There are two clear stock market winners that have emerged from the government spending cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Since the office within the White House began its work shortly after President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, DOGE has made headlines for firing scores of Federal workers across various agencies and trying to wrest control over vast troves of government data.
The spending cuts have made waves in the stock market, sending government consulting firms like Accenture and Booz Allen Hamilton sharply lower this year.
But at least two winners have emerged from DOGE’s efforts.
Palantir
Palantir has already been tapped to help DOGE on several efficiency and modernization efforts, including assisting on a huge data collection project at the Internal Revenue Service. The company also won a $30 million contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for software used to track immigrants and monitor visas.
The AI-focused defense contractor receives more than half of its revenue from the US government, and Palantir management has had nothing but praise for the DOGE spending cuts.
“This is the right thing for the country — like, we have way too much spend on things that do not work,” Shyam Sankar, CTO and executive vice president of Palantir, said on Monday when asked if DOGE cuts will impact contracts.
Sankar then went on to compare the government to a “fine-marbled wagyu — the fake projects that do not deliver and will never deliver crowd out and suffocate the things that could actually be excellent, so we welcome DOGE.”
Meanwhile, CEO Alex Karp called DOGE a “revolution” in February and said Palantir stands to benefit.
“We love disruption, and whatever is good for America will be good for Americans and very good for Palantir,” Karp said in response to a question about DOGE during the company’s quarterly earnings call in February.
Shares of Palantir have been on a tear this year, soaring 42%.
Financial stocks
Financial stocks are among some of the best-performing so far this year, and part of that can be attributed to DOGE’s dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
DOGE wasted no time in gutting the consumer watchdog following Trump’s inauguration. In February, it directed CFPB workers to “not perform any work tasks,” followed by mass firings in April.
The agency is tasked with protecting consumers from financial exploitation. Since its inception in 2011, it has delivered hundreds of enforcement actions, resulting in about $20 billion in consumer relief via monetary compensation and other settlements, according to its website.
The CFPB’s target was predominantly big banks and credit card companies. In December, the CFPB was working toward reining in credit card late fees and bank overdraft fees, but those initiatives have since been halted.
With less financial oversight going forward, it’s those same companies that are set to be big beneficiaries.
Two standouts within the financial sector are Wells Fargo and Discover Financial Services, which have both seen their stocks outperform peers.
