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 (also known as margin trading), 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 continue to drive stock

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

Nvidia is the world’s largest company by market capitalization at $5.1 trillion. The US chipmaker is quite volatile, despite its size, leaving an opportunity for day traders. It has a beta of 2.12, meaning it is more than twice as volatile as the typical stock.

In the second quarter of fiscal 2026, revenue was $46.7 billion, up 56% year over year, led by its Data Center segment. Earnings per share (EPS) were $1.08, up 67% over the same period a year ago. Gross margin was 72.4%, compared to 75.1% a year earlier.

The stock has ultra-high volume and predictably bounces back after a lull. It is up 54% so far this year. Its exposure to tariffs and China has made its shares swing wildly this year, presenting opportunities for bargain hunters. The tech company’s shares have risen to as high as $212.19 this year after falling to as low as $86.62 on April 7.

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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 easy to buy and sell. Based on market cap, it’s more valuable than all the other major automaker stocks combined. The company has a strong market share among EV makers and charging stocks, making it a growth stock in two areas.

Tesla’s remarkable popularity is highlighted by its sky-high price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of $318.17 and its inherent volatility, evidenced by a beta of $2.09. The company’s core business revolves around manufacturing electric vehicles, battery energy storage, solar panels, and solar shingles, with an eye toward future growth through the planned launch of an autonomous ride-hailing service.

The proposed compensation package for CEO Elon Musk is a central point of contention and interest. This deal could grant him up to $423.7 million additional shares of Tesla stock — potentially a 12% stake — over the next decade, contingent on the company achieving a market value of $8.6 trillion in 10 years. Musk has publicly threatened to quit if shareholders do not approve this package. Musk’s actions and frequent presence in the news—even after his departure from the Trump Administration—have a tangible effect on the stock; his comments often drive significant price swings in the company’s shares.

The third quarter was marked by strong top-line growth. Revenue jumped $24% over the prior quarter and $12% year-over-year to reach $28.09 billion. This revenue surge was primarily fueled by a record 497,000 in vehicle deliveries during the quarter.

However, earnings per share (EPS) were $0.50, a 25% decline compared to the same period the previous year. Despite the mixed earnings report, the stock has risen by more than 14% so far this year.

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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 the third quarter, it reported record revenue of $15.9 billion, which rose 22% year over year. EPS was $0.85 compared to a loss per share of $0.40 in the same period a year ago. The rise was due to improved sales in custom AI accelerators, networking, and VMware. 

It predicts revenue of $17.4 billion in the fourth quarter, a 17% increase over the fourth quarter of 2024.

Thanks to increased cash flows, Broadcom also increased its quarterly dividend by 11% to $0.59 per share for fiscal year 2025, the 14th year of consecutive increases since it began payouts in 2011. The yield is still modest, at 0.61%, thanks 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 only 5% so far this year, but many healthcare stocks have seen sluggish gains. The company recently announced positive Phase 3 trials for its GLP-1 drug, orforglipron, showing its potential to treat type 2 diabetes.

Lilly’s shares have swung from a low of $623.75 to a high of $925.63. Its market cap of $729 billion makes it an easy stock to buy or sell, depending on which way the trends are going.

The stock got a nice bump recently because of strong third-quarter earnings, which Lilly CEO Dave Ricks attributed to strong sales for GLP-1 drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro. Revenue rose 54% year over year to $17.60 billion. EPS was $6.21, up 480% from the same period a year ago.

The company also raised its full-year revenue guidance to between $63 billion and $63.5 billion, up from earlier estimates of between $60 billion and $62 billion. Its reported yearly EPS estimate rose to between $21.80 and $22.50. That’s up from $20.85 to $22.19.

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

Meta stock is up more than 12% over the past year, including a 13% rise in 2025. However, its shares dropped by 6% on Oct. 29 after the company released its third-quarter report. Day traders have made significant profits from the technology stock, which has a 52-week range of between $479.80 and $796.25.

In the third quarter, its revenue climbed 26% year over year to $51.2 billion. EPS fell, however, 83% from a year earlier to $1.05 due to a one-time non-cash income tax charge of $15.9 billion. Without that charge, EPS would have $6.25, which would have been a 20.2% rise year over year.

The company saw 3.54 million daily active users, up 8% over the same period a year ago. It is one of the biggest spenders on AI technology, and many investors and analysts think it will be ready for the coming boom. It said it is increasing its capital expenditures estimates by $2 billion to $72 billion for the year.

While it expects revenue between $56 billion and $59 billion in the fourth quarter, the company has also said it expects to continue to spend heavily, particularly on AI.

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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 maintain its market-leading position in software while expanding its business through strategic acquisitions.

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, revenue was reported at $77.7 billion, representing an 18% year-over-year increase. EPS was $3.72, up 13% over the same period last year. The biggest gains were in the company’s Azure and cloud computing, which saw revenue rise 40%.

One concern regarding Microsoft is its vast spending plans on AI and data centers. Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood stated that the company must continue to invest to keep pace with AI demand, necessitating a capital expenditure of $34.9 billion in the quarter.

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

Visa’s shares have increased by more than 18% over the past year, and the company remains one of the most actively traded stocks, with a 30-day average trading volume exceeding 6.25 million. Its share price, over the past two years, has ranged from $287.19 to $375.51. 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. The company continues to experience steady growth in payment volume, cross-border transactions, and the number of processed transactions.

In fiscal 2025, the company reported revenue of $40 billion, representing an 11% increase. In the fourth quarter, revenue increased to $10.7 billion, a 12% year-over-year rise. Yearly EPS was $10.20, up 5% while EPS in the fourth quarter EPS dropped 1% over the same period last year to $2.62.

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. Of all its revenue streams, the most significant development was in client incentives, which generated $15.8 billion in fiscal 2025 revenue, representing a 14% increase from the previous year.

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 the future

Palantir’s stock has soared more than 345% over the past year, and there seems to be little to slow it down. It remains volatile with a beta of 2.6.

Palantir’s stock has surged due to two primary factors: the expectation that the company will secure more US government contracts under the Trump administration, and strong interest from retail investors in generative AI stocks. This rally occurred despite the company’s commercial revenue growth still being slow.

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.

In the second quarter, the company reported revenue of $1.004 billion, representing a 48% year-over-year increase. The company closed 157 deals worth $1 million or more, 66 deals exceeding $5 million, and 42 deals surpassing $10 million. Net income rose 33% over the second quarter of 2024, to $327 million.

The growth has led to strong yearly guidance. Palantir said it expects revenue to be between $4.142 billion and $4.150 billion, led by US commercial revenue to be $1.302 billion, a rise of 85% over the prior year. The company also increased its guidance for adjusted income from operations to be between $1.912 billion and $1.920 billion.

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

It’s hard to ignore the company with one of the largest market caps in the world ($4.03 trillion at last count). Its sheer 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.

US tariffs and retaliatory efforts by China have impacted Apple’s iPhone sales there, and the stock has only risen 8% so far this year, lagging other huge tech companies. One reason for this is that the company hasn’t invested as heavily in AI, although in the short term, this is seen by some analysts as a potential advantage.

However, the company saw its shares rise after reporting record revenue and iPhone sales in the fourth quarter. Revenue totaled $102.5 billion, representing an 8% year-over-year increase. EPS was $1.85, representing a 13% increase over the same period last year.

Yearly sales rose 6.4% to $416.2 billion, while full-year EPS increased by 22.6% to $7.46. While sales in China did drop, sales elsewhere made up for the deficit.

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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 (AWS). 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. The stock is up more than 15% over the past year.

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 had revenue of $180.2 billion, a 13% increase year over year. AWS brought in $33.01 billion, a rise of 20% from a year earlier, better than the anticipated $32.4 billion in revenue. EPS was $1.95, representing a 33% year-over-year increase.

The company also stated that the adoption of its Trainium2 AI chip has become a multibillion-dollar business, growing 150% quarter over quarter, and that it has launched its Project Rainier AI cluster with 500,000 Trainium 2 chips.

In the fourth quarter, it is predicting revenue to grow between 10% and 13% year over year to between $206 billion and $213 billion.

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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 where individuals buy and sell stocks, currencies, and options within the same trading day. The traders pursuing this strategy capitalize on short-term price fluctuations.

Instead of focusing on long-term growth of their stocks, day traders aim to profit from small, daily price movements, making big bets on those movements – often using stock alert platforms to spot opportunities quickly.

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. Many of the top tech stocks would fit the bill.

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 looking 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, a phenomenon known as 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.

Similarly, traders looking beyond traditional markets may explore web3 stocks, as the sector’s volatility and growth potential can mirror breakout-style opportunities while requiring careful risk management.

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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 a toll on traders’ mental wellbeing.

Methodology: How we chose the best stocks for trading

Day trading differs from traditional long-term investing, so there are several factors you can ignore. Instead, the key elements to look for are significant price movements and high trading volume—both of which create opportunities for quick gains.

When narrowing down options, we also considered stocks to buy under $10, as these often present attractive volatility and liquidity for active traders looking to capitalize on short-term price swings.

All the stocks we’ve listed meet those criteria. Still, before buying any stock, it’s wise to assess its current trend and determine whether its valuation aligns with its price action. Many automated trading platforms can help streamline this analysis, offering real-time data and AI-driven insights to support better trading decisions.

If you’re exploring high-volume, high-potential assets, blockchain stocks often exhibit the volatility and liquidity that active traders look for—especially when paired with strong market trends and news catalysts.

Look at our general criteria for selecting stocks below:

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FAQs on stocks to day trade