Goldman Sachs suggests buying call options as a substitute for stocks, citing recent market gains. The S&P 500 is now just 1.7% away from its February record, driven by the US and China’s agreement to cut tariffs for 90 days. Investors holding outperforming stocks may find this backdrop attractive for replacing them with long calls.
According to John Marshall, head of derivatives research at Goldman Sachs, several buy-rated “stock replacement” names include Meta Platforms, CrowdStrike, Dollar Tree, and Uber Technologies. These companies have outperformed the S&P 500 and their respective sector indexes by more than 10%.
Meta Platforms has seen a solid year, with its stock rising over 18% in 2025 and 17% in the past three months. Goldman notes that Meta’s AI bets are paying off, as it invests $14 billion into Scale AI.
Dollar Tree’s stock has surged over 45% in the past three months, outperforming the consumer staples and discretionary sectors by 20%. However, shares came under pressure after the company reported a possible year-over-year fall of 50% in adjusted earnings per share due to tariffs.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/13/goldman-says-its-a-great-time-for-the-stock-replacement-options-strategy-how-it-works.html