Bill Gates made a massive $373 million turnaround bet on this 1 struggling American sector — and investors barely noticed. Here’s how to copy the billionaire’s strategy in 2025

Both stocks are part of the transportation sector, an economic bellwether which has been beaten down in the last few years amid slow consumption and the so-called freight recession. President-elect Trump’s proposed tariffs may also deliver a blow by raising prices and reducing demand. That makes Gates’ bet on the sector a contrarian move.

Gates hasn't commented on the investments, but the buys signal a more optimistic outlook for transportation and the American economy in 2025 and beyond. It could also be an indication of attractive valuations. Both stocks have a forward price-to-earnings (PE) ratio of 13.8.

Fortunately, such valuations are common across the transportation sector right now. Here’s two other options for investors who like Gates believe the sector is going to accelerate.

UPS

United Parcel Service (UPS) is perhaps one of the most well-recognized brands in the transportation sector. The company’s brown trucks and brown uniformed employees are icons of parcel deliveries in many parts of the world.

Founded in 1907, the firm currently employs around 500,000 people across more than 200 countries and territories, making it one of the largest logistics networks in the world. However, the stock has been on a downtrend for years. It’s currently trading at $129.94 — 44% lower than its peak in early-2022.

But there was good news last quarter. "On our last earnings call, we said that the second quarter would not only be the bottom, but a turning point for our performance, and that we would return to revenue and profit growth in the third quarter, which we did,” said UPS CEO Carol Tome in the latest earnings call with analysts.

Recently, Bernstein analyst David Vernon raised his price target on the stock from $172 to $179, and Bank of America analysts upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, with both notes citing the company's focus on pricing.

Meanwhile, the stock trades at a forward PE ratio of 14.93 and offers an attractive 5.02% dividend yield. For investors seeking an undervalued, contrarian bet on the transportation sector, UPS should be on their watch list.