Over the past few weeks, fluctuating polls have shown that Donald Trump has narrowed Hillary Clinton's lead, improving his odds of becoming president. As the presidential race hurdles towards the November finish line, a few stocks stand out as potential winners if Trump is elected.

In general, energy and military-based companies stand the best chance of substantial gains. Under a Trump presidency, coal industries, for example, would avoid the substantial hit from Clinton's promise to close down plants and enact stricter regulations. In addition to coal and oil stocks such as Cloud Peak Energy Inc. (NYSE:CLD), Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL), and Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE:CLR), companies that provide for military, including Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) and Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT), will also benefit.

English: Halliburton Annual Revenue (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Halliburton Profit Jumps 17%

Halliburton beat its earnings expectations with a seventeen percent profit jump this week, owing largely to its operations on a global scale. The oilfield company, which as traditionally seen dominance in U.S. markets, points to its expansion efforts in the Eastern hemisphere as its source of success. The company states that it has invested over one billion dollars in new facilities (notably in Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Brazil) and cites its continued global expansion as a major source of profit. Halliburton was not the only company to post gains on Monday - its two largest rivals continued their own oil-drilling growth and increased their profits handily.