Gold Crushed Stocks in 2025—And You Called It

Chart of the Week #82

As we close out 2025, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge something important: if you invested in gold this year instead of chasing mainstream stocks, you were right.

The performance speaks for itself.

Take a look at this week’s chart showing gold versus the S&P 500 in 2025.

Gold led mainstream stocks all year, ending 2025 up 73% versus the S&P 500’s 18%.

That’s not a typo. Gold crushed the stock market by a factor of four.

Now, this shouldn't come as a surprise to regular readers. We've been pounding the table on gold throughout the year—whether it was central banks buying at an unprecedented pace, China dumping dollars for gold, the Fed cutting rates, or any number of other tailwinds we've covered.

The thesis played out exactly as expected.

And if you went beyond physical gold and bought mining stocks—whether you picked them yourself or followed our recommendations—you’re likely sitting on even better returns. Hopefully, you got the timing right too. As I showed you back in September, mining stocks were trading at 120-year lows despite gold hitting new highs.

In our Crisis Investing portfolio alone, we locked in profits on at least five precious metals positions that doubled this year. We call these “Casey Free Rides”—selling half after a stock doubles, recouping your original investment, and letting the rest run for free.

So if you bought gold (and/or gold stocks) this year, congratulations. You got it right. And that’s worth raising a glass to as we head into the new year.

Have a great rest of your weekend, and here’s to an even better 2026.

Regards,

Lau Vegys