The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index is the focus benchmark for big, and small, investors.
Its components include the biggest companies ranked by market capitalization. Their activities sprawl across the U.S. economy and the world, all organized into 11 sectors with a host of subsectors.
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The index climbed 23.3% in 2024 on a price-only basis, slightly below its 24.2% gain in 2023.
The benchmark hasn’t posted two years in a row of 20%-plus gains since 1997 and 1998.
And when a big-data company produces the biggest return among the 500 companies in the index, people notice. Because big data (and what one does with it) is dominating the thinking of most companies, executives, governments and society.
Here are the five top S&P 500 performers in 2024.
Palantir: Data drive the present and future (Up 340%)
The S&P 500’s winner in 2024, Palantir (PLTR) , with a 340.48% gain, is right in the middle of this thinking. Its business is to gather mountains of data on just about everything and tell its clients what the data means and what it says about the future.
Related: Analyst says big shift in AI coming in 2025 is huge tailwind for two stocks
Artificial intelligence is a key profit driver. The Defense Department is among the Denver company’s biggest clients. It is widely admired on Wall Street and was added to the S&P 500 on Sept. 23 and the Nasdaq-100 Index on Dec. 23.
Palantir shares soared after its third-quarter results handily beat expectations. “We absolutely eviscerated this quarter,” Chief Executive Alex Karp said on the earnings call.
Vistra: Power to the (nationwide) community (Up 258%)
Vistra (VST) is the S&P 500’s second-biggest gainer in 2024. The Dallas company provides power and electricity to communities from Maine to California.
It was formed out the bankruptcy of Texas Utilities in 2016 and markets power using natural gas, nuclear, coal, solar and battery sources.
It takes tremendous power to train and operate artificial intelligence, and part of its surge has come from the massive demand for power by data centers engaged in its development.
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Nvidia: Powerhouse powering artificial intelligence (Up 171%)
Nvidia (NVDA) , the third-top S&P 500 stock, is known for its high-performance graphics-processing units, which are used in artificial intelligence applications.
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It started by developing chips prized by game developers and enthusiasts. Then companies like Microsoft (MSFT) , Meta Platforms (META) and Oracle (ORCL) saw the potential of Nvidia’s technologies in artificial intelligence.
Sales grew by a factor of more than five between fiscal 2020 and 2024 and should double when fiscal 2025 ends in February. The company is now part of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang shows off robots that work from Nvidia graphic processing technology at a company conference in March.
United Airlines: Well-timed expansion (Up 135%)
United Airlines Holdings (UAL) shares jumped in 2024 because the carrier successfully expanded operations as the Covid-19 pandemic eased and travel demand surged.
It has added 12 new routes in 2024, linking more U.S. and Canadian cities.
Zack’s Investment Research ranks the shares a hold because of rising labor and operating costs.
Axon: Equipping law enforcement (Up 130%)
Axon Enterprise (AXON) joined the S&P 500 in May 2003. The Scottsdale, Ariz., company develops technology and weapons for the military and law enforcement.
Its best-known product is the Taser electroshock device used by law enforcers. It also markets body cameras, dashcams, and computer-aided dispatch software.
Related: Veteran fund manager issues dire S&P 500 warning for 2025
