Stock market investors enjoyed big gains in 2025 \u2013 unless they focused on buying stocks of Jacksonville-based companies.<\/p>\n
While the major stock indexes reached record highs and produced double-digit percentage gains, 15 of the 19 publicly traded companies headquartered in the Jacksonville area dropped in price last year.<\/p>\n
By far the best performance of a Jacksonville-based company came from Duos Technologies Group Inc., which jumped 88% to $11.25 by the end of 2025 after doubling in price in 2024.<\/p>\n
Duos was focused on providing railroad safety technology and was hoping a bigger emphasis on railroad safety would spark revenue gains.<\/p>\n
Instead, the company\u2019s stock dropped in 2023 as revenue fell far short of its projections, which Duos attributed to project delays from clients.<\/p>\n
Duos turned around in 2024 by expanding with two new business lines, one that provides artificial intelligence data centers in rural markets and a second to provide energy services.<\/p>\n
The company reported revenue of $7.3 million in 2024, about equal to 2023. But in late 2024, it announced a two-year agreement with Jacksonville-based APR Energy to deploy energy assets that it said would produce an estimated $42 million in revenue.<\/p>\n
Duos\u2019 revenue tripled to $17.6 million in the first nine months of 2025.<\/p>\n
Ascendiant Capital Markets analyst Edward Woo expects more gains in the stock this year, raising his price target for Duos from $11.50 to $14 Dec. 29 with a \u201cbuy\u201d rating on the stock.<\/p>\n
\u201cHuge growth for its data center business over the next year should drive stock much higher,\u201d Woo said in his research note.<\/p>\n
He expects revenue to reach $40 million in 2026 after finishing 2025 with an estimated $28 million.<\/p>\n
Cadre, Proficient Auto, beat S&P 500<\/p>\n
Two other Jacksonville-based companies beat the 16% gain in the Standard & Poor\u2019s 500 index in 2025: Cadre Holdings Inc. rose 26% and Proficient Auto Logistics Inc. rose 19%.<\/p>\n
Cadre, which has focused on providing safety and security products for first responders, has been growing through acquisitions.<\/p>\n
Cadre announced a $175 million deal to buy Arizona-based TYR Tactical LLC in October, an acquisition the company said was its sixth and largest since it went public in 2021.<\/p>\n
Cadre has also been expanding in the nuclear safety business, including a deal in April 2025 to buy England-based Carr\u2019s Engineering Limited, which provides products and services for nuclear end markets.<\/p>\n
Proficient\u2019s gains in 2025 represent a partial rebound from a sharp drop after its May 2024 initial public offering at $15.<\/p>\n
Proficient transports automobiles from manufacturers to dealers and a weak auto sales market sent its stock lower after the IPO.<\/p>\n
The stock began trading below its IPO price in September 2024 and fell to a low of $5.76 in October 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, expectations of a rebound in the auto market sent the stock higher in late 2025 and it finished the year at $9.64.<\/p>\n
\u201cAutomotive vehicle sales and production volumes have begun to rebound and are expected to be a tailwind for the capacity-constrained auto-hauling industry over the next three-plus years,\u201d Stifel analyst J. Bruce Chan said in a Dec. 15 report on Proficient and other trucking stocks.<\/p>\n
\u201cNetwork densification and improved asset utilization should yield significant incremental margin, in our view, and we expect the mix of in-sourced vehicles to increase in the coming years,\u201d said Chan, who lists Proficient as one of his \u201cbest ideas\u201d among truckload carriers.<\/p>\n
Merger speculation surrounds CSX<\/p>\n
CSX Corp. was the only other Jacksonville-based company to rise in 2025, increasing by 12% fueled at least in part by continued merger talk surrounding the major North American railroad companies.<\/p>\n
Union Pacific Corp. and Norfolk Southern Corp. announced a merger agreement in July to form a transcontinental railroad, creating speculation that CSX will have to seek a merger partner to compete.<\/p>\n
The Union Pacific-Norfolk Southern deal will be scrutinized in 2026 as the two companies seek regulatory approval.<\/p>\n
The companies started the process Dec. 19 by filing a 6,700-page merger application with the U.S. Surface Transportation Board.<\/p>\n
Without even considering the merits of the application, the STB solicited comments on the completeness of the application, and CSX and the other three major railroads all responded by the Dec. 29 deadline for comments saying it was incomplete.<\/p>\n
The response filed by CSX Transportation Inc., the company\u2019s railroad subsidiary, said \u201cthe Application lacks certain important elements required by the Board\u2019s statute, consolidation procedures, and rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
CSX said the application was deficient because of its \u201cfailure to identify and analyze the downstream effects of its proposed merger, to fully calculate the merger\u2019s net public benefits, and to provide evidence supporting its purported measures to enhance competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
The deficiencies make it \u201cunfairly burdensome for non-applicants like CSXT to assess and respond to the impacts of the proposed UP\/NS merger and, because of the lack of required information, unfairly complicates the evidentiary record-making process necessary for the Board to determine whether the merger would be in the public interest,\u201d CSX said.<\/p>\n
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern responded with a Jan. 2 STB filing saying the application is complete.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Board should reject the efforts of a few parties \u2014 primarily competitors of Applicants who will experience increased competition as a result of the merger \u2014 to delay and prolong this proceeding by claiming the Application is incomplete,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
In another Jan. 2 STB filing regarding an application by Norfolk Southern in February 2025 to acquire a short-line railroad called the Norfolk & Portsmouth Belt Line Railroad, Norfolk Southern took a swipe at CSX for objecting to that deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor more than ten years, CSXT Transportation has engaged in a futile attempt to seek government intervention to provide it with a competitive advantage for intermodal traffic to\/from the East Coast Ports and the heartland of the United States,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern said in a Dec. 19 news release as they submitted their merger application that they expect numerous benefits from the deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe look forward to working with the Surface Transportation Board as it reviews our historic application to create America\u2019s first transcontinental railroad,\u201d Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said in the release.<\/p>\n
Treace, Redwire at the bottom of 2025 rankings<\/p>\n
Two companies that went public in 2021 had the worst 2025 performance among Jacksonville-area companies that trade above $1.<\/p>\n
Treace Medical Concepts Inc., maker of surgical procedures to treat bunions, dropped 67% and space technology company Redwire Corp. fell 54%.<\/p>\n
Both are relatively new companies and both have disappointed investors by failing to live up to revenue growth projections.<\/p>\n
Treace is banking on new products to treat bunions and other foot issues and Redwire is hoping new contracts for its technologies will put revenue growth back on track.<\/p>\n
Dream Finders\u2019 Jacksonville division increased sales in 2024<\/p>\n
Another Jacksonville-based company that went public in 2021, Dream Finders Homes Inc., has bounced up and down since its IPO, in line with the state of the housing market.<\/p>\n
In a weak market, 2025 was a down year, with the stock dropping 27%.<\/p>\n
CEO Patrick Zalupski sent a letter to shareholders Dec. 29 \u2014 to discuss 2024 results. This was the second year in a row Zalupski sent out his annual letter in December to discuss results that were nearly a year old.<\/p>\n
While the company\u2019s overall 2024 results were already reported, Zalupski did specifically discuss the performance of the Jacksonville division after stopping reports on the local market in 2023.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2024, the Jacksonville division closed 1,313 homes, generating $616 million in homebuilding revenue. This impressive unit volume allowed Jacksonville to continue leading Company homes closed for the 16th consecutive year,\u201d the letter said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, for the 2nd consecutive year, Jacksonville did not lead in profitability. While this is a testament to our other divisions\u2019 significant growth, it also presents an opportunity for Jacksonville to reclaim its previous accolades,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
Without reference to the stock\u2019s decline in 2025, Zalupski touted Dream Finders\u2019 performance through 2024 in the letter.<\/p>\n
\u201cEach year presents unique challenges that the team must address, but I can emphatically state that each year, for 16 years in a row, DFH is absolutely a more valuable business than the previous year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is our goal year in and year out, to strive for continuous improvement and build on our previous accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newfold sells Markmonitor unit<\/p>\n
Newfold Digital said Dec. 31 it completed the sale of its internet domain management subsidiary Markmonitor to Com Laude, a London-based supplier of corporate domain services.<\/p>\n
Jacksonville-based Newfold, which provides web and commerce technology, acquired Boise, Idaho-based Markmonitor in 2022.<\/p>\n
Newfold was created by the 2021 merger of Web.com and Endurance Web Presence and is owned by an investor group led by Clearlake Capital Group L.P. and Siris Capital Group.<\/p>\n
As a privately owned company, Newfold does not disclose financial details, but publicly traded Clarivate Plc said in 2022 Newfold was paying $302.5 million in cash to buy Markmonitor from Clarivate.<\/p>\n
Com Laude\u2019s owner, PX3 Partners, said in September 2025 that merging Markmonitor and Com Laude would create a corporate domain services provider with an enterprise value of about $450 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis sale allows us to simplify our portfolio and strengthen our focus on Bluehost and Network Solutions,\u201d Newfold CEO Sharon Rowlands said in a news release.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt better positions us to accelerate growth and deliver even greater value to our customers through our core brands,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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