Young investors are taking their share of lumps in the S&P 500. But they're still enjoying some stock winners, too.
Gen Z investors, the market's newest cohort of participants age 25 and younger, are up 10% or more just this year on 10 stocks, including energy firms Exxon Mobil and Chevron and financial play Wells Fargo, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from Apex Clearing and S&P Global Market Intelligence.
It's a good sign that many of the market's newcomers aren't getting completely discouraged. Many of their favorite stocks are doing poorly and risk souring their interest.
Gen Z Wins Too
If anything, though, Gen Z investors probably wished they owned more of their winners. Not one of Gen Z's top-performing stocks this year so far accounts for more than 0.5% of their portfolio. Not one of the big winners is among their 10 most popular stocks, either.
And as with the broader S&P 500, most of Gen Z's big winners hail from the energy sector. But that's just a fine point. Investors born after 1996 surged into the S&P 500 in record numbers. Their interest in stocks reinvented Wall Street and the way money is handled.
Gen Z investors impressively hold more than 1.4 million accounts, says Apex. That's noteworthy as it's already more than 20% of the 6.8 million accounts held by millennials, baby boomers and Gen X investors.
Young Investors' Biggest Wins
And it's important for these young investors to have some successes to stay interested in the markets.
As far as victories this year go, their No. 1 hit is Exxon Mobil. Thanks to the price of oil powering higher, shares of Exxon Mobil jumped more than 46% this year to 89.63. That's a good thing as the stock is this cohort of investors' No. 22 most popular position, at 0.9% of their portfolios.
Analysts also remain bullish. They think the stock is good for another gain of more than 13% in 12 months' time to 101.72. Additionally, the company's profit is expected to rise 124% in 2022 vs. 2021.
The story at Chevron is very similar. The energy giant's shares are already up more than 25% this year to 147.32. That makes it Gen Z's fourth best stock in the year so far. It's their 43rd-most-popular holding, too. Analysts think the stock will trade for 174.74 a share in 12 months. If that's right, it would mark a further increase of some 19%. And analysts think the company's profit will jump more than 119% in 12 months.
Big Gains On Financial Giant
Warren Buffett may have given up on Wells Fargo, but Gen Z is sticking with the struggling financial firm.
It's not a big position for them, ranking just 82 out of the top 100 positions. And that means it's just a 0.2% stake in their aggregate portfolio. But it's a stock they're certainly glad they have, as it's up more than 25% this year to 42.90 a share. Analysts think there's still 22% upside, too. The banking giant's profit, though, is seen falling more than 18% this year as higher interest rates slow the economy.
So, while young investors certainly learned of the pain of a bear market this year, they're getting a taste of wins too. And that's a good thing.
Gen Z's Top-Performing Stocks This Year
All are up 10% or more this year
| Company | Symbol | YTD change | Sector |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exxon Mobil | 46.5% | Energy | |
| Wells Fargo | 42.1 | Financials | |
| Energy Transfer | 29.4 | Energy | |
| Chevron | 25.5 | Energy | |
| Activision Blizzard | 19.4 | Communication Services | |
| Enphase Energy | 18.1 | Information Technology | |
| Enterprise Products | 18.8 | Energy | |
| Merck | 19.1 | Health Care | |
| Lockheed Martin | 11.6 | Industrials | |
| AbbVie | 11.4 | Health Care |
