Top Healthcare Stocks & ETFs To Watch

Summary

Earn Your Leisure Podcast: Episode Summary Title: Top Healthcare Stocks & ETFs To Watch
Release Date: May 1, 2025
Hosts: Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings

---

Introduction

In this episode of Earn Your Leisure, Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings delve into the intricacies of healthcare investments, focusing on the top stocks and Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) that investors should monitor. The conversation offers a blend of financial insights and pop culture references, aligning with the podcast’s unique approach to business education.

Key Healthcare ETFs and Stocks

The hosts begin by discussing the importance of selecting the right tools for healthcare investment. Chris emphasizes the significance of maintaining focus on existing portfolio holdings to avoid unnecessary diversification. He states, “[...] too often times as men we look for the new exciting thing opposed to the thing that's working” ([00:10]).

Brian shares his strategy, highlighting his preference for Vanguard’s VHT and Spider ETFs, alongside sector-specific ETFs like XLK and XLY. He advises investors to examine the largest allocations within these ETFs to identify strong performers. “For XLV, you're gonna, I mean for DHC as well, Lily is usually number one. And number two was UnitedHealth” ([01:57]).

Vertical Integration in Healthcare

The discussion shifts to CVS Health, which Brian describes as a vertically integrated giant in the healthcare sector. He explains, “They have vertical integration, which is very unique in the sense that they have insurance. They, they bought Aetna, so they have the insurance, Right. They have prescription delivery and they have direct patient care” ([02:40]). This integration allows CVS to offer comprehensive services, setting it apart from competitors like UnitedHealth, which primarily focuses on health insurance.

Amazon's Disruptive Potential

A significant portion of the conversation centers on Amazon's foray into the healthcare industry. Brian posits that Amazon’s extensive retail network and advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) position it as a formidable player capable of disrupting traditional healthcare models. “If Amazon has the agentic AI in the healthcare field with the direct to consumer retail space, I think they become the number two in the healthcare ETF funds going forward” ([04:30]).

Chris questions the inclusion of both CVS and Amazon in the same category, to which Brian clarifies that Amazon is a "wild card" due to its innovative approach and market momentum. He highlights Amazon’s year-to-date growth of 46%, despite market challenges, underscoring its resilience and potential for long-term dominance.

Innovation and Generational Companies

The hosts discuss what makes a company generational, citing Amazon alongside Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft as examples. Brian emphasizes Amazon’s continuous innovation and diversification across industries as key factors driving its sustained success. “If they enter this from an AI standpoint with the lead of having cloud, having infrastructure, having their own GPUs, they're going to be doing that for a reason” ([06:09]).

He also touches upon the broader trend of major tech companies racing to out-innovate each other, ensuring their relevance and market leadership in various sectors, including healthcare.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with an affirmation of the importance of focusing on strong, established companies while keeping an eye on emerging disruptors like Amazon. The hosts encourage listeners to stay informed about market trends and to strategically invest in companies that demonstrate sustained growth and innovation.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Chris: “[...] too often times as men we look for the new exciting thing opposed to the thing that's working” ([00:10])
• Brian: “If Amazon has the agentic AI in the healthcare field with the direct to consumer retail space, I think they become the number two in the healthcare ETF funds going forward” ([04:30])
• Brian: “They have vertical integration, which is very unique in the sense that they have insurance. They, they bought Aetna, so they have the insurance, Right. They have prescription delivery and they have direct patient care” ([02:40])

---

This episode provides a comprehensive overview of the current landscape in healthcare investments, offering listeners actionable insights into selecting strong ETFs and identifying potential disruptors in the market.

Transcript

[Alex]

So if you want to create a two tech two index version. Let's get into this centered around healthcare.

[Brian]

Let's get into this.

[Alex]

What tool would you recommend for this combination?

[Chris]

I think this is a great question, but one thing I do want to stress is I want you guys to stay focused on what you have in the portfolio at the moment because I think too many people once again take their eyes off the main thing I would do. Vo, vti, Eli Lilly and Shark I've talked about before. I know it's not fun and this is where men. I'm not trying to belabor a point on brother. I think too often times as men we look for the new exciting thing opposed to the thing that's working. There's a reason we don't have trading Thirst Market Mondays is working. Right. Too many people like try and create too much diversity in their portfolio and you end up selling the thing that's great. Or something that's good. Where if you just kept pouring money into the thing that's working, you'll be a. Okay, so great question. If you have currently been investing in QTEP to index some change. But if I was focusing on a healthcare version, I would do Striker annually and hold forever.

[Brian]

Striker Lily and hold. Interesting. I. I chose specific ETFs in healthcare, so I went with Vanguard as well. VHT and then Spider. You know, we always talk about XLK and we talk about xly. Their one is xlv. And I told people in our class, especially if you're not familiar with sectors, right. ETFs and indexes are probably the best way. But inside of those ETFs you should go look at the holdings and go look at the largest allocations inside those, those ETFs. And for XLV, you're gonna, I mean for DHC as well, Lily is usually number one.

[Chris]

Yeah, right.

[Brian]

And number two was UnitedHealth. And so we've, we've watched UnitedHealth take a basket. Obviously with healthcare prices skyrocketing and really no rhyme or reason for it. So I said let. I knew you would probably go traditional with Strike. I know that's one of your favorite companies. I think we were both on Lily. And so I threw two wild cards in there in terms of the healthcare space and one, we're probably not going to think healthcare, but Madonna. Nah. So CVS is a company that I've spoken about plenty of times and they kind of have this like soul survivor syndrome that is. Is interesting when we think about growing up in the past maybe five to ten years there was a Rite Aid. That's.

[Chris]

Yep.

[Brian]

It used to be a Walgreens in your neighborhood. Good luck if you can find it. And CVS is still here. 9,000 locations. And they have vertical integration, which is very unique in the sense that they have insurance. They, they bought Aetna, so they have the insurance, Right. They have prescription delivery and they have direct patient care. Yeah, you have all those things in one. Whereas UnitedHealthcare doesn't quite have it. They're the largest provider of health insurance. They don't have all three verticals. The. So when you think about it in that sense, I'm like, all right. People still look to find out each one of those verticals from different places. Then my wild card came in and I said, well, who can disrupt them from the retail space and who can also disrupt them from the primary care space? And then I came to this company called Amazon and I thought, damn, 9,000 locations is great until you can have same day delivery straight to your house. Now you got a billion locations, right? Because everybody, if you're going to get it delivered, you have to have an address. I'm like, all right, well that could kick in the door for them from a retail standpoint. But as soon as they have AI agents and agentic is a big thing for Amazon and we saw this kind of during COVID when you couldn't go to the doctor, but you had that telehealth situation where you call and you can get your symptoms and the doctor would call you. As we get further on in this AI space, especially with the gentic and we saw industries that will be disrupted law for sure, healthcare is going to be another one. If Amazon has the agentic AI in the healthcare field with the direct to consumer retail space, I think they become the number two in the healthcare ETF funds going forward.

[Chris]

Okay, I got a question for you. This is my first pushback I've had to. You ever how you pick CVS and Amazon in the same class?

[Brian]

No, no, no, I. CVS is a wild card. Amazon. You know why it's a wild card? It's because it's one of these, these sleeper companies that is in your neighborhood, Right. You probably frequent there. But you're not thinking of it as a company that you can invest in, but you look at it year to date, it's up 46%. Even in the midst of all these tariffs. Year to date it's up 46. Has it come down from its highs of 111? I think maybe 10 years ago. And it hit another peak of 106. It looks like it's on that upward momentum again. We'll see. But it's just an interesting company. When you think of vertical integration inside of healthcare, that makes it very unique. Yeah, but there goes my Amazon again. I know y'all gonna say I'm biased.

[Chris]

But here's the part about the bias and being upset about a pick. There are only certain companies that are generational companies. Apple is that for a long time. Nvidia's having their moment. Microsoft has found a way to put themselves back in the conversation. Tesla had a chance. Amazon is one of those ones. Every generation you may get maybe 10 companies or 12 companies that are going to have the 20 or 30 year run. And they keep finding what, let's be very honest, Amazon has found ways to innovate better than Apple. It's just not saying because they don't have a Tim Cook at the moment. But over the last three or four years they've done a better job. Sure.

[Brian]

And all those companies are still relying on it. And when we talk, when we talk about aws, we could say like, yes, Google is on its way and yes, Microsoft is in terms of cloud, but they're still a leader and they have the capex to actually spend, to innovate. So I know that, you know, their profit margins aren't as wide as a company like Nvidia. There's a reason for that. They're continuously building and they're not just doing it in one industry which makes them so unique and is why they become so dominant. And so if they, they enter this from an AI standpoint with the lead of having cloud, having infrastructure, having their own GPUs, they're going to be doing that for a reason. It's interesting, we had this conversation in Virginia. We were talking to a gentleman, 73 years old and he was talking about he owns land and in Richmond and he was like, I used to sell lumber for like 10 to 15 years, but you know, it's not that fruitful in a sense where you make maybe six figures, but it takes time to grow the trees. Yeah, there's a new thing that we're going to be doing soon. I'm like, what is it? He was like, these companies keep coming in and they want to build data centers on my land. And I was like, tell me more, tell me more. Yeah. And as we start speaking and he started sharing his knowledge, he was like, yo, it's everywhere. It's everywhere and you can hear it. I mean you can hear the rhetoric saying people are going to slow down spending and some of that will be true. But the, the mega caps, they're in a race to beat each other for sure. Please know that. Please know that. So if you hear Microsoft saying they did something, just know that Amazon's not, they're not looking like Big four.

[Chris]

Yeah, they're all gonna race.

[Brian]

They're thinking like, no, we need to do more.

[Derek]

Looking for legit ways to make extra money, you've got to check out the side Hustle Show. With hundreds of actionable episodes to choose from, you'll learn what's working now from real people making real money. Like the Utah mom who built a six figure business playing video games. Or the guy earning $3,000 a month renting out mobility scooters online or offline from Amazon to your own hometown. From YouTube to vending machines, the side Hustle show has you and your wallet customer covered. Subscribe to the side Hustle show wherever you're listening to this podcast and increase your earning power today.