The top stocks of 2025 - did you pick a winner?

Did you buy shares in Legal & General, Rolls-Royce or Nvidia this year?

If so, you were in good company. According to analysis from AJ Bell, these were the three top stock picks for DIY investors throughout the whole of 2025 (from 1 January to 2 December) based on net flows through its DIY investor platform.

While hot-button themes such as defence and artificial intelligence (AI) caught investors’ attention, the reliable income of dividend stocks also appealed throughout an unpredictable year for the markets.

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Legal & General (LON:LGEN) – the highest-yielding stock in the FTSE 100, with a dividend yield of 8.6% as of 8 December – was the most popular stock among DIY investors on AJ Bell throughout 2025.

“Sectors come in and out of fashion, but income stocks tend to rank highly on investors’ shopping lists every single year. The UK stock market is a rich hunting ground for dividend payers,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

On the other hand, some investors took a more futuristic perspective and invested in stocks that will power the technology of the future.

Three quantum computing companies – IONQ (NYSE:IONQ), Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI) and D-Wave Quantum (NYSE:QBTS) – were among the ten stocks that saw the greatest percentage change in the number of eToro's UK investors holding them over the course of 2025.

“The outlook improved for the quantum computing sector in 2025,” said Lale Akoner, global market strategist at eToro. “While the sector is still high-risk and long dated, contract wins such as Rigetti’s which announced landmark purchase orders, including a $5.8 million contract with the US Air Force, helped anchor valuations in the sector.”

Akoner added that “fundamentals, rather than hype, are starting to drive performance” in the quantum sector, which was adding to retail investor interest.

As you decide where to invest for 2026, take a look back on the top stocks of 2025.

The most popular UK stocks of 2025

While L&G took top spot, there was a mix of themes and sectors in the top UK stocks of 2025.

These included defence stocks like second-place Rolls-Royce (LON:RR.) and fifth-placed BAE Systems (LON:BA.) as well as financial stocks like Aviva (LON:AV.), HSBC (LON:HSBA), M&G (LON:MNG) and Phoenix Group (LON:PHNX).

^{Based on £ net flows on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform from 1 Jan 2025 to 2 Dec 2025}

“AJ Bell customers showed a strong preference for UK shares, the opposite to many other investors given Investment Association figures show steady net outflows from UK equity funds during the year,” said Coatsworth.

Of AJ Bell’s ten most popular stocks across all markets in 2025, seven were UK-listed.

Read more on the best- and worst-performing FTSE 100 stocks of the year in our explainer.

The most popular US stocks of 2025

Given stretched valuations and unpredictable policy moves, 2025 saw a tendency for investors to take money out of US markets for much of the year, though in early December the S&P 500 appeared to have overtaken the FTSE 100’s returns for the year.

Unsurprisingly, AI stocks dominate the most-bought US-listed stocks.

Every Magnificent Seven stock besides Apple made the top ten most-bought US stocks on AJ Bell this year, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) taking the two top spots.

^{Based on £ net flows on AJ Bell’s DIY investor platform from 1 Jan 2025 to 2 Dec 2025}

“When something as big as AI is splashed all over the news, discussed constantly in the workplace, and embedded into devices like phones and laptops, it’s no wonder that people think there is money to be made,” said Coatsworth.

Which stocks were the most widely-held at the end of 2025?

Besides quantum computing companies, data on the stocks held by eToro’s UK users showed a big increase in European defence stocks, particularly Germany’s largest defence firm Rheinmetall (Frankfurt:RHM) which saw a 334% increase in the number of investors holding the stock on eToro last year.

“The combination of clearer policy direction, and multiyear spending programs have improved earnings visibility for the sector,” said eToro’s Akoner. “Companies like Rheinmetall and BAE Systems have benefited from lucrative, multi-year contracts, reducing cyclicality and supporting the investment case for long-term investors.”

^{Source: eToro}

The knock-on effect of this in terms of the most-held stocks across eToro users was that Rolls-Royce moved one-place up the list.

^{Source: eToro}

While Apple and Nvidia also climbed one place, the companies that made up the top ten most-held stocks list were the same at the end of 2025 as at the end of 2024.