Stocks
The 50 Best One-Year Returns on the S&P 500 (1980-2022)
The Top S&P 500 Stocks by Annual Returns
The average annual return of the S&P 500 was 10% from 1980-2022, excluding dividends. Of course, there are some companies that deliver much higher returns in any given year.
In this graphic using data from S&P Dow Jones Indices, we explore the top S&P 500 stocks with the best single year returns over the last four decades.
Ranking the Top S&P 500 Stocks
In order to find the top gainers, S&P took the top 10 best-performing stocks each year and then narrowed that list down to the top 50 overall. They ranked the top S&P 500 stocks by price returns, meaning that no dividends or stock distributions were included.
The best gains were clustered in a few select years, including the 1999 dot-com boom, the 2003 stock market rally, and the 2009 recovery from the Global Financial Crisis. None of the biggest gains happened in 2021 or 2022.
Rank | Company | Sector | Return | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Qualcomm | Information Technology | 2620% | 1999 |
2 | Tesla | Consumer Discretionary | 743% | 2020 |
3 | DSC Communications | Communication Services | 468% | 1992 |
4 | Coleco Industries | Consumer Discretionary | 435% | 1982 |
5 | Avaya | Information Technology | 428% | 2003 |
6 | Chrysler | Consumer Discretionary | 426% | 1982 |
7 | XL Capital (Axa XL) | Financials | 395% | 2009 |
8 | Tenet Healthcare | Healthcare | 369% | 2009 |
9 | Dynegy | Utilities | 361% | 2000 |
10 | Advanced Micro Devices | Information Technology | 348% | 2009 |
11 | Sprint | Communication Services | 343% | 1999 |
12 | Ford | Consumer Discretionary | 337% | 2009 |
13 | NEXTEL Communications | Communication Services | 336% | 1999 |
14 | LSI Logic | Information Technology | 319% | 1999 |
15 | NVIDIA | Information Technology | 308% | 2001 |
16 | Nortel Networks | Communication Services | 304% | 1999 |
17 | Etsy | Consumer Discretionary | 302% | 2020 |
18 | Genworth Financial | Financials | 301% | 2009 |
19 | Micron Technology | Information Technology | 300% | 2009 |
20 | NetFlix | Communication Services | 298% | 2013 |
21 | Oracle | Information Technology | 290% | 1999 |
22 | Western Digital | Information Technology | 286% | 2009 |
23 | Network Appliance (NetApp) | Information Technology | 270% | 1999 |
24 | Data General | Information Technology | 267% | 1991 |
25 | Yahoo | Communication Services | 265% | 1999 |
26 | Williams Companies | Energy | 264% | 2003 |
27 | Novell | Information Technology | 264% | 1991 |
28 | Dynegy | Utilities | 263% | 2003 |
29 | Sun Microsystems | Information Technology | 262% | 1999 |
30 | PMC-Sierra | Information Technology | 262% | 2003 |
31 | Advanced Micro Devices | Information Technology | 259% | 1991 |
32 | Dell | Information Technology | 248% | 1998 |
33 | Global Marine | Energy | 247% | 1980 |
34 | Micron Technology | Information Technology | 243% | 2013 |
35 | Best Buy | Consumer Discretionary | 237% | 2013 |
36 | Reebok | Consumer Discretionary | 234% | 2000 |
37 | Freeport-McMoRan | Materials | 229% | 2009 |
38 | Biomet (Zimmer Biomet) | Healthcare | 226% | 1991 |
39 | NVIDIA | Information Technology | 224% | 2016 |
40 | Gap | Consumer Discretionary | 223% | 1991 |
41 | NetFlix | Communication Services | 219% | 2010 |
42 | Fleetwood Enterprises (Fleetwood RV) | Consumer Discretionary | 217% | 1982 |
43 | National Semiconductor | Information Technology | 217% | 1999 |
44 | Dell | Information Technology | 216% | 1997 |
45 | Tandy Corp (RadioShack) | Information Technology | 216% | 1980 |
46 | Novell | Information Technology | 215% | 2003 |
47 | Corning | Information Technology | 215% | 2003 |
48 | CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) | Real Estate | 214% | 2009 |
49 | AES Corp | Utilities | 213% | 2003 |
50 | Expedia | Consumer Discretionary | 212% | 2009 |
Qualcomm was by far the top-performer in any one calendar year window. The company had key patents for Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology, which enabled fast wireless internet access and became the basis for 3G networks.
Its stock took off in 1999 as it shed less profitable business lines, resolved a patent dispute with competitor Ericsson, and joined the S&P 500 Index. At the time, CNN reported that one lucky investor who heard about Qualcomm from an investment-banker-turned-rabbi earned $17 million—roughly $30 million in today’s dollars.
The most recent stocks to make the rankings were both from 2020: well-known Tesla (#2) and lesser-known online marketplace Etsy (#17), which saw sales from independent creators surge during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The dollar value of items sold on Etsy more than doubled from $5.3 billion in 2019 to $10.3 billion in 2020, with mask sales accounting for 7% of the total.
Biggest Gainers in Each Sector
While information technology stocks made up nearly half of the list, there is representation from nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors. No companies from the Industrials or Consumer Staples sectors made it into the ranks of the top S&P 500 stocks by annual returns.
Below, we show the stock with the best annual return for each sector.
Tesla was the top-performing Consumer Discretionary stock on the list. After meeting the requirement of four consecutive quarters of positive earnings, it joined the S&P 500 Index on December 21, 2020. The company’s performance was boosted by the announcement that it would be included in the S&P 500, along with strong performance in China, and general EV buzz as environmental regulations tightened worldwide.
In the realm of Communication Services, DSC Communications saw a sizable return in 1992. The telecommunications equipment company had contracts with major companies such as Bell and Motorola. Alcatel-Lucent (then Alcatel), a French producer of mobile phones, purchased DSC Communications in 1998.
Serial Success Stories
It’s impressive to make the list of the top S&P 500 stocks by calendar returns once, but there are seven companies that have done it twice.
Some stocks saw their repeated outperformance close together, with Dell making the ranks back-to-back in 1997 and 1998.
On the other hand, a select few have more staying power. Computing giant NVIDIA topped the charts in 2001 and triumphed again 15 years later in 2016. And this year might be another win, as the company has recently reached a $1 trillion market capitalization and has the highest year-to-date return in the S&P 500 as of July 6, 2023.
Markets
The 50 Most Valuable Companies in the World in 2023
The world’s 50 most valuable companies represent over $25 trillion in market cap. We break this massive figure down by company and sector.

The 50 Most Valuable Companies in the World
Market capitalization, or market cap, is one measure of a company’s value as determined by the stock market. It is easily calculated by multiplying the company’s outstanding shares by its current share price.
In this graphic, we present a treemap chart that visualizes the world’s top 50 publicly-traded companies by market cap, using data as of Aug. 16, 2023.
Editor’s note: While market capitalization is a simple way to compare publicly-traded companies, it does have some limitations. Most importantly, it does not include debt or cash in the calculation.
Data and Highlights
All of the data we used to create this graphic is included in the table below.
Company | Sector | Country | Market Cap (USD billions) |
---|---|---|---|
Apple | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $2,777 |
Microsoft | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $2,382 |
Saudi Aramco | Energy | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | $2,222 |
Alphabet | Communication Services | 🇺🇸 US | $1,636 |
Amazon | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 US | $1,385 |
NVIDIA | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $1,074 |
Berkshire Hathaway | Financials | 🇺🇸 US | $774 |
Meta Platforms | Communication Services | 🇺🇸 US | $754 |
Tesla | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 US | $715 |
Eli Lilly | Health Care | 🇺🇸 US | $519 |
Visa | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $501 |
TSMC | Information Technology | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | $476 |
UnitedHealth | Health Care | 🇺🇸 US | $469 |
Johnson & Johnson | Health Care | 🇺🇸 US | $448 |
LVMH | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France | $442 |
JPMorgan Chase | Financials | 🇺🇸 US | $436 |
Exxon Mobil | Energy | 🇺🇸 US | $430 |
Walmart | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 US | $429 |
Novo Nordisk | Health Care | 🇩🇰 Denmark | $418 |
Tencent | Communication Services | 🇨🇳 China | $389 |
Mastercard | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $374 |
Procter & Gamble | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 US | $361 |
Broadcom | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $344 |
Samsung | Information Technology | 🇰🇷 South Korea | $341 |
Home Depot | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 US | $335 |
Kweichow Moutai | Consumer Staples | 🇨🇳 China | $319 |
Nestlé | Consumer Staples | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | $319 |
Oracle | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $313 |
Chevron | Energy | 🇺🇸 US | $297 |
Merck | Health Care | 🇺🇸 US | $276 |
AbbVie | Health Care | 🇺🇸 US | $267 |
Coca-Cola | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 US | $262 |
ASML | Information Technology | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $258 |
Pepsico | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 US | $249 |
Costco | Consumer Staples | 🇺🇸 US | $248 |
L'Oréal | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France | $244 |
Roche | Health Care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | $241 |
International Holding Company | Financials | 🇦🇪 UAE | $240 |
Adobe | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $235 |
Bank of America | Financials | 🇺🇸 US | $233 |
Alibaba | Consumer Discretionary | 🇨🇳 China | $228 |
Hermès | Consumer Discretionary | 🇫🇷 France | $227 |
Toyota | Consumer Discretionary | 🇯🇵 Japan | $220 |
Novartis | Health Care | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | $216 |
AstraZeneca | Health Care | 🇬🇧 UK | $216 |
Cisco | Information Technology | 🇺🇸 US | $216 |
Reliance Industries | Energy | 🇮🇳 India | $213 |
McDonald | Consumer Discretionary | 🇺🇸 US | $208 |
Thermo Fisher Scientific | Health Care | 🇺🇸 US | $204 |
Shell | Energy | 🇬🇧 UK | $204 |
From this data, we can see that there are only a handful of trillion dollar companies in the world, including Apple, Microsoft, Saudi Aramco, Amazon, Alphabet, and Nvidia.
Two former members of the trillion dollar club are Meta and Tesla, but both companies currently hover around the $700 billion range in terms of market capitalization. In 2022, Meta lost significant value as its earnings fell, while Tesla suffered from demand concerns.
Altogether, the 50 most valuable companies represent over $26.5 trillion in shareholder value. At a sector level, Information Technology is the most represented in the top 50, with $9.3 trillion in combined market cap. The next biggest sectors are Consumer Discretionary ($4.0 trillion) and Health Care ($3.3 trillion).
Geographical Breakdown
At a geographical level, the majority of the 50 most valuable companies are American. The following chart shows each country’s tally.
After the U.S., the three most represented countries are Switzerland, France, and China, with three companies apiece.
From Switzerland are companies such as Nestlé, Roche, and Novartis. The latter two are major players in the healthcare industry.
France’s companies in the top 50 list all belong to the Consumer Discretionary sector, and include fashion giants LVMH and Hermès, as well as L’Oréal, a global leader in cosmetics. Earlier this year, LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault was officially the richest person in the world with a fortune of $215 billion.
Finally, from the Chinese side are two globally-recognized names in Tencent and Alibaba. China’s third company on this list is Kweichow Moutai, a partially state-owned producer of alcoholic beverages.
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