Datastream
Here’s What $1,000 Invested in Vaccine Stocks Would Be Worth Now
The Briefing
- Three of seven COVID-19 vaccine stocks have outperformed the S&P 500 since the beginning of the global pandemic
- Novavax is the highest performing vaccine stock, returning 1,549% to shareholders
Vaccine Stocks During a Pandemic
It’s often said that with every crisis comes great opportunity.
While such catastrophes do create upheaval and uncertainty in financial markets, they can also lead to new opportunities for investors, as asset classes react to different environments.
Since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic on March 11, 2020, the performance of vaccine stocks have been varied—but with some notable winners that notched triple or quadruple digit returns.
Here’s how much a $1,000 investment would be worth as of March 31, 2021, if you had put money into each vaccine stock at the start of the pandemic:
Stock | Value of Investment | % Growth | Market Cap ($B) |
---|---|---|---|
Novavax | $16,491 | 1,549.1% | $14.3 |
Moderna | $5,019 | 401.9% | $59.9 |
BioNTech | $3,247 | 224.7% | $31.3 |
Johnson & Johnson | $1,252 | 25.2% | $419.8 |
Pfizer | $1,122 | 12.2% | $207.2 |
AstraZeneca | $1,121 | 12.1% | $93.8 |
Sanofi | $1,096 | 9.6% | $105.2 |
The Business of Vaccines
The returns on vaccine stocks have varied greatly. They are staggering in the case of Novavax and Moderna, but also seem quite underwhelming, when considering the likes of Sanofi, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer.
One factor for the discrepancy in stock price performance is the revenue potential from vaccine sales relative to the rest of the existing business, as vaccine sales will have a much greater impact on the fundamentals of smaller companies.
For example, before the pandemic, Novavax had revenues of just $18.7 million—this meant that capturing any portion of global vaccine sales would create massive value for shareholders. On the flipside, vaccine sales are much less likely to impact the fundamentals of Sanofi’s business, since the company already is generating $40.5 billion in revenue.
To put it into perspective, analysts are expecting total sales from COVID-19 vaccines to be around $100 billion, with $40 billion in post-tax profits.
Vaccine Stocks vs the S&P 500
Even in a booming and valuable industry, it’s difficult to identify the long-term leaders. For example, in the mobile phone market, there was a time where the likes of Motorola, Nokia, and Blackberry appeared untouchable, but eventually lost out.
Similarly, with the limited information available at the start of the pandemic, few, if any, could have separated the winners and losers from this group with accuracy.
In the past year, the S&P 500 grew 44.9%—meaning that only three of the seven vaccine stocks have seen their share prices outperform the market.
Nobody said helping solve a global pandemic guarantees a pay off.
Where does this data come from?
Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence
Notes: Investment growth is calculated between March 11, 2020-March 31, 2021. All market capitalization values are as of March 31, 2021.
Datastream
Ranked: The Top Online Music Services in the U.S. by Monthly Users
This graphic shows the percentage of Americans that are monthly music listeners for each service. Which online music service is most popular?

The Briefing
- Two-thirds of music listeners in the U.S. used YouTube at least once per month
- 64% of music listeners use multiple music services per month
The Top Online Music Services in the U.S.
The music streaming industry is characterized by fierce competition, with many companies vying for market share.
Companies are competing on multiple fronts, from price and features to advertising and exclusive content, making it a challenging market for companies to succeed in.
YouTube (the standard offering and YouTube Music) has the highest amount of users, attracting around two-thirds of music listeners in the U.S. during a given month. This is largely due to the YouTube’s massive reach and extensive catalog of music.
Here’s a full rundown of the top music streaming services in the U.S. by monthly listeners:
Rank | Music Service | % of U.S. Music Listeners Who Use Monthly |
---|---|---|
#1 | YouTube | 61% |
#2T | Spotify | 35% |
#2T | Amazon Music | 35% |
#4 | Pandora | 23% |
#5 | SiriusXM | 21% |
#6 | Apple Music | 19% |
#7 | iHeartRadio | 15% |
#8 | SoundCloud | 10% |
#9 | Audacity | 6% |
#10T | TuneIn | 5% |
#10T | Deezer | 5% |
#10T | Napster | 5% |
#10T | Tidal | 5% |
Two companies are in the running for second place: Spotify and Amazon Music.
Spotify leads in one important metric: number of paid users. Meanwhile, Amazon Music has a large user base since the service is bundled into Prime—however, recent changes mean that without a premium subscription, shuffled playback is the primary option. Time will tell what impact those changes will have on the service’s market share.
Prices for premium music services are beginning to creep upward. Apple Music and Amazon Music raised their prices, and it’s rumored that Spotify will not be far behind. This move would be significant because, in the U.S., Spotify hasn’t raised its prices in over a decade.
Rising prices and more aggressive promotion of premium subscriptions could be a signal that music streaming services are transitioning from a focus on capturing market share to monetizing existing users.
Where does this data come from?
Source: Activate Technology and Media Outlook 2023 by Activate Consulting
Data note: “Music services” include free and paid services used for listening to music through any format excluding terrestrial radio. “Music listeners” are defined as adults aged 18+ who spend any time listening to music.
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