The contributions made by individual stocks to overall market returns became more highly concentrated during the 2010s
The two stocks that contributed the most to 2019’s total stock-market returns also hold that position for the entire decade.
While it’s fun to look at how the overall composition of the top 10 contributors has changed — with a noticeable shift from the energy sector to finance, for example — it’s perhaps more interesting to note the enduring heft of Apple Inc. AAPL, -0.97% and Microsoft Corp. MSFT, -1.25% for investors, as the chart shows.
The two companies didn’t just dominate. They actually intensified their hold over the past decade, moving from a share of 8.45% of the total S&P 500 SPX, -0.71% return over the decade to 14.8% over the last 12 months through Dec. 27, according to data compiled by Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
As Barron’s noted, the two tech giants are the only companies with valuations of more than $1 trillion.
Rounding out the top 10 contributors to returns since 2009: Home Depot Inc. HD, -0.33%, Pfizer Inc. PFE, -0.54%, JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM, -1.32%, Chevron Corp. CVX, -0.35%, and Berkshire Hathaway Class B. BRK.B, -0.97% For the past year, that includes Mastercard Inc. MA, -0.98%, Visa Inc. V, -0.80%, Bank of America Corp. BAC, -2.08%, AT&T T, +0.51%, and Alphabet Inc. Class C GOOG, -0.49%.
And Apple and Microsoft weren’t the only stocks intensifying their hold over the market. The top 10 contributors made up about 19.6% of the total stock market return over the decade, but 29.5% over the past year.