Illustration: Oscar Bolton Green
Businessweek
Biscuits, Handbags and Chatbots: 10 Companies to Watch Right Now
Q2 2025
Following our list of 50 Companies to Watch in January, here are 10 names you should know—for better or worse—specifically for the second quarter. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have dug into their scenarios to identify the most interesting companies from a larger group of high-confidence Focus Ideas. Spanning sectors and regions, each scenario outlines a catalyst in the next few months that supports our case.
Bloomberg Terminal users can track the performance of stocks in our annual 50 Companies list with the Bloomberg Businessweek 2025 Companies to Watch indexes. The net return on the optimistic list rose 3% in the first quarter, while our pessimistic list was, unexpectedly, up even more—6%. Over the same period, the S&P 500 was down 6%, so you could certainly do worse.
For more information on Bloomberg Intelligence, please visit www.bloomberg.com/bi
Agricultural Bank of China
Outlook ☁️
In a bid to stabilize its troubled economy, China has been cutting interest rates, crimping the profit margins at Chinese banks, which have been forced to drop their own rates. Among the four big state-owned lenders, AgBank looks to have the most downside risk, with analysts’ consensus for this year as much as 8% too high.
—Francis Chan
Data Sheet
Market cap
$245B
Estimated 2025 sales
$99B
Forecast sales growth
2%
Chairman
Gu Shu
Legal name
Agricultural Bank of China Ltd.
Triggers
- First-quarter earnings, expected in late April, will likely indicate the effect of China’s rate cuts on the bank’s margins.
Alignment Healthcare
Outlook ☀️
With plans to rapidly expand its enrollment from a relatively small base, the senior-focused health insurer could see annual revenue growth approaching 20% for the next five years, with its operating profit ballooning up to tenfold over the same period. Alignment’s high-quality delivery of Medicare Advantage plans is driving strong user growth, creating economies of scale that should propel higher margins.
—Glen Losev
Data Sheet
Market cap
$3.4B
Estimated 2025 sales
$3.8B
Forecast sales growth
39%
CEO/Founder
John Kao
Legal name
Alignment Healthcare Inc.
Triggers
- An earnings update in May should provide further positive guidance on the company’s long-term growth.
BioNTech
Outlook ☀️
The German pharma company is one of the two leaders in developing a novel antibody that has the potential to revolutionize cancer immunotherapy, but the market seems more focused on declining sales of the Covid vaccine that rocketed BioNTech to global fame four years ago. Several data releases in 2025 should boost confidence in the potential of the new drug class.
—Javier Manso Polo
Data Sheet
Market cap
$23B
Estimated 2025 sales
$2.2B
Forecast sales growth
-20%
CEO/Co-founder
Ugur Sahin
Legal name
BioNTech SE
Triggers
- Potential approval of a comparable treatment from Summit Therapeutics should give a lift to the market’s view of BioNTech.
Cracker Barrel
Outlook ☀️
Profit expectations have been falling for more than three years at the US casual-dining chain, so the company’s plan to overhaul marketing, menus and restaurants is welcome. With these measures, Cracker Barrel is positioned to boost same-store sales by mid-single-digits by June 2026, but the analysts’ consensus points to about half that much—auguring profit gains that could surpass expectations by as much as 20%.
—Michael Halen
Data Sheet
Market cap
$0.9B
Estimated 2025 sales
$3.5B
Forecast sales growth
0%
President/CEO
Julie Felss Masino
Legal name
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.
Triggers
- Third-quarter results in late May could come in nearly twice as high as the consensus, producing a roughly 4% gain for same-store sales.
Dollarama
Outlook ☁️
Rising food inflation and slowing wage growth are weighing on sales at the Canadian dollar-store retailer as shoppers make fewer visits and spend less. Profit estimates at competitors such as Dollar Tree and Dollar General have fallen, but not at Dollarama, where the consensus now looks overly optimistic.
—Diana Rosero-Pena
Data Sheet
Market cap
$29B
Estimated 2025 sales
$4.7B
Forecast sales growth
2%
President/CEO
Neil Rossy
Legal name
Dollarama Inc.
Triggers
- Fourth-quarter results in early April should show sales slowing to 5% to 6%, triggering estimate cuts for the remainder of the year.
Hong Kong Exchanges
Outlook ☀️
A recovery in initial public offerings, greater activity in a program that permits trading between China and Hong Kong, and growing interest in Chinese equities point to stock market turnover that could exceed expectations by more than 10%. Beijing is also poised to allow more mainland companies to list abroad, but with US markets appearing increasingly unwelcoming, Hong Kong’s vibrant exchange is an obvious alternative.
—Sharnie Wong
Data Sheet
Market cap
$58B
Estimated 2025 sales
$3.2B
Forecast sales growth
12%
CEO
Yiting Chan
Legal name
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd.
Triggers
- First-quarter results in late April are on track to beat the consensus and should provide more visibility on the volume of new listings.
Kering
Outlook ☀️
For the past two years, the luxury conglomerate has been weighed down by troubles at Gucci, but the beleaguered brand has a new CEO and appears poised for a turnaround. A new head designer and a refresh of its lineup should reverse Gucci’s underperformance, auguring a 10%-plus positive earnings surprise for Kering in 2025-26.
—Deborah Aitken
Data Sheet
Market cap
$27B
Estimated 2025 sales
$18B
Forecast sales growth
-1%
Chairman/CEO
Francois-Henri Pinault
Legal name
Kering SA
Triggers
- Completion of the sale of a 60% stake in three luxury properties in Paris should help Kering manage upcoming debt maturities.
PDD
Outlook ☁️
The owner of ultra-cheap e-commerce platform Temu faces headwinds from rising US tariffs and increased spending to expand in other markets, threatening to crimp its profit margin in the first half. Later in the year, attention may shift back to PDD’s core mainland web store, Pinduoduo, which stands to benefit from Beijing’s efforts to stimulate consumption.
—Catherine Lim
Data Sheet
Market cap
$171B
Estimated 2025 sales
$66B
Forecast sales growth
21%
Chairman
Lei Chen
Legal name
PDD Holdings Inc.
Triggers
- Results in May may show lower profits as PDD increases sales incentives to entice new shoppers as it seeks to grow beyond China.
Teleperformance
Outlook ☀️
As a global leader in running call centers, Teleperformance must grapple with the rapid advances in artificial intelligence, but the market appears overly focused on the risks. Management is partnering with generative AI firms to create bots that can help streamline its human customer-care operations, positioning the company for market share gains and earnings growth.
—Tamlin Bason
Data Sheet
Market cap
$6.2B
Estimated 2025 sales
$12B
Forecast sales growth
4%
CEO/Founder
Daniel Julien
Legal name
Teleperformance SE
Triggers
- A “capital markets day” in June should provide a strategic update to investors, notably regarding the company’s AI plans.
Tesla
Outlook ☀️
Despite a collapsing stock price and political backlash against founder Elon Musk, the world’s top-selling plug-in carmaker has several positives to look forward to. Orders for Tesla’s newly revamped Model Y are accelerating, notably even in China, and production rates are poised to increase quickly. Meanwhile, the company’s battery sales to utilities, which generate higher margins than autos, appear underappreciated as a profit driver.
—Steve Man
Data Sheet
Market cap
$911B
Estimated 2025 sales
$110B
Forecast sales growth
12%
CEO/Co-founder
Elon Musk
Legal name
Tesla Inc.
Triggers
- Sales of the new Model Y should accelerate in the second quarter, and production of a new sub-$30,000 compact car could start in June, widening Tesla’s appeal.