Written by: Jay Yi, MBA; Edited by: Chris Thompson, CFA, MBA, P.Eng
eResearch | The S&P 500 had a slight gain in the third quarter and maintained an 18.6% gain year-to-date amid trade tensions and indications of a slower global economic growth. However, the index is up only 2.9% year-over-year after the large sell-off last December. With U.S. consumer spending remaining strong and driving the domestic U.S. economy, and low-to-negative yields on debt in various countries, investors continue to flock to U.S. stocks and the S&P 500 is only 2% below its all-time high that it hit in July.
Top 10 S&P500 Gainers in 2019
Below are 4 of the top 10 S&P500 companies with the highest gains of the year:
Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG)
- Headquartered in California, U.S., Chipotle is an American fast casual restaurant chain that offers Mexican style dishes such as tacos and burritos. It is one of the first global chains of fast casual dining and has restaurants in the U.S., UK, Canada, Germany, and France.
- In 2015, Chipotle had a case of E.coli, which caused over 140 illnesses in people who ate its products. It has since invested heavily in marketing and promotion to improve its brand image, resulting in same stores sales increases of 17.8% in Q1/2017, with continued growth thereafter.
- Year to date, Chipotle’s stock price has increased by 86%, outperforming the S&P500 by 67%.
- Chipotle is currently trading at US$827.75 per share with a market capitalization of US$22.9 billion.
KLA Corporation (NASDAQ: KLAC)
- Headquartered in California, U.S., KLA was created through the merger of KLA Instruments and Tencor Instruments to together supply process control and yield management systems for the semiconductor industry.
- Since its merger, KLA has become a serial acquirer with 27 acquisitions, with its most recent acquisition in Orbotech, Ltd., an electronics manufacturer which will add to KLA’s ecosystem of global electronics.
- KLAC is disciplined in its capital management with priorities put towards R&D, working capital, and acquisitions, with second priorities focused on paying dividends, repurchasing shares, and debt services.
- Year to date, KLA’s stock price has increased by 72%, outperforming the S&P500 by 53%.
- KLA is currently trading at US$157.40 per share with a market capitalization of US$24.9 billion.
Copart, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRT)
- Headquartered in Texas, U.S., Copart operates a vehicle auction platform in addition to offering remarketing services within the U.S., Canada, and the UK.
- On October 10th 2019, Copart announced expansion of its capacity in Canada through an addition of 24-acres to its operations in Quebec.
- Year to date, Copart’s stock price has increased by 67%, outperforming the S&P500 by 48%.
- Copart is currently trading at US$81.06 per share with a market capitalization of US$18.8 billion.
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ: LRCX)
- Headquartered in California, U.S., Lam is a vertically integrated semiconductor company that engages in design, manufacturing, and marketing of products.
- In December 2018, Martin Anstice resigned from his seat as CEO due to allegations of personal misconduct, and the COO, Tim Archer took his place and was also appointed to the Board of Directors.
- In September 2019, in an effort to position itself in the South Korean market, Lam partnered up with Korean government officials from the Gyeonggi-do province to establish the Korean Technology Center (KTC), a research and development facility for semiconductors.
- Year to date, Lam’s stock price has increased by 67%, outperforming the S&P500 by 48%.
- Lam is currently trading at US$234.62 per share with a market captilization of US$33.9 billion.
S&P 500 and Companies YTD Stock Performance
Companies in the semiconductor industry are common in the top 10 chart of S&P 500 gainers as they are positioned as the middleman in the growing technology industry.
It will be interesting to see if these companies can sustain their stock price and push the S&P500 to break its all time high once again before 2019 ends.
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