MW Here are the S&P 500's best-performing stocks in August
By Philip van Doorn
Kellanova led the list after accepting a takeout offer from Mars, while Starbucks might have been the month's biggest positive surprise
August was a month of increased volatility for the S&P 500. But a 6.1% slide during the first three trading sessions of the month was reversed, and the U.S. large-cap benchmark index ended August with a 2.3% gain.
So far this year, the S&P 500 SPX has risen 18.4%, following a 24.2% gain in 2023. All price changes in this article exclude dividends.
Here's how the 11 sectors of the S&P 500 performed during August, along with year-to-date price changes and those for the previous two years, with the full index at the bottom:
Sector or index August price change 2024 price change 2023 price change 2022 price change
Consumer Staples 5.8% 15.8% -2.2% -3.2%
Real Estate 5.6% 8.5% 8.3% -28.4%
Healthcare 5.0% 15.0% 0.3% -3.6%
Financials 4.4% 21.2% 9.9% -12.4%
Utilities 4.3% 19.8% -10.2% -1.4%
Industrials 2.7% 15.1% 16.0% -7.1%
Materials 2.2% 10.0% 10.2% -14.1%
Communication Services 1.2% 22.3% 54.4% -40.4%
Information Technology 1.2% 26.5% 56.4% -28.9%
Consumer Discretionary -1.1% 5.8% 41.0% -37.6%
Energy -2.3% 8.7% -4.8% 59.0%
S&P 500 2.3% 18.4% 24.2% -19.4%
Source: FactSet
As investors looked ahead to a cycle of interest-rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, it might not have been such a surprise to see value-oriented sectors of the stock market coming to the fore during August. Slower-growing companies that trade relatively low to earnings, sales or book value might see more of a benefit from lower interest rates, because they tend to have a higher level of borrowings than rapidly growing Big Tech companies whose expansion is driven by cash flow.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's statement at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on Aug. 23 that "the time has come" for lower interest rates sets the stage for a cycle of cuts to the federal-funds rate, beginning with Federal Open Market Committee's two-day policy meeting in September.
Best-performing stocks of August
Among the S&P 500, 71% of stocks showed gains for the month, with 52 rising by double-digit percentages - led by these 10:
Axon Enterprise Inc. Ticker August price change 2024 price change 2023 price change 2022 price change Kellanova K 38.6% 44.2% -22% 11% Fortinet Inc. FTNT 32.2% 31.1% 20% -32% Axon Enterprise Inc AXON 21.7% 41.3% 56% 6% Starbucks Corp. SBUX 21.3% -1.5% -3% -15% Clorox Co. CLX 20.0% 11.0% 2% -20% CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. CRWD 19.5% 8.6% 142% -49% Eli Lilly and Co. LLY 19.4% 64.7% 59% 32% Kenvue Inc. KVUE 18.7% 2.0% N/A N/A Arch Capital Group Ltd. ACGL 18.1% 52.3% 18% 41% Progressive Corp. PGR 17.8% 58.3% 23% 26% Source: FactSet
Read: Tomi Kilgore's guide to the wealth of information available for free on the MarketWatch quote page.
Kellanova $(K)$ was formerly known as Kellogg's before that company split off its cereal business to the newly formed WK Kellogg Co. (KLG) in October.
Kellanova, which owns snack brands including Pringles and Cheez-It, agreed on Aug. 14 to be acquired by Mars for $83.50 per share in cash, or about $35.9 billion. Kellanova's shares closed Friday at $80.53 - a 4% discount to the takeout price.
Read: Mars-Kellanova deal likely to avoid antitrust hurdles and open door for more M&A
Shares of Starbucks Corp. $(SBUX)$ ended the month with a 21.3% gain, and are now down only slightly for 2024. Following a dismal quarterly earnings report on July 30, investors cheered on Aug. 13 after the company said Brian Nicol would become its new chief executive in September - sending the stock up 24% that day. Nicol will leave his current position as CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. $(CMG)$ on Saturday.
After finishing as the second-worst performer in the S&P 500 during July, CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.'s $(CRWD)$ stock bounced back in August to rank as the index's sixth-largest gainer. Investors had been worried about the impact of a CrowdStrike software update that spurred a major July technology outage and angered customers who lost out on business. But CrowdStrike reset expectations when it reported earnings this week, cutting its guidance but reassuring investors that customers still wanted to do business with it.
Fellow cybersecurity company Fortinet Inc. $(FTNT)$ impressed with its own outlook earlier in the month. That came after a disappointing report a quarter earlier.
Worst performing stocks of August: Super Micro offers investors a bit of relief after stock's worst month on record
Don't miss: This approach to dividend stocks can diversify your S&P 500 index-fund exposure
Emily Bary contributed to this article.
-Philip van Doorn
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August 30, 2024 17:49 ET (21:49 GMT)
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