Top 5 Financial Sector Stocks to Watch (2025)

Are you looking for promising financial sector assets for your portfolio? Well, then, you have come to the right place. Today, we will explore some compelling and high-potential opportunities for you to add to your portfolio.

But first, what are financial sector stocks? Well, the economy is made up of different sectors that offer different goods and services to consumers. For instance, the technology sector (NVIDIA, Apple, and Microsoft), the healthcare sector (Pfizer and Moderna), the energy sector (Chevron and NextEra Energy), the aerospace & defense sector (Lockheed Martin and Boeing), and more.

The financial sector now comprises companies that offer financial services such as banking, investing, and insurance. A strong financial sector is a sign of a healthy and stable economy.

So, let’s take a look at some quality financial stocks that you can explore for a potential addition to your portfolio.

With a market cap of $1.16 trillion, Berkshire Hathaway is the world’s 8th largest company. The company’s shares, as of writing, are trading at $537.72, up a whopping 18.63% year-to-date (YTD).

These gains come at a time when the broad stock market is experiencing extreme volatility with prices taking a hit across the board. This magnificent performance, in contrast with the general market, has made Berkshire Hathaway more valuable than the darling technology stock Tesla (TSLA), whose shares are down 30% this year. 

What works for this financial sector stock, which is heavily involved in reinsurance operations, freight rail transportation, utilities and energy, manufacturing, and retailing, is the leadership of legendary investor Warren Buffett, as well as a strong investment portfolio and massive cash reserves.

Berkshire Hathaway has two types of shares: BRK-A and BRK-B. They represent the same company, but there’s a pretty big difference in price and voting rights. BRK-A shares are on the pricier side, which makes them a favorite for big institutions. BRK-B, on the other hand, is much more affordable.

One of the key differences between these two types of shares is how the voting works. BRK-A shares give you one vote per share—so if you have a single BRK-A, you’ve got voting power. But for BRK-B, you’d need 1,500 shares to get the same voting power as just one BRK-A share. Moreover, one can convert BRK-A shares into BRK-B, but it doesn’t work the other way around.

Berkshire Hathaway’s portfolio includes major stakes in financial heavyweights like Bank of America, American Express (AXP -9.97%), Mastercard (MA -3.07%), and Visa (V -2%), along with BYD, DaVita (DVA -0.36%), Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Apple (AAPL -9.25%), Coca-Cola (KO +2.59%), and Sumitomo. This means that by investing in the company’s stock, investors also gain exposure to prominent names across key industries. Interestingly, while BRK shares do not pay dividends to shareholders, its diverse investment portfolio focuses on stocks that do. This value-driven strategy certainly makes it an attractive option for investors.

While the conglomerate does not pay a dividend, it uses its cash reserves to buy back shares, thereby increasing shareholder value.

Then there’s Berkshire Hathaway’s impressive cash reserves. The parent company of GEICO held $334.2 billion in cash at the end of last year, which not only positions it well to weather uncertain market conditions but also gives it the flexibility to capitalize on attractive investment opportunities during downturns. Even its diverse businesses provide protection against events like recessions.

Berkshire’s financials also paint a good picture. For Q4 2024, the company reported a massive surge in earnings, with its earnings from wholly owned businesses increasing by 71% to $14.527 billion. Total earnings were $19.694 billion.

For the full year, operating earnings soared 27% to $47.437 billion, while the bottom line was $88.995 billion. CEO Buffett said the following in his annual letter to shareholders:

“In 2024, Berkshire did better than I expected though 53% of our 189 operating businesses reported a decline in earnings. We were aided by a predictable large gain in investment income as Treasury Bill yields improved and we substantially increased our holdings of these highly-liquid short-term securities.” 

A global leader in digital payments, Visa boasts a market cap of $676.58, which makes it the 15th largest company in the world. Its shares are currently trading at $334.50, up 9.58% YTD. With that, its EPS (TTM) is 9.93 and the P/E (TTM) ratio is 34.89 while the dividend yield paid is 0.68%.

Despite the fintech sector growing and competition rising, Visa continues to progress thanks to its vast scale and solid business fundamentals. It operates across more than 200 countries and serves consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities through its technologies. Unlike banks, though, Visa doesn’t take on credit risk; it just processes transactions and earns fees, which makes its business model resilient to tough market conditions.

The payment card service provider recently reported strong earnings for fiscal Q1 2025. Its revenue was $9.5 billion, an increase of 10% from the previous year, and its operating cash flow increased to $5.4 billion.

During the quarter ending December 31, 2024, transactions processed by Visa rose 11% year over year to 63.8 billion. Payment volume, meanwhile, jumped by 9% compared to the same period last year. This included a 7% growth in US payments and an even bigger (11%) jump in international payments volume.

When it comes to Visa’s cash position, it ended the quarter strongly with over $16 billion in cash and cash equivalents. 

The company also made $3.9 billion worth of stock buybacks and distributed $1.2 billion in dividends during the quarter, bringing the total value returned to shareholders to $5.1 billion.

In addition, Visa has successfully renewed and expanded several key partnerships globally. However, the company is facing challenges in the Asia Pacific market, where its payments volume growth has been muted. Visa is also facing potential challenges from a strong US dollar, which could affect cross-border payment patterns.

Amidst this, the company made a $100 million bid to replace Mastercard and become the primary payment network for Apple’s Apple Card.

So, not only has Visa established a strong presence in the market, but it continues to grow its businesses. It has even expanded into the crypto sector and is exploring blockchain-based payment solutions. Moreover, the payments giant has been actively integrating AI into its services. It is reportedly using hundreds of gen AI applications, with Visa’s investments in AI and data infrastructure adding up to $3.3 billion over the last decade.

Similar to Visa, Mastercard is a major payment technology company with a market cap of almost $500 bln, which puts it three ranks below its competitor at the 18th spot. Its shares, meanwhile, are trading at a price of $533, up 3.95% YTD. The EPS (TTM) is 13.89, the P/E (TTM) ratio is 39.40, and the dividend yield is 0.56%.

The global payments company connects consumers, businesses, merchants, financial institutions, digital partners, governments, and other organizations worldwide by enabling electronic payments and making those transactions simple, smart, and secure.

For Q4 2024, Visa’s biggest competitor reported a net income of $3.3 billion, an increase of 22% from the previous quarter. This growth was driven by higher consumer spending during the holiday season. Diluted EPS for the period jumped by 25%, reaching $3.64bn.

Net revenue in Q4 2024 climbed to $7.5 billion. Meanwhile, gross dollar volume increased by 12%, and cross-border volume surged by 20% during this period. CFO Sachin Mehra ascribed the cross-border volume growth to a rise in travel spending and increased cryptocurrency purchases.

When it comes to the value returned to shareholders, Mastercard spent $3.4 billion to repurchase shares and paid $606 million in dividends in Q4. The cost of share repurchasing was $11 billion for the full year, while $2.4 billion was paid in dividends.

For the entire year, Mastercard reported a net income of $12.9 billion, a 17% increase from the previous year, with its diluted EPS totaling $13.89 billion.

According to CEO Michael Miebach, it is the “diverse capabilities in payments and services and solutions” that set Mastercard apart from others and “position us well for long term growth.”

In addition to these strong numbers, the payment giant has been collaborating with companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Square to stay ahead in digital payments and partnering with governments to enable digital currency transactions. It has also been employing the latest technology like AI to scale its applications, manage fraud risks at the account level, and maintain robust processes.

Moreover, it has been working on making it easier to navigate the digital payment landscape. One of these initiatives includes developing a Venmo-like platform to simplify crypto transactions and take it mainstream. 

As a growing legacy payment company with a strong financial position and well-adapted to emerging trends like contactless and crypto payments, Mastercard offers a promising venture in the current uncertain environment.

The largest bank in the United States, JPMorgan Chase, boasts more than $4 trillion in total assets, as of Sept. 2024. With over two centuries of history backing its operations and success, the bank has established itself as a global financial powerhouse that offers a wide range of services, including investment banking, asset management, and consumer banking. 

JPMorgan has a market cap of $687.3 billion with its shares trading at $36.40, up 2.55% YTD. It has an EPS (TTM) of 19.75, a P/E (TTM) of 12.45, and a dividend yield of 2.28%.

When it comes to the company’s financials, JPMorgan reported impressive results, with revenue coming in at $43.74 billion, an increase of 10%, and earnings of $4.81 a share. Fixed-income trading revenue climbed 20% to $5 billion, and equities revenue jumped 22% to $2 billion. Investment banking fees, meanwhile, increased by 49% to $2.48 billion.

In Consumer & Community Banking (CCB), JPMorgan reported acquiring new customers with nearly 2 million net new checking accounts opened during the year. Its Asset & Wealth Management (AWM) segment saw an impressive $486 billion in client asset net inflows.

Notably, the bank processed an average of $10 trillion in daily volume, which has increased 12% year-over-year. Its merchant services also hit $2 trillion in volumes. JPMorgan’s USD SWIFT market share, meanwhile, has risen to 28.7%, with a Customer Satisfaction score of 91% for the full year.

The bank’s profit surged as much as 50% to $14 billion in Q4 as its non-interest expenses dropped by 7% from the previous year. That was when the firm paid the largest FDIC assessment of $2.9 billion due to regional bank failures. At the same time, it also won the auction to take over First Republic out of FDIC receivership, further adding to its deposits and assets.

These are some really impressive numbers that make JPM an alluring investment option. After all, the bank has survived many market cycles and maintained an excellent track record through a variety of economic environments.

With a market cap of $135 billion, Citigroup is among the top financial companies whose shares, as of writing, are trading at $68.54, up 1.95% YTD. This puts its EPS (TTM) at 5.95 while the P/E (TTM) ratio is 12.06. Most importantly, it pays an attractive dividend yield of 3.12%.

Citigroup is a diversified financial company that offers services like investment banking, cash management, trade and working capital solutions, and a full range of trading services across equities, rates, foreign exchange, and commodities.

For company financials, Citigroup reported revenue of $19.6 billion, which increased by 12%, and a net income of $2.9 billion or $1.34 per diluted share for Q4 2024. For the full year 2024, the net income was up as much as 40% to $12.7 billion on revenues of $81.1 billion.

“2024 was a critical year and our results show our strategy is delivering as intended and driving stronger performance in our businesses,” said CEO Jane Fraser, who also noted during the conference call that he aims to set up the company “for long-term success and to ensure that we have enough capacity to invest for that.” 

Under Fraser’s leadership, Citigroup has been completely overhauling the organization, focusing on reducing costs and enhancing performance. Moreover, the company has been focusing on its core banking operations by selling non-core businesses and streamlining operations internationally.

The company has also announced a multi-year stock buyback of $20 billion, so that’s a treat that potential buyers can look forward to.

As a global banking leader, Citigroup has established a significant presence in over 100 countries and benefits from global trade and investments. However, this also means that ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty can negatively affect it, though this isn’t unique to Citigroup and applies to other stocks on this list, as well as to other financial and non-financial assets.

The positive thing is the company is accelerating its digital strategy with the rollout of AI tools for its employees, entering into an agreement with Google Cloud, and making investments like in Pylon to automate mortgage origination.

Bonus Pick: Coinbase (COIN -6.66%)   

Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., is currently the only publicly traded one, with a market cap of $46.44 billion. Its shares trade at $169.80, down 26.32% YTD. Its EPS (TTM) is 9.52, and P/E (TTM) is 19.22. The company, however, does not pay any dividends.

But what it lacks in dividends, Coinbase pays back handsomely in share value. For instance, after bottoming out in January 2023 at around $32, the COIN price went on to rally as high as $349 in December 2024, representing an increase of over 990% in two years.

For now, though, COIN stocks are going through a rough time with their prices falling 33% in Q1 2025, marking the worst quarter since the collapse of crypto exchange FTX in 2022 when its price dipped 40.4%. Again, this dip is not Coinbase exclusive but rather is happening across the crypto as well as traditional markets due to the concerns over a global trade war.

So, let’s take a look at the exchange’s financials to see its financial health. For Q4 2024, Coinbase reported better-than-expected results with its net income being $1.3 billion, or $4.68 per share, and revenue coming in at $2.27 billion. This biggest quarterly revenue in three years was the result of a post-election rally that pushed Bitcoin’s price to a new high.

Its transaction revenue was $1.56 billion, more than doubled from last year. Total trading volume surged 185% YoY to $439 billion. Its retail trading volume saw a far bigger jump (224%) than institutional trading volume (176%). 

Coinbase attributed this massive growth to the launch of Bitcoin Spot ETFs at the beginning of the year and the election of a pro-crypto President and Congress during the last quarter.

With trading accounting for 68.5% of its total revenue, the exchange is actively working to diversify its revenue streams. So far, revenue from its subscription and services business, which includes staking, stablecoins, custody, and its Coinbase One product, is projected to range between $685 million and $765 million for the current quarter.

USDC stablecoin is expected to play a big role here, with Congress expected to pass a stablecoin bill soon. The company actually aims to make USDC the number one stablecoin. USDC currently has 25.5% of the stablecoin market share compared to Tether’s (USDT) 60.6% dominance.

So, against the backdrop of a crypto-friendly administration that is set to achieve regulatory clarity for the industry, Coinbase, with its recent win against the SEC, global expansion plans, leading L2 Base, and low prices, makes for an enticing buying opportunity.

Click here to learn if Coinbase really is the best crypto trading platform.