Market recap 2025: Force Motors, Ather Energy, L&T Finance among top performers in 2025

NIFTY50 and SENSEX are showing high volatility towards the year-end as they struggle to break out of the consolidation to make new record highs. While NIFTY50 is almost 10% YTD, the midcap and smallcap indices are showing mixed results for the same period. The NIFTY Midcap 100, NIFTY 500 are up almost 5% in 2025, keeping the hopes for the investors alive. However, the NIFTY Smallcap index was a significant underperformer throughout the year and delivered nearly -7% returns in 2025 till date.

Despite the mixed performances at the broader level, a few stocks bucked the larger trend and outperformed significantly. Here are the top five stocks with the highest returns in 2025 from the NIFTY500 universe.

Force Motors (YTD return: 163%)

Force Motors, a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer, is the top-performing stock in the NIFTY500 universe, delivering over 160% returns to date. The company has maintained the top spot despite correcting more than 20% from the record high levels touched in August 2025. The stock jumped almost 230% in 2025 to touch a record high level of ₹21,990. In the latest quarterly results, the company’s sales have grown at 7% YoY to ₹2,081 crore, while the EBITDA jumped 28.3% YoY.

The positive tax adjustments and writebacks led to a sharp jump in the net profit at ₹351 crore as compared to ₹135 crore in the same period last year. During the last four quarters, the FII’s who were net sellers across the board in the Indian equities, slowly increased their stake here. The FIIs hold 10.2% stake in the company as of Q2FY26, up from 7.89% in the same period last year. Positive industry tailwinds, sustained fundamental performance, and rising FII holdings were some of the key positive triggers.

L&T Finance (YTD return 124%)

The Financial Services index is the top-performing sectoral index in 2025, and among the index constituents, L&T Finance is one of the top performers with 101% returns in 2025 YTD. The reported highest ever profit after tax at ₹735 during the Q2FY26, up 5% YoY, as the retail lending book crossed the ₹1 lakh crore benchmark with the highest ever disbursements during the September quarter. The highest ever profit, robust asset quality and diversified business model aided strong performance for the stock price in 2025.

Ather Energy (YTD return 116%)

The newly listed e-two-wheeler player is buzzing with investor interest after the company’s shares have been rocking with nearly 116% returns post the recent listing in May 2025. Ather Energy has witnessed strong traction in the market share outpacing rivals like Ola Electric, Bajaj Auto, and TVS Motors. In the Q2 & H1FY26, the company’s sales skyrocketed 67% YoY with 66,000 units sold in the Q2 alone. The company framed it as the success of the distribution and product portfolio. Additionally, the company also gained significant market share in the e-two-wheeler space to 17% as of Q2FY26, up from 14%. In Q2FY25, the net sales jumped 54% YoY to ₹899 crore, and the net loss narrowed to ₹154 crore.

Muthoot Finance (YTD return 84%)

Muthoot Finance, another non-banking financial services company, has delivered a robust performance in 2025. The shares of Muthoot Finance have gained nearly 84% in 2025 on a YTD basis. The strong performance was largely aided by robust financial growth across the board. The consolidated AUM of the company jumped 42% YoY to ₹1.4 lakh crore. Additionally, lower funding costs led to strong margins for the company. The shares have now scaled to deliver 84% gains in 1 year and 250% returns in 3 years.

• Returns as of 15 Dec 2025