An aerial view of the Golden Gate Bridge in entrance of the San Francisco skyline on October 20, 2025 in Sausalito, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Photos
San Francisco is on the comeback, which led CNBC to spend a couple of days to broadcast “Energy Lunch” from the community’s beautiful studios within the metropolis.
Forward of this particular programming, I sought to seek out the businesses based mostly within the metropolis that had been making buyers essentially the most cash this 12 months. Simply as the town itself defies expectations, so did this inventory search —with some names which will shock you.
San Francisco is without doubt one of the world’s nice cities. Tradition, meals, magnificence and enterprise energy the peninsula. Sure, the town has issues, however discovering nice shares to spend money on from the world just isn’t one in every of them, if you understand the place to look.
Going into this search the Energy Lunch group anticipated many of the shares could be A.I. associated. We had been improper.
Here is how we discovered the names:
- First, we screened for firms headquartered within the space utilizing S&P Capital IQ. We selected San Francisco correct with simply an added contact of the south facet. We didn’t display screen for Silicon Valley. Whereas shut, if you understand the world you additionally know that the Valley is known as a separate world from San Francisco itself. It is not far down the 101, but it surely’s far sufficient to be a special place. Silicon Valley is out.
- Subsequent, we filtered out firms with market caps underneath $500 million. They often do not have sufficient buying and selling quantity to be noteworthy. That eliminates extra firms. The remaining shares wed then added to a FactSet display screen the place we are able to kind by efficiency over any time-frame.
The inventory screener shocked us as a result of biotech – not A.I. – dominated the outcomes.
High performing San Francisco shares – final 3 months
| Ticker | Identify | 3MopercentChg |
|---|---|---|
| NKTR | Nektar Therapeutics | 158.65% |
| REAL | RealReal, Inc. | 121.42% |
| PL | Planet Labs PBC Class | 100.60% |
| RUN | Sunrun Inc. | 89.24% |
| MAZE | Maze Therapeutics, In | 83.65% |
| OLMA | Olema Pharmaceutical | 82.59% |
| CRVS | Corvus Prescribed drugs | 62.15% |
| CYTK | Cytokinetics, Incorpor | 61.83% |
| SEPN | Septerna, Inc. | 57.35% |
| ETNB | 89bio Inc | 55.48% |
| RIGL | Rigel Prescribed drugs, | 46.17% |
| LYFT | Lyft, Inc. Class A | 43.86% |
| RDDT | Reddit, Inc. Class A | 43.28% |
| OMDA | Omada Well being, Inc. | 42.21% |
| CTMX | CytomX Therapeutics, | 40.42% |
| SOFI | SoFi Applied sciences Inc | 39.91% |
| IRTC | iRhythm Applied sciences | 32.94% |
| TBPH | Theravance Biopharm | 28.80% |
| ORIC | Oric Prescribed drugs, | 19.62% |
| U | Unity Software program, Inc. | 13.02% |
Supply: FactSet, S&P Capital IQ
(Test the Energy Lunch web page all week all week for these unique in-depth interviews with the CEOs of firms from this display screen.)
They’re names you could by no means have heard about, however they’ve made cash for individuals who’ve been in a position to determine and spend money on them.
Every is engaged on a special downside, a special illness to treatment.
They’re all distinctive in their very own manner, besides one: they’ve agreed to come back into our San Francisco bureau and sit down with us for interviews.
The businesses which have rocked the area for buyers over the previous three months are a majority biotech, but in addition embrace a clothes resale firm, a solar energy & storage firm and an ‘earth intelligence’ firm.
The highest performer is Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), hovering about 150% up to now 90 days. Nektar is creating choices to deal with each dermatitis and the hair loss situation Alopecia areata. FactSet reveals that the 9 analysts who cowl Nektar have a bullish common value goal of $93.60 on the inventory, a few 50% bounce from right here.
Second on the screener is an organization our viewers and readers could also be extra accustomed to: Sunrun (RUN). The solar energy firm has doubled in three months, but it surely wasn’t that clean. RUN shares have gone from $20 to $6 and again above $20 in a 12 months. Sunrun’s CEO Mary Energy will be part of us reside on Energy Lunch this week.
Third on the San Francisco efficiency listing can also be a family title, actually. The RealReal (REAL) desires to take what in your closet and promote it to these on the lookout for reductions on increased finish or luxurious garments, baggage, sneakers and extra. Some warning could also be warranted right here because the inventory is now buying and selling about $1 greenback above the median value goal of analysts.
Planet Labs (PL) labels itself an ‘earth intelligence’ firm. Traders have actually proven some smarts in snapping up the inventory, which has practically doubled in a 12 months. The 15-year outdated firm has additionally seen gross sales greater than double during the last 4 years. As with Sunrun, it isn’t been a clean experience for stockholders. Shares collapsed to lower than $2 final 12 months. Merchants have made a lot cash in Planet Labs however be conscious it is a risky inventory.
Rounding out our listing of ‘San Francisco treats’ (a TV business nod to these of a sure age) are Fastly (FSLY), Maze Therapeutics (MAZE), Olema Prescribed drugs (OLMA), Septerna (SEPN), Cytokinetics (CYTK) and extra. They’ve all had an enormous few months, notably as buyers fall again in love with lots of the biotech and medical science firms making an attempt to rid the world of some horrible circumstances.
The look from CNBC’s TV set is so good that individuals ask if it is pretend. It is not. Behind the place we sit you see the bay, the Bay bridge, and only a contact of Treasure Island, the place my father was stationed within the Navy within the Sixties. It is so good you nearly want it was pretend.
We shall be talking with a variety of these firms from that set over the following few days right here in California. You’ll be able to and may watch all of the interviews. They’re out there, solely, right here on the Energy Lunch web page.
