##  [# The Best Performing Leveraged ETFs of 2025](/sections/features/best-performing-leveraged-etfs-2025) 

 

# The Best Performing Leveraged ETFs of 2025

 

 

One fund is up over 800% this year.



 

 

 

 

 [![sumit](/sites/default/files/styles/author_image_icon/public/2023-03/Sumit_0.png?itok=SO-7S5SH "sumit")](/authors/sumit-roy) 

[By Sumit Roy ](/authors/sumit-roy)

 Dec 30, 2025

 Edited by: ETF.com Staff

 

 

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So far, we’ve looked at the best and worst performing ETFs of 2025 in two [separate](https://www.etf.com/sections/features/20-best-performing-etfs-2025) [pieces](https://www.etf.com/sections/features/20-worst-performing-etfs-2025). Next up are the 10 best-performing leveraged ETFs of the year.  
  
In the earlier rankings, leveraged ETFs were stripped out. They’re niche products, and if you leave them in, they tend to overwhelm the lists. This time, though, we’re keeping them in, and as you might expect, the returns are massive.   
  
As with the unleveraged leaderboard, gold and silver feature prominently. But unlike that list, they don’t monopolize the rankings. Still, precious metals dominate the very top.  
  
The standout winner is the [**MicroSectors Gold Miners 3X Leveraged ETN (GDXU)**](/gdxu), which takes the No. 1 spot with a staggering 804% gain in the year-to-date period through Dec. 29.  
  
Layering leverage on top of an already historic rally in gold miners proved to be a winning combination. This is one of the rare cases where daily rebalancing actually worked in investors’ favor. The product delivered nearly five times the return of the [**VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX)**](/gdx) and the [**VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ)**](/gdxj), the two benchmarks it’s designed to track with leverage.  
  
Several other gold- and silver-related leveraged funds also cracked the top 10. The [**Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares (JNUG)**](/jnug) is up 479%, while the [**Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares (NUGT)**](/nugt) has surged 428%. [**ProShares Ultra Silver (AGQ)**](/agq) gained 394%, and the [**WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Gold Miners Strategy Fund (GDMN)**](/gdmn) is up 238% over the same period.  
  
But the list doesn’t just feature precious metals.  
  
Outside of mining stocks, two single-stock leveraged ETFs tied to Micron Technology also made the cut. The memory-chip maker has been a major beneficiary of the AI boom, driven by surging demand for high-bandwidth memory used in advanced AI systems.

The [**Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X Shares (MUU)**](/muu) is up 641% this year, while the [**GraniteShares 2x Long MU Daily ETF (MULL)**](/mull) has climbed 603%.  
  
Along similar lines, the [**Direxion Daily South Korea Bull 3X Shares (KORU)**](/koru) has returned 458% in 2025. South Korea’s stock market has surged largely on gains in SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, two of the world’s largest producers of high-bandwidth memory.  
  
Along with Micron, those companies sit at the center of the AI-driven memory boom and together account for nearly half of the MSCI South Korea Index.

Rounding out the top 10 are two leveraged ETFs tied to Palantir Technologies. The [**GraniteShares 2x Long PLTR Daily ETF (PTIR)**](/ptir) and the [**Direxion Daily PLTR Bull 2X Shares (PLTU)**](/pltu) are up 246% and 243%, respectively.  
  
Palantir shares have surged in 2025 as enthusiasm around artificial intelligence has collided with rising defense spending. The company sits squarely at the intersection of those two big trends.  
  
The leveraged ETFs mentioned in this piece come with extreme risk. But in a year defined by powerful, concentrated rallies, these ETFs performed exactly how investors wanted them to.   
  
![](/sites/default/files/inline-images/bestperformingleveragedetfs_0.png)  
*Note: Data measures total returns in the year-to-date period through Dec. 29.*



 

 

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 [ Sumit Roy Senior ETF Analyst ](/authors/sumit-roy) 

 

 

  Sumit Roy is the senior ETF analyst for etf.com and author of (Don't) Invest Like a Pro. He creates a variety of content for the platform, including…   [View Bio](/authors/sumit-roy)

 



 

 


 Related Topics  [Leveraged](http://www.etf.com/topics/leveraged) 

 [Gold](http://www.etf.com/topics/gold) 

 [Gold Miners](http://www.etf.com/topics/gold-miners) 

 [Silver](http://www.etf.com/topics/silver) 

 [Silver Miners](http://www.etf.com/topics/silver-miners)