVDA fell from 131 to 120, he predicted 90 before 150. By April 7 (a day that involved other market headwinds), NVDA did indeed find 90 — actually 86. NVDA bulls of course can rightly claim that as Grasso was expressing skepticism about the stock from January through May, any time during that span was actually a great time to buy. But a "90 before 150" that actually proved correct about a juggernaut stock is a great call.
8. Brian Belski on April 21 likens TSLA to AAPL 2003
Halftime Report (and basically Fast Money) panelists have just never fully embraced the TSLA story, always deeply skeptical. (This writer has no position in TSLA.) The regular TSLA advocate of the Halftime Report, Bryn Talkington, is more enthusiastic about the stock than most others, however, even Bryn for a couple years running has been labeling the stock as range-bound and seems most excited about selling out of the money calls against it. So it's Brian Belski who will get the credit here for championing this name — NOT at the start of the year, which isn't much different than the price it's at now (which is why Bryn's sell-the-calls strategy for this name could be considered the superior call), but after Elon Musk did the DOGE thing and the shares were walloped in April and people were talking about permanent brand damage. Brian on April 21 twice said "at the end of the day," and, "I really think that Tesla is to right now what Apple was in 2003, 2004." Quite simply, love it or hate it, TSLA is the ultimate buy-the-dip stock, something not to be dismissed. Steve Weiss responded to Belski, "I gotta move to Naples, man, they're putting something in the water there that's unbelievable."
7. Bryn Talkington calls the Liberation Day tariff chart less than impressive
It was a simple comment on April 4's Halftime Report when Bryn Talkington said "whoever made that board that Trump had out should be fired," and it seemed to very effectively convey what Wall Street has been thinking about this whole endeavor. In May, Bryn said members of Congress are not going to let the administration "torpedo the economy for some Peter Navarro isolationist viewpoint that none of us in America have."
6. Guy Adami makes first Fast Money ‘live event’ in February a smashing success
The seating is a little awkward, and later versions of the Fast Money "live show" seemed to have less buzz. But when Guy Adami made a Donahue-like trip through the fans at the Nasdaq on Feb. 27, it was a great show of support for all the viewers who keep CNBC chugging along each day.
5. Joe Terranova and Jason Snipe both make AMD Final Trade on June 25
The stats are clear — somewhere near the top of this list, there has to be an AI trade. NVDA and AVGO were fine stocks (again) and excellent picks (and 2 very similar charts). The thing is, it's their 3rd big year in a row, and multiple people recommended them constantly. AMD was actually down in 2025 and appeared to be out of favor for a while. As its comeback took place, on the June 25 Halftime Report, Joe Terranova and Jason Snipe each chose it for their Final Trade. Which is why we paid attention to it. AMD shares were 143 that day.
4. Karen Finerman buys DKS in mid-May, probably in the 160s
Yes, DKS did actually finish 2025 in the red. But it finished comfortably above the hit it took in May when it announced a deal for Foot Locker. Karen Finerman on Friday's (5/16) Fast Money said she bought DKS a day earlier, when it plunged. And during Final Trades on that show, it sounded like she also bought it at the end of the day Friday, but we're not sure. Retail is a very tough space for stock calls (M and KSS had big years); this one was significant because Karen, as she pointed out a year earlier after the CRWD glitch, noted that DKS lost more in market value than what the Foot Locker deal was worth. Karen also said "I would much rather own Dick's here than Foot Locker at the same price on the hopes of a higher bid for Foot Locker." (This writer owned DKS for a time after Karen's comments.)
3. Bill Baruch makes the case for gold miners July 9
On the July 9 Halftime Report, Bill Baruch was given a segment to discuss a portfolio he was building of gold miners. Bill said there's a "tremendous supercycle" in the space that will last a while. Bill mentioned a group of names, including AEM, CDE and B. Barrick was around $20 then. (This writer is long AEM and owned B for a time after Bill's presentation.) Kevin Simpson also touted AEM and some panelists (Joe Terranova) at times may have recommended gold. But for whatever reason, no one — aside from Bill on July 9 — pounded the table for gold despite its sensational year.
2. Jim Lebenthal fends off Judge’s ‘existential threat’ concerns about GOOGL
May 7 on the Halftime Report was Eddy Cue Day, which Judge fell for like a ton of bricks. Judge said "the story of the day" was GOOGL's drop. Jim Lebenthal, long Alphabet, said he's inclined to "hold through this" and is "careful about knee-jerking one way or the other." Jim pointed to when there was a problem with Gemini a couple years ago and the stock got "absolutely clobbered." Judge said that was a "bit of a different incident" and not like the "existential threat" that apparently is in the works today. It wasn't just Judge trumpeting the significance of Eddy's comments. Joe Terranova said the news is a "big deal." Josh Brown said it's "extremely significant" and "Joe is right" and "Jim will eventually come around to this point of view." Josh added, "It reminds me of PayPal, but on a much bigger scale." Judge told Jim that the "headline story" is the "definitive usage drop" in Google search, and Judge told Jim that Jim shouldn't be "flippant" about the gravity of the situation. Jim again said he doesn't "knee-jerk" his reactions and he's actually more concerned about the ramifications of the news to AAPL, not GOOGL. ... Now, you may wonder, why isn't Jim's steadfast defense of the stock during this perilous time an obvious choice for Call of the Year? Because 1) Jim was NOT calling the stock a table-pounding buy, he simply said he wasn't selling; 2) The really big move came later from the Justice Department antitrust case; and 3) Just because Judge and some panelists got carried away with a ridiculous market headline, and someone else didn't, isn't enough oomph for the Call of the Year.
1. Marked by an X — Steve Grasso makes the Fast Money/Halftime Report Call of the Year
To anyone actually paying attention, this one has been telegraphed on this page since basically Q1.
X is no longer a publicly traded stock. That's because it was finally acquired by Nippon Steel after two presidents of different parties both said we couldn't possibly tolerate such an acquisition. (Then they changed the terminology a little bit and realized someone had to come up with some money for this company and Bingo, we had a deal.)
Steve Grasso on Fast Money had been calling X a buy at least as far back as December 2024. On Jan. 7, with the stock at $33.30, Steve predicted, "I think you'll see a bailout." On Feb. 7, with the stock having dipped to $36.98, he said X has a "chance" to reach 50. In June, the deal closed around the $55 price, maybe a few pennies off. (This writer was long X during much of the first half of the year). Other stocks may have had bigger gains in 2025. Steve's incredibly accurate assessment of the political scene, and the ceiling on this stock, and the fact it concluded before the year was even half over, ran away with the Call of the Year.
As always, we conclude with our standard refrain: Viewers of CNBC (and the readers of this page) are the best audience in the world, they're informed, they get it, and they don't mind a review of the proceedings. We're here because you are. Happy 2026 ... and Happy Trading!
