US stocks are on track to outperform the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) again this year.
At the time of writing, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) is up 17% and the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) is up 21% for 2025.
Meanwhile, the ASX 200 is up 6%.
Many Australian investors, particularly younger generations, own US stocks via broad-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
However, some investors still prefer to buy US shares directly in the hope of outsized returns.
Investment platform Stake has revealed the top five most traded US stocks by its Australian customers in calendar year 2025.
Let's take a look.
Most traded US stocks of the year
1. NVIDIA Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA)
The Nvidia share price closed at $187.54 overnight and has risen 40% in 2025.
According to Stake's 2025 Retail Investor Report Card:
Nvidia officially became the world's largest company this year – its market cap reaching a peak US$4.93T in November.
Despite landing in the short-seller crosshairs of Michael Burry, the firm proved AI demand isn't going anywhere.
It beat revenue estimates every quarter in 2025 by an average of 8.9% and is on track to generate US$212B in FY26.
Its earnings have become a global market catalyst: Nvidia's results serve as a directional signal for traders worldwide.
For Stake investors, the biggest 'buy-the-dip' moment came during the DeepSeek moment in January, when Nvidia lost US$260B in market cap but buy orders surged 460%.
2. Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA)
The Tesla share price closed at $454.24, up 12.5% over the year.
Stake analysts summed up Tesla's performance in 2025:
Tesla shares managed a [12.5%] YTD gain despite declining sales, margin compression, and intensifying competition from Chinese EV makers like BYD. It was the only member of the elite Mag7 group to not hit a record high this year.
Investors who are still bullish are banking on Tesla's autonomous driving or 'robotaxi' tech and future-oriented business lines.
Another bright spot for its balance sheet was its energy and storage revenue, which hit US$3.41B in Q3 with a 31.4% gross margin.
The biggest day of $TSLA buying on Stake was 5 June, amid a very public feud between CEO Elon Musk and President Trump over a Republican budget bill eliminating EV tax credits.
3. Palantir Technologies Inc (NASDAQ: PLTR)
This US artificial intelligence stock rode the wave of rising global defence spending in 2025.
The defence software developer closed at $180.84 per share overnight, up 139% in 2025.
Stake analysts said:
Palantir has been one of the best performing stocks in 2025, recording a 140% YTD gain on the back of record earnings and major government contracts. It landed a US$10B software contract with the U.S. Army alongside multi-year deals with AI enterprise clients.
CEO Alax Karp swiped at critics who called him 'batshit crazy' in an earnings call where the firm raised full-year guidance.
But the short sellers are circling: on 18 Aug, Citron Research said a US$40 share price would be generous for $PLTR, effectively implying its trading 80% higher than fair value.
It was also the day Stake traders bought the most $PLTR this year.
4. Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)
The Amazon share price closed at $232.53 overnight, up 6% this year.
Stake analysts commented:
Amazon hasn't seen the most significant share price growth in 2025, trailing the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq. That didn't stop investors from trading large volumes of this stock, particularly during moments of turbulence following the Liberation Day tariff announcements.
Despite the high capex spend on AI infrastructure, its high-margin AWS segment grew 20% YoY to US$33B in Q3.
AWS and advertising growth make Amazon's future less dependent on traditional retail cycles, but more reliant on cloud and AI demand.
5. Advanced Micro Devices Inc (NASDAQ: AMD)
US semiconductor stock, Advanced Micro Devices, closed at $215.34 apiece overnight, up 78% this year.
According to Stake's report:
AMD saw multiple re-ratings from analysts this year as it transitioned from being seen as a CPU/GPU maker for PCs to a major player in AI and data centre infrastructure.
The turning point might have been its multi-year strategic partnership with OpenAI, leading to a 30% rally – its best day since 2016.
Stake investors took the opportunity to lock in profits, with the 6 October seeing the largest sell volume on record.
AMD has also been eating away at Intel's x86-based chip market share. It accounts for 30% of that market, providing demand for its CPUs is still strong in a year where CEO Lisa Su claimed its AI chips can match Nvidia's performance.
