Nvidia (NVDA) has captured the almost undivided attention of Wall Street, as the stock is at the epicenter of the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The chip designer has more than doubled in value in 2024, and surged almost 800% since late 2022, valuing it at a market cap of over $3 trillion today.
While Nvidia remains a compelling investment, investors shouldn't overlook these three standout mega-cap stocks that have surged over 40% in 2024, outpacing the S&P 500 Index ($SPX) and its 18% return by a wide margin.
#1. Walmart Stock
Valued at $612 billion by market cap, Walmart (WMT) is a big-box retailer and part of a recession-resistant sector. Despite its massive size and constrained consumer spending, the company grew its quarterly revenue by 5% to $169.34 billion in fiscal Q2 of 2025. In the current year, WMT expects sales to rise between 3.75% and 4.75% year over year.
Walmart’s results are closely watched, as they provide insights into the health of the U.S. economy. In Q2, its comparable sales in the U.S. rose by 4.2% if we exclude the volatility of fuel prices. Comparable sales are a widely used metric as they include store sales from outlets opened for at least a year.
Moreover, comparable sales for Sam’s Club rose by 5.2%, while e-commerce revenue grew by 21%. Walmart emphasized that store and website visits in the U.S. increased year over year. While transactions were up 3.6%, average ticket size grew by 0.6% compared with the year-ago quarter.
Walmart stock has returned 200% to shareholders in the last decade. If we account for dividend reinvestments, cumulative returns are higher at 268%. On a YTD basis, the stock has surged 44.6%.
Out of the 31 analysts covering Walmart, 24 recommend “strong buy,” four recommend “moderate buy,” and three recommend “hold.” The average target price for Walmart is $79.65, a premium of about 5% to current levels.
#2. Meta Platforms Stock
Meta Platforms (META) is the largest social media company in the world, operating platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Valued at $1.31 trillion by market cap, Meta Platforms has gained 48.2% in 2024 and more than 76% in the past 12 months due to its stellar earnings and revenue growth.
In Q2 of 2024, Meta increased sales by 22% year over year to $32 billion, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of over 20% growth. Notably, net income surged by 73% to $13.47 billion, up from $7.79 billion last year.
Meta derives most of its revenue from online ads, a segment where it continues to gain market share. Its ad sales were up 22% in Q2, higher than Alphabet's (GOOGL) (GOOG) growth of 11%.
Like Alphabet and Microsoft (MSFT), Meta is investing heavily in capital expenditures to gain an early mover advantage in AI. In Q2, it spent $8.47 billion in capital expenditures, and expects to end the year with capex between $37 billion and $40 billion.
Out of the 43 analysts covering Meta stock, 37 recommend “strong buy,” one recommends “moderate buy,” three recommend “hold,” and two recommend “strong sell.” The average target price for Meta stock is $573.29, about 10% higher than the current trading price.
#3. Eli Lilly Stock
The final mega-cap stock on my list is Eli Lilly (LLY), which is up 62.7% in 2024, valuing the healthcare giant at $901.8 billion by market cap.
Earlier this week, Eli Lilly announced a new pricing plan for its weight loss drug, Zepbound. The anti-obesity drug will be available at a 50% or more discount compared to peers and will be priced at $399 for a four-week supply for the 2.5 mg dose. The 5 mg dose is priced at $549 for a four-week supply.
Lilly also dominates the drug market with Mounjaro, which is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes. In the last six months, Mounjaro and Zepbound raked in close to $7 billion in total sales. Eli Lilly’s breast cancer drug sales rose by 42% in the first half of this year to $2.4 billion, while three other drug treatments also saw double-digit growth.
Due to its spectacular rally, Eli Lilly's stock is priced at 58x forward earnings, which is steep. But analysts forecast earnings to more than double year over year in 2024. In fact, adjusted earnings are forecast to expand by 75% annually in the next five years.
Out of the 22 analysts covering LLY stock, 20 recommend “strong buy,” one recommends “moderate buy,” and one recommends “hold." The average target price for LLY stock is $984.39, about 4% higher than current prices.
