The S&P 500 bull market just turned two years old. And it's investors who got the $20 trillion gift.
Thanks mainly to powerful runs by S&P 500 megacaps, like Apple and Microsoft, investors scored $20.1 trillion in gains since the current bull market kicked off on March 22, 2020, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence, CFRA and MarketSmith.
But it's remarkable how broad the ongoing bull market is. You could have made money on just about any S&P 500 stock you picked. Upwards of 98% of the stocks in the S&P 500 are up in the past two years. And those gains flew in the face of soaring inflation, war in Europe, rising interest rates and a pandemic, says Sam Stovall, market strategist at CFRA. Including all stocks, not just big ones in the S&P 500, investors are up $23.6 trillion — doubling their money in the bull, says Wilshire Associates.
"In the past 12 months, the market (and economy) have endured many potentially upending experiences," Stovall said. And yet, the S&P 500's bull market stays alive.
Looking At The Two-Year Old Bull Market
The S&P 500 is down 6% this year, but the bull is still kicking. Why? There hasn't been a 20% drop from this its high, yet. But that doesn't mean there haven't been plenty of surprises, too, during this unique but 18th bull market since 1921, Stovall says.
It's no surprise big-cap S&P 500 technology stocks minted the most wealth during the bull. Holders of Apple, alone, scored more than $1.7 trillion in gains thanks to the 195% gain in the stock. And that's closely followed by the $1.2 trillion in wealth minted by Microsoft's 120% rise during the bull market.
But the S&P 500 information technology sector is not the biggest winner, among sectors, for percentage gains. That reward goes to the S&P 500 energy sector, Stovall found. This sector, many investors didn't want to touch in 2021, is up roughly 55% during the bull market. That blows away the No. 2 gain from real estate, up 19% and No. 3, technology, with a 17.5% rise.
And if it wasn't for big-cap tech, the sector would have fared worse, still. The tech-laden Nasdaq 100 index is up only 11% in the bull market. That puts it behind cheap S&P 500 value stocks with a 11.4% rise.
Where Are The Top S&P 500 Percentage Gains?
Investors, though, are also looking for big percentage gains. And plenty are to be found in this raging S&P 500 bull market.
Talk about a run: More than 12% of the stocks in the S&P 500 jumped more than 200% in the past two years. That's impressive and more than twice the S&P 500's 96% rise in that time.
Elon Musk has plenty to smile about. The Tesla founder, who still owns nearly 17% of the company, has seen the stock shoot up more than 1,030% during the bull market. And that's even after dropping 12% this year. That gain put nearly $920 billion of new wealth into investor's portfolios.
Next up? The S&P 500 energy darling: Devon Energy. Shares of the Oklahoma City, Okla.-based energy firm are in the pole position in the red-hot energy sector. Shares are up a blistering 907% in the past two years. That makes it the No. 2 top S&P 500 company is this bull. Investors are getting in ahead of some bonanza results fueled by soaring energy prices. The company's earnings per share is seen hitting $6.83 this year, up more than 93%.
What about post-pandemic plays? The top stock in that theme isn't technology, it's Caesars Entertainment. Shares of the gaming giant jumped north of 800% in the bull market. Gamblers are swarming Las Vegas again. Analysts think Caesars' will lose money again this year, $1.99 a share, but that's better than the $3.05 a share it lost in 2021. And then, it's profits again in 2023.
But for S&P 500 participating in this bull market: They're already made their money.
Top S&P 500 Stocks In Ongoing Bull Market
Based on percentage gains since the bull kicked off on March 23, 2020
| Company | Ticker | Stock % ch. during bull | Market value gained ($ billions) | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tesla | 1,056.4% | $943.3 | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Devon Energy | 893.1% | $37.8 | Energy | |
| Caesars Entertainment | 809.9% | $16.5 | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Freeport-McMoRan | 796.1% | $64.0 | Materials | |
| APA | 736.1% | $12.2 | Energy | |
| Diamondback Energy | 635.2% | $21.3 | Energy | |
| Halliburton | 631.1% | $28.7 | Energy | |
| Enphase Energy | 631.0% | $22.3 | Information Technology | |
| Marathon Oil | 590.3% | $15.1 | Energy | |
| Mosaic | 583.6% | $20.5 | Materials |
