A lot has happened since Donald Trump was sworn in as 47th President of the United States on January 20.
President Trump has been busy dealing with several actual wars across the globe – Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine-Iran, and other, minor skirmishes. But it's his trade policy and new tariffs that have captured the attention of world business leaders.
As of July 18, the president has sent letters to at least 25 countries informing them of the tariffs their goods will face when imported into the U.S.
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The tariff rates range from a high of 50% for Brazil, up from 10% as of April 2, to a low of 20% for the Philippines, up slightly from 17% in early April. Notable rates include 25% for Japan (1% higher than in April) and 25% for South Korea (flat from the April rate).
Interestingly, despite having a trade deficit of only $85 million with the tiny European country of Moldova, it faces a 25% import tariff on the goods its companies send to the U.S.
You wouldn’t know that the world economy is experiencing extreme dislocation and disruption due to tariffs because U.S. markets are trading at record levels. The S&P 500 hit an all-time closing high of 6,297.36 on July 17.
History will decide how successful this strategy is, especially the orders regarding tariffs, which some economists suggest will hurt the American consumer.
How can Trump impact stocks?
While U.S. presidents have little direct impact on the stock market over the long term, policies and initiatives can create catalysts for certain sectors and industries.
Take Trump's reversal on cryptocurrency. During his first administration, Trump made clear he was not a fan of digital assets.
But in August 2024, Trump took to X to announce he will unveil a "plan to ensure the United States will be the crypto capital of the planet."
By December, bitcoin broke the $100,000 barrier for the first time as the market perceived a second Trump administration and its initiatives and policies will create tailwinds for cryptocurrency.
When President Trump signed the first major federal cryptocurrency legislation in mid-July bitcoin was trading near $120,000. Price action for bitcoin ETFs reflects this bullishness.
But crypto isn't the only area of the market that could get a lift from Donald Trump's time in the White House.
Indeed, here are five stocks to buy for a Trump presidency, representing the banking, crypto, energy, aerospace and defense, and engineering and construction industries.
Data is as of July 18.
JPMorgan Chase
- Market value: $800.9 billion
- Sector: Financial services
- Industry: Banks - diversified
- One-year total return: 42.0%
- Three-year total return (annualized): 41.3%
- Five-year total return (annualized): 27.7%
JPMorgan Chase (JPM, $291.27) is the largest commercial bank in the U.S. with $3.64 trillion in assets and 4,975 branches. JPM is the largest bank in the world by market cap.
The New York-based bank has been admirably run by CEO Jamie Dimon since January 1, 2006, an eternity by CEO standards. During his tenure, as Barron's reported in June, JPM had achieved an annualized return of 13.2%, 270 basis points higher than the S&P 500.
Dimon is worried about the U.S. economy. He believes the effects of the Trump tariffs and trade battles with other countries have yet to be fully realized.
"You haven’t seen an effect yet other than in the sentiment," Dimon said in June, according to CNN. "And maybe in July, August, September, October, you’ll start to see, did it have an effect? My guess is it did, hopefully not dramatic."
On the surface, investing in a bank at a time when the direction of the economy is up in the air is a contrarian bet. However, if America’s going to maintain its position as the world’s greatest economy, JPMorgan will undoubtedly be an essential contributor.
Although Dimon is 69, his succession is still several years away. In the meantime, he's got a bank to run.
In 2024, the bank generated $58.5 billion in net income from $180.6 billion in earned revenue. When Dimon took the reins, JPMorgan had annual net income of $14.4 billion. The firm has grown its earnings by 8.1% annually over the past 19 years.
As Warren Buffett said in Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.B) 2020 annual shareholder letter, "Never bet against America."
And never bet against Jamie Dimon. He’s done pretty well so far for JPM shareholders.
Coinbase Global
- Market value: $106.9 billion
- Sector: Financial services
- Industry: Financial data & stock exchanges
- One-year total return: 62.8%
- Three-year total return (annualized): 92.7%
- Five-year total return (annualized): N/A
Coinbase Global (COIN, $419.78) could be the most Trump-like bet investors could make. The largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange and CEO Brian Armstrong are closely associated with the president.
In June, Bloomberg identified Armstrong among some of the big players in the crypto industry due to his efforts to get political candidates supportive of cryptocurrencies, such as Trump, elected to office.
"We need a comprehensive regulatory framework for all types of digital assets," Armstrong posted on X at the end of June. "Congress should pass the CLARITY Act along with the GENIUS Act into law. 52 million American crypto owners are counting on it."
Indeed, Congress passed and on July 18 President Trump signed the GENIUS Act.
The president's $6.4 billion net worth as of June includes $620 million for crypto-related projects such as the Trump memecoin and World Liberty Financial, a decentralized finance and stablecoin company. In October, Trump’s net worth did not include any cryptocurrency assets.
As crypto goes, so goes Trump, which likely means Coinbase and Armstrong are likely to receive favorable treatment from the administration during the next four years of Trump’s presidency.
That puts Coinbase at the center of change. That’s good for Armstrong and COIN stock.
Cameco
- Market value: $34.4 billion
- Sector: Energy
- Industry: Uranium
- One-year total return: 69.7%
- Three-year total return (annualized): 52.1%
- Five-year total return (annualized): 46.6%
Cameco (CCJ, $78.97) got a big boost when President Trump signed an executive order to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which regulates America’s existing nuclear reactors and the new ones to come.
Under the order, the regulator will be required to decide on applications for the building of new nuclear reactors within 18 months.
Trump would like to see nuclear plants of all sizes built over the next few years, including small modular reactors (SMRs). He would also like to see nuclear reactors constructed on federal lands.
More importantly, the executive order also aims to accelerate uranium mining in the U.S.
Although Cameco doesn’t have operations in the U.S., the company has two mines in Canada and another in Kazakhstan, with proven and probable mineral reserves of 371.2 million metric tons.
It has the expertise to develop new uranium mines in the U.S. In the quarter ended March 31, the company reported revenue of $619 million from the sale of 6.9 million metric tons of uranium and $135 million in fuel services, which convert uranium fuel to other types for customers.
In November 2023, Cameco, in a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), acquired Westinghouse Electric for $7.9 billion. Cameco owns 49% of the joint venture, with Brookfield holding the majority.
Westinghouse currently operates six AP1000 nuclear reactors, including two in the U.S. Each generates 1,200 megawatts (MW) of electrical power, with another 12 in development that are expected to be operating by 2030.
Whether or not Westinghouse expands its nuclear fleet in the U.S. remains to be seen. However, the demand for uranium is expected to increase over time as more nuclear plants are built.
Cameco wins on both fronts.
Huntington Ingalls Industries
- Market value: $10.0 billion
- Sector: Industrials
- Industry: Aerospace & defense
- One-year total return: -0.9%
- Three-year total return (annualized): 10.5%
- Five-year total return (annualized): 9.6%
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII, $254.49) is the country's largest military shipbuilder, with annual revenue of $11.5 billion in 2024.
It’s also one of America’s oldest public companies, with a history that dates back to 1886 and the formation of the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company.
There was concern the White House would scrutinize the Department of Defense's annual budget more closely during a second Trump administration, seeking to identify fraud and waste.
But geopolitical instability in the Middle East, Asia, and Ukraine has prompted the president to shore up any potential military weaknesses in the U.S.
President Trump's signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act includes several provisions aimed at the American shipbuilding industry, which Trump would like to see catch up to the global dominance of China, South Korea and Japan.
Several shipbuilding-related financial packages have been allocated in the bill. Huntington Ingalls could most certainly benefit from this commitment from the White House.
According to Offshore Energy, the bill would create a Strategic Commercial Fleet "consisting of active, commercially viable, military useful, privately owned vessels that could meet national defense and other security requirements while helping maintain U.S. presence in international maritime transport."
Another section of the bill allocates approximately $34 billion to enhance DOD resources for shipbuilding, including expanding capacity at private shipyards.
Huntington Ingalls finished the first quarter of 2025 with a backlog of $48 billion. That’s over more than times its annual revenue.
Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will ensure the backlog continues to grow for years to come.
Sterling Infrastructure
- Market value: $7.6 billion
- Sector: Industrials
- Industry: Engineering & Construction
- One-year total return: 116.3%
- Three-year total return (annualized): 124.0%
- Five-year total return (annualized): 91.0%
Sterling Infrastructure (STLR, $250.95) is the smallest of the five stocks to buy for a Trump presidency. It is a top 10 holding of the Invesco Building & Construction ETF (PKB).
I mention the ETF because, while the Trump administration has dialed back some of the infrastructure spending allocated under President Biden for initiatives such as electric vehicles and clean energy, other parts of infrastructure spending will continue.
For example, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was passed in November 2021, has allocated a significant portion of its committed funding to projects that have already been completed.
President Trump, though, is interested in backing projects of national significance, such as roads, bridges and ports. Most of these projects involve public rather than private funding.
Sterling's Transportation Solutions business, which accounted for 28% of its $430.9 million in first-quarter 2025 revenue, should benefit significantly from this focus.
However, it could be the company’s E-Infrastructure Solutions business that benefits the most from a Trump presidency.
It focuses on data center infrastructure, manufacturing onshoring and e-commerce, and the president has issued an executive order directing the government to make federal land available for large-scale data center projects.
Given the E-Infrastructure Solutions segment’s high operating margin, Sterling is well-positioned to grow its top and bottom lines.
Sterling finished the first quarter with remaining performance obligations (RPOs) of $2.12 billion, of which E-Infrastructure Solutions accounted for 57%.
With four to six quarters of work ahead for the segment to meet its RPOs, it's expected to generate approximately $268 million in operating profits based on its existing margin over the next year. That would be a 32% increase from $203 million in 2024.
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