As 2024 closes, the U.S. stock market has experienced a remarkable surge, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq rising 23.31% and 28.64% respectively this year. Top 2024 stock market performers include health care, AI, and Bitcoin stocks. AppLovin Corporation led the gain with a 713% increase, followed by Summit Therapeutics PLC’s 584% rally. Reddit gained 381%.
Here are the 10 best-performing stocks of 2024 among companies that trade on major U.S. exchanges and have market capitalizations of at least $1 billion:
AppLovin Corporation
AppLovin provides software to app developers used for app discovery and monetization. Not only is AppLovin one of the best-performing stocks of 2024, it was also one of the best-performing stocks of 2023. The company has reported impressive profit and revenue growth, and investors are understandably bullish on AppLovin's AI-powered ad-tech platform Axon-2. AppLovin has sizable opportunities in high-growth markets such as gaming and e-commerce, and it hopes to maintain annual revenue growth above 20% for the long term. AppLovin's stock price is up 713% in 2024.
Summit Therapeutics PLC
Summit Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that is developing treatments for infectious diseases. Its huge 2024 gains are related to SMT112, also known as ivonescimab. Ivonescimab is a potential cancer treatment in late-stage clinical trials for treating metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Summit shares ripped higher in September when the company reported positive lung cancer trial data suggesting ivonescimab could potentially challenge leading Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) cancer drug Keytruda. In the third quarter, Merck reported $7.4 billion in Keytruda sales, up 17% from a year ago. Positive ivonescimab news has sent Summit shares soaring 584% this year.
MicroStrategy
MicroStrategy's core product is a business intelligence software platform, but cryptocurrency enthusiasts know the company because MicroStrategy is also the largest corporate investor in Bitcoin. As of Dec. 30, The company now holds 446,400 Bitcoin. With the price of Bitcoin up more than 120% this year, it's easy to see why MicroStrategy shares have soared. MicroStrategy's software business hasn't performed particularly well, so investors should expect the stock to continue to trade in sympathy with Bitcoin moving forward. MicroStrategy shares are up 359% in 2024.
Palantir Technologies Inc.
The data analytics play has traditionally gotten most of its revenue from the U.S. military and other government agencies, but commercial revenue is booming. Revenue growth has accelerated for five straight quarters, to 30% in Q3. Earnings growth has been strong, at 43% in Q3.
Palantir stock has spiked 340% in 2024 That includes a mammoth run from the Aug. 5 low of 21.23. News that PLTR stock would join the S&P 500 fueled a 14% gain on Sept. 9.
Shares surged 23.5% on Nov. 5 on earnings, then kept running on the Trump stock market rally. Palantir switched from the NYSE to the Nasdaq in November. That raised speculation that PLTR stock would be added to the Nasdaq 100 index, which happened on Dec. 23.
Just since joining the S&P 500, Palantir has more than doubled.
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