Making sense of market moves
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Time really does fly when you’re having fun, and the bulls had a delightful time this year. All three major indexes managed to hit new all-time highs, despite global headwinds like sticky inflation, slowing economies in Europe and China, and the release of Katy Perry’s new album.
But which stocks managed to break away from the pack and outperform everyone else in 2024?
Here are some of the top stocks on the S&P 500:
- Palantir: The best-performing stock in the S&P 500 index this year was AI firm Palantir, which rose 367%. The stock got the ultimate stamp of approval in December, joining the Nasdaq 100 index for the first time. Its growth was propelled by lucrative government contracts for its intelligence software, which is used by federal agencies and militaries. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives called the stock the “Messi of AI growth story” in a November note.
- Vistra Corp: This power producer had an electric 2024, surging 268% this year. Vistra got a boost from its foray into nuclear power, which will power energy-guzzling AI data centers.
- Nvidia: You know it, you love it, you wish you had the foresight to dedicate your life to becoming a semiconductor manufacturing expert decades ago to create it yourself: It’s Kingvidia. Despite underperforming its 2023 record, the stock still soared over 187% this year, constantly smashing its earnings reports out of the park and proving to investors that it’s still got it.
But the highest flying names of all weren’t the corporate giants you’re used to hearing about. We saw some truly gargantuan returns among smaller caps this year, too:
- Microstrategy: This software firm has bitcoin, bitcoin, and more bitcoin on its Christmas list every year. The company now owns roughly 440,000 bitcoins. With the cryptocurrency becoming the best performing asset of the decade, it dragged one of its biggest buyers up with it, sending shares 343% higher this year.
- Applovin Corp: This adtech and gaming company recently saw its market value cross the $100 billion milestone in December after rallying 764% this year. The company, which helps app creators monetize through advertising, entered the Nasdaq 100 in November. According to Piper Sandler, the firm’s market share is now 42% of the mobile gaming market.
- GeneDX Holdings: This under-the-radar genomic sequencing company shot up a staggering 2,810% over 2024—making it the best-performing company in the entire Russell 2000 index. Despite the fact that the firm has yet to turn a profit, investors were psyched about the company’s biotechnology and a management turnaround.
The big picture: Seeing these returns, you might be tempted to throw all of your life savings into a single-stock leveraged ETF.
But there’s a reason even the savviest money managers in the world still have a hard time beating broad index funds: Stock picking is just plain hard. Hindsight is 20/20, so don’t feel bad if you missed these incredible rallies—you’ll get ‘em next time.—LB