Most S&P 500 investors consider Tesla stock to be the ultimate investment. But it turns out you could do better — much better.
Two stocks in the S&P 500, S&P 400 and S&P 600, including consumer discretionary XPEL and consumer staple Celsius Holdings, outperformed shares of Tesla both in the past five and 10 years, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.
Let's put some dollars and cents behind this revelation. Had you plunked down $10,000 on XPEL 10 years ago, you'd have a mind-boggling $4.7 million now. You'd also have $3.2 million now if you put that $10,000 a decade ago in Celsius. Both blow away the "mere" $1.2 million your $10,000 would have grown into by riding Tesla stock all that time. And forget about the S&P 500. Your $10,000 on the S&P 500 would be worth just 155% more, or $25,537.
Shares of Tesla are struggling a bit as of late. That's opening the door for new leaders. "Clearly Tesla had some delivery challenges in the quarter with some isolated soft spots in China," said Dan Ives, analyst at Wedbush. "While the reasoning from Tesla makes sense on paper, the Street will not be convinced and lingering worries about demand issues will persist until we hear around year-end unit guidance on Tesla's conference call October 19th."
But other investors aren't waiting around to make money other than in Tesla stock.
Sizing Up Buying Tesla Stock
Beating Tesla stock is no easy feat. It takes nothing less than a superhuman return.
Shares of Tesla are up an astounding 901% in the past five years and an even more impressive 12,263% in the past 10. And that's made more than a few millionaires. And to be fair, not a single big-cap S&P 500 came anywhere near topping Tesla stock in the past five and 10 years.
But recently softness in its shares — down nearly 9% in the past year — is opening the door for it to get passed up by other faster-growing stocks. Tesla stock is now outperformed by six other stocks in the past five years, including S&P 500 member Enphase Energy. And three stocks passed up Tesla stock's gain over the past 10 years.
Just two of those, though, XPEL and Celsius, surpassed the gains of Tesla stock in both the past five and 10 years. If you're doing better than Tesla stock, it's worth paying attention.
Looking At Tesla-Beaters XPEL, Celsius
If there's any stock you'd wish you owned rather than Tesla, it would be XPEL. Amazingly, it's also in the car industry.
Shares of the well-run seller and maker of automobile paints and films has rallied more than 4,250% in the past five years and 46,671% in the past 10. Both of those gains run circles around Tesla stock. Much of the company's success traces back to the management team's bold turnaround of the company from a near-death situation.
Just 10 years ago, shares traded for 14 cents apiece and the whole company was worth just $4 million. Fast forward to today. Shares are up to more than 65 a share. The S&P SmallCap 600 company is now worth nearly $1.8 billion.
It's a similar roundabout at Celsius, maker of health-focused beverages. Just a decade ago, this was a passe company trading for just 28 cents a share. Now? The company's stock is up 1,513% in five years and nearly 32,000% in 10 years. That gives the S&P Midcap 400 company a market value of nearly $7 billion. And that's before its new distribution deal with PepsiCo has really kicked in.
All this isn't to besmirch the amazing run of Tesla stock. But it's a reminder of how new leaders are constantly emerging, often in places you'd never expect.
Better Than Tesla Stock?
S&P 1500 stocks that topped Tesla in the past five and 10 years
| Company | Ticker | Index | Stock 5-year ch. | 10-year stock ch. | What $10,000 invested 10 years ago is worth now ($ millions) | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XPEL | S&P 600 | 4,250.8% | 46,671% | $4.7 | Consumer Discretionary | |
| Celsius Holdings | S&P 400 | 1,513.1% | 31,932% | $3.2 | Consumer Staples | |
| Tesla | S&P 500 | 900.8% | 12,263% | $1.2 | Consumer Discretionary |
