Datastream
Chart: The 20 Top Stocks of 2020 by Price Return
The Briefing
- In 2020, a handful of companies thrived in the face of the pandemic
- Medical stocks made up nine of the top 20 stocks, followed by seven in the Tech/Online category
Chart: The 20 Top Stocks of 2020, by Price Return and EPS
In the whirlwind of the pandemic, most businesses experienced chaos. From shuttered physical stores to the rapid rise of online activity, only a select few companies successfully weathered the storm.
We look at the 20 top stocks of 2020 by price return (% change), and earnings per share (EPS), which is an indicator of a company’s profitability.
EPS is calculated by dividing a company’s profit by its outstanding shares of common stock. The higher an EPS value, the more profitable a company is deemed.
A Closer Look at the Leaderboard
Tesla’s value surged in 2020, as it raked in 743.4% in returns—the highest of any stock. In fact, it’s the only automaker to enter this list.
Rank | Company | Industry | % Change | EPS, Q3’2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|
#1 | Tesla Inc | Other (Auto Manufacturer) | 743.4% | $0.27 |
#2 | Fiverr International Ltd | Tech/Online (Retail) | 730.2% | -$0.01 |
#3 | Twist Bioscience Corp | Medical (Biotech) | 572.8% | -$0.36 |
#4 | Enphase Energy Inc | Other (Solar Energy | 571.5% | $0.28 |
#5 | Peloton Interactive Cl A | Tech/Online (Leisure) | 434.2% | $0.20 |
#6 | Moderna Inc | Medical (Biotech) | 434.1% | -$0.59 |
#7 | Curevac N V | Medical (Biotech) | 406.7% | N/A |
#8 | Sunrun Inc | Other (Solar Energy) | 402.4% | $0.28 |
#9 | Zoom Video Comm Cl A | Tech/Online (Software) | 395.8% | $0.66 |
#10 | Sea Limited Ads Cl A | Tech/Online (Retail, Leisure) | 394.9% | N/A |
#11 | Denali Therapeutics Inc | Medical (Biotech) | 380.6% | -$0.54 |
#12 | Beam Therapeutics Inc | Medical (Biotech) | 380.2% | -$0.69 |
#13 | Pinduoduo Inc Cl A Ads | Tech/Online (Retail) | 369.8% | -$0.10 |
#14 | Silvergate Cap Corp Cl A | Other (Finance/Banks) | 367.1% | N/A |
#15 | Schrodinger Inc | Medical (Service) | 365.8% | $0.05 |
#16 | Fate Therapeutics Inc | Medical (Biotech) | 364.6% | -$0.68 |
#17 | Bilibili Inc Cl Z Ads | Tech/Online (Leisure) | 360.4% | -$0.45 |
#18 | Inari Medical Inc | Medical (Service) | 359.4% | N/A |
#19 | Alx Oncology Holding Inc | Medical (Biotech) | 353.7% | N/A |
#20 | Cloudflare Inc Cl A | Tech/Online (Software) | 345.4% | -$0.09 |
Zoom comes out on top with $0.66 in earnings per share. This is likely a result of society’s increased reliance on its videoconferencing capabilities, a trend that became clear quite early on last year.
Notable Stocks by Category
If we look at the overall categories, the medical industry pulled in nine of the top 20 stocks in 2020. As the world scrambled to develop an immunization against COVID-19, Moderna was one of the first companies to get there, announcing a vaccine with 94.1% efficacy. As a result, the company showed an impressive 434% in returns.
The Tech/Online category came in second, although slightly more diversification is found here, ranging from software to retail and leisure:
- In the growing global gig economy, Fiverr’s platform connects freelancers with those in need of their services.
- Peloton is tapping into the lucrative home fitness market, particularly with people now spending more time at home.
- Sea Ltd. is a Southeast Asian conglomerate with business verticals across ecommerce, online gaming, and digital payments.
One final interesting observation is that of the stocks in the Other category, two of them deal in the business of solar energy, exhibiting high returns and similar EPS values, likely from a global shift towards cleaner energy sources.
Where does this data come from?
Source: 2020 Price Return (% Change) values are from Investors Business Daily
EPS values come from Macrotrends, the latest data reported by all companies is from Q3’2020.
Methodology: All stocks on the list have an average daily trading volume of 100,000 shares or more and were priced at $12 or higher at the start of the year. Closed-end funds were excluded. Prices and other data shown are as of Dec. 31, 2020. N/A means that EPS data for that company was unavailable.
Datastream
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Using data from the UN, this chart shows civilian death toll figures resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Briefing
- In total, since the war began in February there have been over 7,031 Ukrainian civilian deaths
- Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons, such as missiles and heavy artillery
Charted: The Ukraine War Civilian Death Toll
Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine has wrought suffering and death on a mass scale, with many Russian attacks targeted at civilians.
We’ve created this visual using data from the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to better understand how many civilians have died in Ukraine as a result of the war, as well as how many were injured and how many were children.
The Numbers
As of early December, it is reported that 7,031 people in Ukraine have died because of the war — 433 of them children. Another 11,327 have been injured, 827 of which are children. In total, this is over 18,000 people killed or injured.
The figures are difficult to verify due to differing reports coming out of both Russia and Ukraine. The UN OHCHR anticipates that the numbers could be even higher.
The State of the Conflict
The war began on February 24th, 2022 and less than a year in, millions of people have been displaced by the conflict, and thousands of civilians have been injured or killed.
According to the UN, most of the civilian deaths have been caused by wide-ranging explosives such as heavy artillery shelling, missiles, and air strikes, and have been concentrated in Donetsk and Luhansk and in other territory still held by Ukraine.
Additionally, new estimates from Kyiv report approximately 13,000 Ukrainian military or soldier deaths, which has yet to be confirmed by the army.
Where does this data come from?
Source: The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights monthly reports on civilian deaths in Ukraine.
Note: Data on deaths and injuries can vary wildly depending on the source.
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