Buying individual UK stocks rather than a tracker can really pay off if investors get it right. Five shares on the FTSE 100 doubled investors’ money over the last year, in one case rocketing more than 400%. Can they do it again?
And the winner is… Fresnillo shares
The biggest winner of the lot was gold and silver miner Fresnillo (LSE: FRES). Its 410% gain would have turned £10,000 into £51,000.
It’s an obvious beneficiary of the soaring gold price, which climbed 65% this year to punch through yet another all-time high, trading above $4,400 an ounce, as I write.
Gold’s been driven by geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility, trade wars and heavy central bank buying. It’s also been boosted by a weaker US dollar, which makes gold cheaper for overseas buyers, and falling interest rates, which reduce the appeal of rival safe havens such as cash and bonds. Buying individual gold stocks rather than the precious metal itself adds another layer of risk, due to potential operational difficulties, but also ramps up the potential rewards, as Fresnillo shows.
Can this continue in 2026? Most analysts remain optimistic about the gold price, but I think investors should be careful. I’m always cautious about chasing last year’s winners, and it now looks staggeringly expensive, with a price-to-earnings ratio of 117. By comparison, the FTSE 100 trades on a P/E of around 17.
Brilliant growth returns
I take a similar view of the second-best FTSE 100 performer, Africa-focused telecoms star Airtel Africa. Its shares surged 216% in 2025 and are up around 360% over five years. For context, that’s roughly seven times faster than chip giant Nvidia.
Airtel Africa has a huge growth opportuity but looks too pricey for my tastes, with a P/E nudging 75. I tend to favour value stocks over momentum-fuelled growth, although when I look at Fresnillo and Airtel Africa, I wonder why.
So what about third-placed Endeavour Mining? Like Fresnillo, it’s a gold miner and jumped 157% in the last year. Endeavour operates in some tough parts of the world, so precious metal prices aren’t the only risk. Safety issues, environmental concerns and local political instability can all affect returns.
The attraction here is valuation. With a P/E of around 25, it’s far cheaper than Fresnillo and could be a more measured way to play the gold price. Still, investors tempted must understand the risks. And there are plenty.
Defence companies fly
The next fabulous winner is fast-growing defence group Babcock International Group, up more than 150%. Rising global tensions and increased Western defence spending have driven its orders, revenues and prospects.
With a P/E of around 25, there may be scope for further gains. Much will depend on geopolitics, particularly developments in Ukraine.
Finally, inevitably, there’s Rolls-Royce Holdings. It doubled in 2025, which is impressive given its already stellar run. The shares are up an extraordinary 1,168% over three years. Happily, this is the one I hold.
With a P/E of 55, Rolls-Royce looks vulnerable to even a sniff of bad news, and I’m wondering whether to take some profits ahead of its full-year results on 26 February. That’s the problem with big winners. Next year’s double-your-money stocks probably won’t come from this list, so I’ll be looking elsewhere for 2026.
