Dow Jones top gainers and laggards revealed: Nike, Salesforce, and more

The Dow Jones Index has pulled back in the past few weeks, moving from the year-to-date high of $50,485 to the current $46,500. This retreat has coincided with the ongoing Fear and Greed Index retreat to the extreme fear zone of 16. This article explores some of the top movers in the index.

Nike stock is the top laggard in the Dow Jones Index 

Nike, one of the most popular brands in the United States, has become the top laggard in the Dow Jones Index as it dropped by 30% this year and 67% in the last five years. 

The company’s sell-off continued recently when it published its weak financial results. Its sales were flat at $11.3 billion, while its profits dropped, with the gross margin falling by 130 basis points to 40.2%. Its net income plunged by 35% to $0.5 billion.

Nike’s management has taken measures to boost its sales in the past few years. It has embraced more innovation, pivoted from direct sales to the wholesale model, and improved its marketing. However, the management and investors have expressed concerns that the turnaround efforts are taking long to bear fruit.

Salesforce  stock has plunged amid fears of AI disruption 

Salesforce, the biggest company in the customer service industry, has plunged by 29% this year and 12% in the last five years.

The company's performance is in line with that of other software companies like Atlassian, Intuit, and Zscaler. Analysts are worried that the AI technology will disrupt some of its business.

Also, there are concerns that the management has continued the acquisition model to offset the slowdown in its core business. It recently acquired Informatica for an $8 billion deal. Before that, it bought companies like Mulesoft, Slack, and Tableau.

Microsoft stock has plunged amid growing AI spending

Like Salesforce, the Microsoft stock price has tumbled by 23% this year amid fears that AI will disrupt some of its business.

At the same time, the company has struggled amid concerns that its investments in the AI industry are not bearing fruit. While Copilot has millions of users, only a handful of them are willing to pay for it. 

Additionally, investors are concerned that its massive AI investments are too much. The company’s guidance is that its data center spending will be over $100 billion this year.

The other top laggards in the Dow Jones Index are companies like American Express, IBM, UnitedHealth, Walt Disney, and Visa.

Top gainers in the Dow Jones Index in 2026

A few companies in the Dow Jones Index have jumped this year. Chevron, the second-biggest energy company in the US after ExxonMobil, has jumped by 30% this year as crude oil and natural gas prices have soared.

Caterpillar stock has jumped by over 24% this year and 120% in the last 12 months. Other top gainers in the index are companies like Verizon, Johnson & Johnson, Honeywell, Merck & Company, and Walmart. All these stocks have jumped by over 12% this year.

Looking ahead, the Dow Jones Index will likely remain under pressure in the coming weeks as the Iran war will likely take longer than Donald Trump has predicted. That means that energy prices will continue soaring, pushing inflation higher, and making it hard for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates.