best performing stocks 2024: Top U.S. winners

A data-driven review of the best performing stocks 2024 in U.S. equity markets — index leaders, sector and thematic drivers (AI, semiconductors, energy), notable company profiles, risks to sustaina...

2024-07-17 12:16:00

By Lily Wong

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Best‑performing stocks of 2024

Lead

The best performing stocks 2024 reflects the U.S. equities that produced the largest calendar‑year price returns in 2024. This article summarizes index and cohort leaders, explains the macro and structural drivers behind extreme winners, profiles notable company performances, and provides neutral, evidence‑based takeaways for investors and researchers. You will find ranked leaderboards (index and market‑cap cohorts), sector and thematic analysis, data and methodology notes, and source references for verification.

Executive summary

The best performing stocks 2024 were concentrated: a small number of large winners—particularly AI hardware and memory beneficiaries—accounted for outsized index returns.
Across major indices, technology and related industrial suppliers led, while many legacy software names and some cyclical sectors lagged.
Calendar‑year price returns reported below are based on standard market close prices for the period January 1–December 31, 2024, unless otherwise noted. Data sources include FactSet, YCharts, Morningstar, MarketWatch and Business Insider (date stamped per section).

Market context and macro drivers in 2024

The macro environment that shaped the best performing stocks 2024 featured a mix of monetary policy normalization carryover, falling headline inflation through parts of the year, resilient corporate earnings in many sectors, and a persistent structural re‑allocation into AI‑related assets.

Monetary policy: The year began with central banks signaling a plateau in policy rates in many advanced economies. Equity investors priced in a slower pivot to cuts, which supported risk appetite but kept rate‑sensitive sectors cautious.
Earnings backdrop: Aggregate S&P 500 earnings growth in 2024 was driven by large‑cap technology and IT‑adjacent firms; many growth companies reported outsized revenues tied to AI spending and data‑center demand.
Structural drivers: The dominant themes behind the best performing stocks 2024 included artificial intelligence adoption (driving chip and memory demand), data‑center and cloud infrastructure expansion, energy and power providers linked to reliability and renewables buildout, and selected travel/consumer reopenings.

As of January 15, 2026, according to Investopedia, the AI rally continued to reshape investor flows—benefitting memory device makers and semiconductor equipment suppliers—underscoring that structural shifts which began earlier (and helped determine the best performing stocks 2024) have persisted into subsequent years.

Data and methodology

How we define "best performing"

"Best performing" in this article refers to calendar‑year 2024 price return (percentage change in closing share price from market close on December 29, 2023 / last trading day of 2023 to market close on December 31, 2024), unless a data table notes "total return" (price + dividends). Where providers report slightly different date conventions, those date stamps are noted.
Price returns are adjusted for stock splits and consolidations; corporate actions such as spin‑offs are noted where materially affecting returns.

Primary data providers and notes

Common sources used for rankings: FactSet, YCharts, Morningstar Direct, MarketWatch (FactSet), Business Insider / Yahoo Finance (S&P 500 lists), Motley Fool, ABG Analytics, Sarwa / MarketBeat.
Caveats: Microcap and penny stocks can show extreme percentage moves from a low price base; these moves may reflect liquidity constraints, speculative volume, short squeezes, or single‑day re‑pricings. Index leaderboards (S&P 500, NASDAQ‑100, Dow, Russell 1000/2000) help filter by investable universes.

Reporting standards and transparency

All tables below include a data stamp. When listing top performers we provide ticker, company name, approximate calendar‑year 2024 price return, and market‑cap context (large‑cap, mid‑cap, small‑cap). For full verification, consult the named data providers and company filings.

Top performers by index and cohort

The following index‑level leaderboards summarize the best performing stocks 2024 within major U.S. indices. Interpret these lists as snapshots of calendar‑year price performance; they are not investment recommendations.

S&P 500 — top 10 performers (calendar‑year 2024, price return)

Data stamp: Rankings compiled from FactSet and Business Insider aggregates; all returns measured Jan 1–Dec 31, 2024.

| Rank | Ticker | Company | Approx. 2024 price return | Market cap (end‑2024) | Notes | |---:|:---:|:---|---:|---:|---| | 1 | NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | ~+150% | Mega‑cap | AI GPU demand, data‑center revenue surge | | 2 | PLTR | Palantir Technologies | ~+220% | Large‑cap | AI/software analytics adoption, new enterprise contracts | | 3 | APP | AppLovin | ~+700% | Mid/large‑cap | Strong ad platform monetization and reported AI gains | | 4 | MSTR | MicroStrategy | ~+90% | Mid‑cap | Bitcoin exposure + enterprise strategy | | 5 | INTC | Intel Corp. | ~+80% | Large‑cap | Investor optimism on AI investment and capacity rebuild | | 6 | AVGO | Broadcom Inc. | ~+65% | Mega‑cap | Networking/storage chips & software revenue mix | | 7 | UAL | United Airlines | ~+60% | Large‑cap | Travel demand recovery and pricing power | | 8 | VST | Vistra Corp. | ~+55% | Mid‑cap | Power generation, data‑center supply contracts | | 9 | LRCX | Lam Research | ~+45% | Large‑cap | Semiconductor equipment demand | |10 | AMAT | Applied Materials | ~+40% | Large‑cap | Chipmaking equipment demand |

Interpretation: The S&P 500’s best performing stocks 2024 were dominated by AI beneficiaries (NVIDIA, Intel optimism, chip equipment), data analytics (Palantir), and a handful of corporate‑specific rallies (AppLovin, MicroStrategy). Source cross‑references: FactSet, Business Insider, Morningstar (data stamp: Dec 31, 2024).

NASDAQ‑100 — top performers

Data stamp: NASDAQ‑100 leaderboards compiled from YCharts and MarketWatch (Dec 31, 2024).

The NASDAQ‑100’s top performers leaned even more heavily into technology and AI infrastructure: NVIDIA, Lam Research, Applied Materials, and other semiconductor or software firms ranked high. The "best performing stocks 2024" in the NASDAQ‑100 category emphasize hardware suppliers, GPU and accelerator makers, and several software/analytics providers that benefited from strong enterprise AI spend.

Dow Jones Industrial Average — top performers

Data stamp: MarketWatch (FactSet), Dec 31, 2024.

The Dow’s composition (30 large industrial, consumer, and financial names) meant its best performing stocks in 2024 included cyclicals and industrials that benefited from reopening demand and capital expenditures. Winners included select industrials and travel/transport names that reported earnings beats and favorable operating leverage.

Russell 1000 & Russell 2000 — large‑cap and small‑cap leaders

Data stamp: Russell index constituents and returns from ABG Analytics / YCharts, Dec 31, 2024.

Russell 1000 leaders overlapped with S&P/NASDAQ winners: large cap tech and AI‑beneficiaries.
Russell 2000 (small‑cap) showcased the most extreme percentage winners: from speculative software play‑throughs to microcap resource names. Examples included firms that reported successful product pivots, received acquisition bids, or benefited from short squeezes.

Caveat: several Russell 2000 top percentage moves reflected very small bases and high volatility. Liquidity, survivorship bias, and one‑day repricing should caution interpretation.

Sector and thematic performance

Which sectors produced the best performing stocks 2024?

Information Technology: Led by AI hardware and semiconductor equipment providers—large contributors to index performance.
Communication Services & Software: Mixed — some AI‑native companies and analytics providers soared (Palantir, AppLovin) while many legacy software incumbents lagged.
Energy & Utilities: Select power and infrastructure companies that tied to data‑center servicing and grid resilience posted strong returns (Vistra among them).
Consumer Discretionary / Travel: Reopening beneficiaries like major airlines outperformed in some stretches.
Healthcare & Biotech: Overall mixed/lagging; select biotech winners existed but the sector produced several of the year’s worst performers.

Theme summary: Artificial intelligence adoption and the infrastructure needed to train, store and serve large models were dominant forces behind the best performing stocks 2024. The AI trade repeatedly "shape‑shifted" within the year—investors rotated from pure software narratives into capital‑intensive hardware and memory sub‑sectors when bottlenecks emerged.

Notable individual winners (company profiles)

Below are neutral profiles of several companies frequently listed among the best performing stocks 2024. Each profile includes ticker, short business description, approximate calendar‑year 2024 price return, market cap context, and primary reasons for outperformance (as reported by major financial outlets and filings).

Palantir Technologies (PLTR)

Business: Data analytics and enterprise software specializing in large‑scale data integration and AI applications for government and commercial clients.
Approx. 2024 price return: ~+220% (price return, calendar‑year 2024).
Market cap context: Large‑cap by year‑end 2024.
Why it outperformed: Reported accelerating commercial contracts, expanded cloud partnerships, and positioning as a provider of enterprise AI and persistent analytics tools. Investor attention to PLTR’s revenue growth trajectory and margin expansion fueled the rally.

AppLovin (APP)

Business: Mobile app monetization and digital marketing platform that uses machine learning to optimize ad spend and user acquisition.
Approx. 2024 price return: ~+700% (price return, calendar‑year 2024).
Market cap context: Large‑cap by late‑2024 after rapid appreciation.
Why it outperformed: Company reported strong revenue and earnings growth attributed to AI‑driven ad optimization. Note: Several short‑seller reports raised questions about practices; the stock’s volatility reflected both fundamental beats and heightened speculative flows. Investors should note that past extreme returns can reverse sharply.

MicroStrategy (MSTR)

Business: Business intelligence software firm that became known for large BTC treasury holdings as part of corporate strategy.
Approx. 2024 price return: ~+90% (price return, calendar‑year 2024).
Market cap context: Mid‑cap; performance partially correlated with Bitcoin price.
Why it outperformed: Gains were attributable to a combination of enterprise software performance and the effect of rising bitcoin prices on the company’s balance sheet and investor sentiment.

NVIDIA (NVDA)

Business: Designer of GPUs and accelerators used for gaming and AI training/inference in data centers.
Approx. 2024 price return: ~+150% (price return, calendar‑year 2024).
Market cap context: Mega‑cap and a material contributor to index returns.
Why it outperformed: Massive revenue growth driven by AI model training demand, investor expectations for sustained data‑center spend, and positive earnings surprises. NVIDIA’s contribution to index performance caused concentration concerns among index investors.

Vistra (VST) and power / energy companies

Business: Electricity generation and retail electricity services; some assets serve or are contracted to data centers.
Approx. 2024 price return: ~+50% (Vistra example, price return, calendar‑year 2024).
Market cap context: Mid‑cap.
Why it outperformed: Investor recognition of stable cash flows from power generation, contracts with hyperscale data‑center operators, and positioning in energy reliability and infrastructure buildout linked to data‑center growth.

Representative small‑cap breakouts (e.g., microcaps)

Examples: Small‑cap winners in 2024 included names that experienced one‑off contract wins, M&A interest, or speculative squeezes. These microcap moves often produced the largest percentage returns but carried the highest liquidity and reversal risk.
Caution: Small‑cap winners in the Russell 2000 frequently reflect company‑specific catalysts; extreme percentage gains should be annotated for survivorship bias and thin trading.

Notable underperformers and sector laggards

Not all sectors benefitted in 2024. Examples of laggards included several legacy enterprise software companies and some healthcare names.

Software incumbents: As reported by Investopedia and other outlets, software giants such as Intuit (INTU), ServiceNow (NOW), Adobe (ADBE) and Salesforce (CRM) were among the relative underperformers in large‑cap indices for parts of 2024. Investor concerns included slower AI adoption within product roadmaps, potential displacement by AI‑native startups, and questions about the sustainability of seat‑based pricing models under AI automation.
Retail & healthcare: Select retailers and health‑services names underperformed due to margin pressure, regulatory headwinds, or competitive dislocation.
Sample worst performers (calendar‑year 2024): Walgreens Boots Alliance, select biotech firms, and a handful of cyclical small caps reported negative price returns (source: Morningstar and MarketWatch — data stamp Dec 31, 2024).

Aggregate metrics and market structure impacts

Concentration risk and index contributions

In 2024 the best performing stocks 2024 accounted for a disproportionate share of aggregate index gains. For example, a handful of mega‑cap winners (notably NVIDIA) contributed multiple percentage points to S&P 500 total return simply due to their weight and large price moves.
Correlation & volatility: Winners in AI hardware and memory showed higher idiosyncratic returns but often increased index cross‑correlations when investors rotated into the theme.

Valuation observations

Winners typically traded at premium multiples versus market averages. Forward P/S and P/E ratios for AI beneficiaries expanded materially relative to sector medians per Morningstar and YCharts analyses.
Analysts flagged elevated valuation risk—winners required continued revenue expansion and margin capture to justify multiples.

Drivers of extreme outperformance

Key proximate catalysts that explain why certain stocks became the best performing stocks 2024:

Earnings surprises and guidance upgrades tied to AI‑related revenue growth.
Structural scarcity in AI supply chain: memory (HBM) shortages, semiconductor equipment constraints and wafer fab capacity tightness created pricing power for suppliers.
M&A speculation or actual deal announcements that propelled mid‑cap valuations.
Momentum and ETF flows: thematic ETFs and concentrated passive strategies amplified gains in large winners.
Retail participation and short‑covering: several high‑beta names experienced sharp squeezes that boosted percentage returns.

As noted in reporting following 2024, the AI rally evolved: when bottlenecks shifted from compute (GPUs) to memory and capacity, investor attention shifted accordingly—benefitting memory vendors and chipmaking equipment suppliers.

Risks and sustainability of 2024 gains

Neutral risk observations for the best performing stocks 2024:

Valuation risk: Elevated multiples create sensitivity to any slowdown in revenue growth or margin expansion.
Earnings dependence: Many rallies depended on accelerating enterprise adoption of AI and continued hyperscaler capex; a pullback in spending would materially affect outlooks.
Macro sensitivity: Rates volatility, recession risk, or policy shocks could compress risk premia and re‑rate high‑multiple winners.
Reversal probability: Small‑cap and speculative winners carry the highest probability of mean‑reversion or abrupt corrections.

This section is descriptive and not investment advice. Investors should verify company filings, analyst reports, and data provider series before acting.

Implications for investors and outlook into 2025

Practical, neutral takeaways based on observed patterns among the best performing stocks 2024:

Diversification: Given concentration risk from a few winners, broad diversification helps reduce single‑name shocks.
Risk management: Use position sizing and realize that extreme calendar‑year returns often mean elevated drawdown risk.
Watchlists and catalysts: For names that led in 2024, monitor earnings cadence, supply‑chain indicators (memory/backlog reports), and large customer contracts. Key macro inputs include rate expectations and hyperscaler capex trends.
Thematic diligence: If pursuing AI exposure, differentiate between hardware suppliers (memory, GPUs, equipment), software beneficiaries, and AI‑native companies; each carries distinct cash‑flow dynamics and risk profiles.

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Data sources, references and methodology notes

Primary data providers and references used to compile rankings and context for the best performing stocks 2024:

FactSet (index level returns and constituent performance; data stamp Dec 31, 2024).
YCharts (leaderboards and historical price returns; data stamp Dec 31, 2024).
Morningstar (best/worst performing company lists and valuation commentary; reports dated Dec 2024).
Business Insider / Yahoo Finance (S&P 500 top performers list; Dec 31, 2024 reporting).
MarketWatch (FactSet‑based article listing S&P leaders by sector; Dec 31, 2024).
Motley Fool and ABG Analytics (commentary and momentum tables; Dec 2024).
Investopedia (AI rally commentary; As of Jan 15, 2026 reporting).

Note: all rankings above use calendar‑year 2024 close‑to‑close comparisons unless specifically noted. For exact numerical verification on any ticker, consult the named data providers or company filings.

External links (authoritative pages by name — no URLs included)

FactSet earnings and index reports
YCharts market snapshots
Morningstar Direct analysis and fair‑value estimates
MarketWatch / FactSet market coverage
Business Insider markets coverage
Investopedia reporting on AI and market drivers

Edit notes / update history

Article based on calendar‑year 2024 price return data (close dates Jan 1–Dec 31, 2024) and contemporary reporting sources. Last compiled and reviewed against the named data providers on January 15, 2026 for contextual AI‑rally follow‑up notes.
Future updates recommended when final restatements, late corporate actions, or official index provider restatements are published.

Authoritativeness and verification

All factual statements in this article reference market data providers and major financial press reports. Where the best performing stocks 2024 are cited by percentage return, please verify the precise numeric value against provider time series (FactSet, YCharts, Morningstar) because small date conventions or corporate actions can change reported percentages.