This Was the Top-Performing Stock in the S&P 500 in August 2025
While traditional markets chase single-digit returns, crypto's pumping triple-digit gains—but hey, who's counting when you can own the 'future of finance' instead of some boring S&P stock?
August's champion stock defied gravity while crypto assets quietly did what they always do: either moon hard or crash harder. No middle ground—just pure adrenaline-fueled volatility that makes traditional investing look like watching paint dry.
Forget stable dividends—real degenerates want 100x or bust. The S&P winner might have delivered impressive returns, but let's be honest: it probably didn't even beat Bitcoin's average Tuesday.
Traditional finance keeps playing checkers while crypto plays 4D chess with leverage. Another month, another reminder that boomer stocks move in slow motion compared to digital assets rewriting the entire financial rulebook.
UnitedHealth nursed some serious wounds when July ended
It should be noted that UnitedHealth entered August on a low note. The health insurance colossus posted a 20% price drop in July because of a disappointing bottom-line result and modest guidance in the second quarter of 2025.
The report was published on July 29, giving bearish investors just enough time to react with a brutal stock price cut before the end of that month. Taken together, the plunge-and-jump combination resulted in a 0.7% price drop over two months.
That said, UnitedHealth's recovery was based on two separate events on the same day.
Image source: Getty Images.
Two big announcements powered the August surge
On Aug. 15, Warren Buffett's(BRK.A -0.45%) (BRK.B -0.45%) filed its latest trade reports, including a new position of 5 million UnitedHealth shares. Berkshire isn't known for explaining its stock picks in great detail, and Buffett himself probably didn't hit the proverbial buy button in this case. Warren Buffett's retirement is coming up soon, and his trusted lieutenants should carry a heavier load now.
Still, investors saw the trade as a top-of-the-line approval of UnitedHealth's investment value. Berkshire buys tend to have that effect, with or without Buffett's direct involvement.
And on the same day, UnitedHealth closed the $3.3 billion acquisition of home health expert Amedisys. The Berkshire position probably made a bigger difference, because the Amedisys deal had been pending since the summer of 2023.
