Remember investors' amazement when S&P 500 companies' value first topped $1 trillion? How quaint. Now a company added that much value in less than a year.
Nvidia, the AI chip-designing powerhouse, gained $957.9 billion just this year so far, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSurge. That's an astounding feat. Nvidia's gain in value tops the entire worth of several giant companies including Meta Platforms and even Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway.
"We can't blame April's sell off on U.S. big tech stocks, which were collectively responsible for just 19% of the S&P 500's 4.2% drop last month," said Nicholas Colas of DataTrek Research. "Their influence has been declining as the months go by, but year-to-date their contribution to S&P 500 returns is still quite high (70%, mostly due to Nvidia).
Nvidia Adds $1 Trillion To S&P 500
It's not just Nvidia putting money in investors' pockets. But it is a runaway standout.
S&P 500 companies gained a collective $3 trillion this year. And Nvidia alone added nearly a third of that amount. That what happens when you have a stock already worth $1.2 trillion coming into the year that gains nearly 80%.
And amazingly, analysts still see lots of upside coming still. Analysts think Nvidia will be valued at 1,002 a share. If they're right, that would signal a gain of nearly 13%. What's more, Nvidia's fundamentals back up the optimism. Analysts think the company will make $25.06 a share in fiscal 2025. That's a gain of more than 90% from fiscal 2024.
Other Big S&P 500 Value Gainers
Nvidia is in a class of its own when it comes to minting stock wealth. But Amazon.com and Alphabet round out the top three.
Just this year, fanned by solid first-quarter profit, Amazon.com added $368.3 billion in value. And just behind that, thanks to greater financial discipline is Alphabet adding $311.3 billion in value.
Such large gains remind S&P 500 why they may not want to sell in May and go away.
Biggest S&P 500 Value Gainers This Year
| Company | Ticker | Market value gained ($ billions) |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | $957.8 | |
| Amazon.com | $368.3 | |
| Alphabet | $311.3 | |
| Meta Platforms | $236.5 | |
| Microsoft | $226.7 | |
| Eli Lilly | $140.1 | |
| Berkshire Hathaway | $91.3 | |
| Broadcom | $68.2 | |
| Walmart | $58.4 | |
| Exxon Mobil | $57.6 |
