The S&P 500 delivered one of its best years in recent history in 2019, gaining more than 28%. Most U.S. investors had a lot of winners in their portfolios this year, but some stocks certainly performed better than others.
Here’s a look at the 10 best-performing stocks in the entire S&P 500 in 2019, as of the Dec. 20 closing price.
1. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMD
After gaining more than 79% in 2018, AMD had another huge year in 2019, gaining 139% on the strength of share gains in the high-end PC and server chip markets.
2. Lam Research Corporation LRCX
Unlike AMD, Lam Research was a recovery stock in 2019, bouncing back from a 26% loss in 2018 to gain 118.4% this year.
3. KLA Corp KLAC
Investors looking ahead to the 5G network upgrade cycle piled into semiconductor stocks like KLA in 2019, sending the stock higher by 98.3%.
4. Target Corporation TGT
Target proved once again in 2019 that it has what it takes to thrive in the e-commerce era, putting up consistently impressive growth numbers and gaining 95.4%.
5. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG
Chipotle once again looked like the growth stock of old in 2019, putting up impressive same-restaurant and online sales growth numbers, topping analyst earnings and revenue estimates and gaining 93.2% on the year.
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6. Qorvo Inc QRVO
Qorvo is yet another 5G device supplier that had investors’ attention in 2019, gaining 92.1% on the year.
7. Copart, Inc. CPRT
The global auto market struggled in 2019, but you wouldn’t know it from the record sales and 89.8% gain from online auto auction company Copart.
8. Xerox Holdings Corp XRX
Xerox’s cost-cutting initiative “Project Own It” and extremely low market expectations proved to be a powerful combination in 2019, sending the stock higher by 89%.
9. Applied Materials, Inc. AMAT
Solid earnings and a bullish outlook suggesting a rebound in chip demand were good enough to send Applied Materials shares higher by 88.7% this year.
10. Leidos Holdings Inc LDOS
Contract wins and key acquisitions fueled defense company Leidos’ 85.9% gain in 2019.
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