These are the best-performing S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 stocks of 2021

By Philip van Doorn

(Updated as of the market close on Dec. 31.)

The performance of the stock market in 2021 was nothing short of remarkable, surprising many investors after the dramatic crash-and-recovery cycle of 2020.

A continuing recovery for the world economy meant increased demand and shortages in various industries, including semiconductors and energy. Some of the best-performing stocks were oil and gas producers, as the price of West Texas Crude oil /zigman2/quotes/209723049/delayed CL00 +0.15% rose 55%.

The following are lists of the best-performing stocks among the benchmark S&P 500 index /zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime SPX +0.03% , the the S&P 400 Mid Cap Index /zigman2/quotes/219506813/composite MID +0.39% , the S&P Small Cap 600 Index /zigman2/quotes/210599868/delayed SML +2.84% and the Nasdaq-100 Index /zigman2/quotes/210598364/realtime NDX -0.19% . Then there’s a list showing how all 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average /zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime DJIA -0.16% have performed in 2021.

All performance figures in this article include reinvested dividends. For starters, here’s a chart showing total returns for all the indexes in 2021:

The S&P 500 had the top spot with a 28.7% return for 2021, although it had pulled back from its high on Nov. 9, when it was up 32% for the year.

Best-performing S&P 500 stocks of 2021

The S&P 500 is weighted by market capitalization, which means the largest five companies — Apple Inc. /zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite AAPL -0.97% , Microsoft Corp. /zigman2/quotes/207732364/composite MSFT -0.96% , Amazon.com Inc. /zigman2/quotes/210331248/composite AMZN +0.74% , Alphabet Inc /zigman2/quotes/202490156/composite GOOGL +0.69% /zigman2/quotes/205453964/composite GOOG +0.71% and Tesla Inc. /zigman2/quotes/203558040/composite TSLA +0.07% — made up 23% of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF /zigman2/quotes/209901640/composite SPY +0.02% as of the close on Dec. 31.

The gains in 2021 were broad, with 88% of the S&P 500 showing positive returns. Here are its 20 best performers in 2021:

You can click the tickers for more about each company. Click  here  for Tomi Kilgore’s detailed guide to the wealth of information for free on the MarketWatch quote page.

To make any of the lists, a stock had to be traded publicly for all of 2021.

Among the top 20 performers in the S&P 500, six were oil producers.

Ford Motor Co. /zigman2/quotes/208911460/composite F +1.68% was up 137.5%, ranking sixth on the list, with a low valuation to expected earnings helping justify investors’ approval of at the early stage of its switch to electric cars. Ford’s rival General Motors Co. /zigman2/quotes/205226835/composite GM +2.55% didn’t make the list, as its stock was up “only” 40.8% in 2021 (ranking 160th among the S&P 500), while shares of Tesla were up 49.8% for 2021 following their 743% increase in 2020.

Read: Ford Is More Valuable Than GM for the First Time Since 2016

Best-performing midcap stocks

Remember the meme stocks? Of course you do. GameStop Corp /zigman2/quotes/203755179/composite GME +2.39% . led this craze, as traders banded together through the wallstreetbets Reddit channel in early 2021 to bid up the prices of heavily shorted stocks.

/zigman2/quotes/209723049/delayed

Add to watchlist CL00

Crude Oil Continuous Contract

US : U.S.: Nymex

$ 72.26

+0.11 +0.15%

Volume: 203,348

June 6, 2023 11:16a

/zigman2/quotes/210599714/realtime

Add to watchlist SPX

S&P 500 Index

US : S&P US

4,274.95

+1.16 +0.03%

Volume: 0.00

June 6, 2023 11:26a

/zigman2/quotes/219506813/composite

Add to watchlist MID

American Century Mid Cap Growth Impact ETF

US : U.S.: NYSE Arca

$ 46.24

+0.18 +0.39%

Volume: 3,982

June 6, 2023 10:20a

/zigman2/quotes/210599868/delayed

Add to watchlist SML

S&P Small Cap 600 Index

US : S&P US

1,190.60

+32.90 +2.84%

Volume: 120.98M

June 6, 2023 11:16a

/zigman2/quotes/210598364/realtime

Add to watchlist NDX

NASDAQ 100 Index (NASDAQ Calculation)

US : Nasdaq

14,528.77

-27.73 -0.19%

Volume: 348,211

June 6, 2023 11:26a

/zigman2/quotes/210598065/realtime

Add to watchlist DJIA

Dow Jones Industrial Average

US : Dow Jones Global

33,508.96

-53.90 -0.16%

Volume: 0.00

June 6, 2023 11:26a

/zigman2/quotes/202934861/composite

Add to watchlist AAPL

Apple Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 177.83

-1.75 -0.97%

Volume: 27.53M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

30.27

Dividend Yield

0.54%

Market Cap

$2824.56 billion

Rev. per Employee

$2.35M

/zigman2/quotes/207732364/composite

Add to watchlist MSFT

Microsoft Corp.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 332.70

-3.24 -0.96%

Volume: 6.98M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

36.16

Dividend Yield

0.82%

Market Cap

$2497.88 billion

Rev. per Employee

$939,326

/zigman2/quotes/210331248/composite

Add to watchlist AMZN

Amazon.com Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 126.23

+0.93 +0.74%

Volume: 16.26M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

307.23

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1221.09 billion

Rev. per Employee

$340,621

/zigman2/quotes/202490156/composite

Add to watchlist GOOGL

Alphabet Inc. Cl A

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 126.88

+0.87 +0.69%

Volume: 9.26M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

28.71

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1603.72 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.49M

/zigman2/quotes/205453964/composite

Add to watchlist GOOG

Alphabet Inc. Cl C

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 127.54

+0.90 +0.71%

Volume: 6.56M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

28.85

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$1603.72 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.49M

/zigman2/quotes/203558040/composite

Add to watchlist TSLA

Tesla Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 217.76

+0.15 +0.07%

Volume: 61.17M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

64.24

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$689.72 billion

Rev. per Employee

$672,911

/zigman2/quotes/209901640/composite

Add to watchlist SPY

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

US : U.S.: NYSE Arca

$ 427.18

+0.08 +0.02%

Volume: 18.48M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

/zigman2/quotes/209479244/composite

Add to watchlist DVN

Devon Energy Corp.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 48.80

+0.43 +0.88%

Volume: 1.94M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

5.33

Dividend Yield

9.24%

Market Cap

$31.04 billion

Rev. per Employee

$10.87M

/zigman2/quotes/205031829/composite

Add to watchlist MRO

Marathon Oil Corp.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 23.17

+0.23 +0.98%

Volume: 4.48M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

5.70

Dividend Yield

1.59%

Market Cap

$14.17 billion

Rev. per Employee

$4.68M

/zigman2/quotes/205619834/composite

Add to watchlist MRNA

Moderna Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 126.35

-2.55 -1.98%

Volume: 846,277

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

10.98

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$49.14 billion

Rev. per Employee

$3.83M

/zigman2/quotes/205733290/composite

Add to watchlist FTNT

Fortinet Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 68.99

-2.29 -3.21%

Volume: 1.58M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

57.34

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$55.96 billion

Rev. per Employee

$375,141

/zigman2/quotes/204403715/composite

Add to watchlist SBNY

Signature Bank

US : U.S.: OTC

$ 0.12

+0.0089 +8.01%

Volume: 175,363

June 6, 2023 11:09a

P/E Ratio

0.0058

Dividend Yield

2,333%

Market Cap

$6.99 million

Rev. per Employee

$1.65M

/zigman2/quotes/208911460/composite

Add to watchlist F

Ford Motor Co.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 12.80

+0.21 +1.68%

Volume: 20.27M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

18.02

Dividend Yield

4.67%

Market Cap

$50.37 billion

Rev. per Employee

$954,075

/zigman2/quotes/202062875/composite

Add to watchlist BBWI

Bath & Body Works Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 40.36

+0.56 +1.41%

Volume: 745,836

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

12.83

Dividend Yield

1.98%

Market Cap

$9.11 billion

Rev. per Employee

$131,241

/zigman2/quotes/201200230/composite

Add to watchlist FANG

Diamondback Energy Inc.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 130.82

+0.50 +0.38%

Volume: 317,694

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

5.43

Dividend Yield

2.44%

Market Cap

$23.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

$9.42M

/zigman2/quotes/200467500/composite

Add to watchlist NVDA

NVIDIA Corp.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 388.48

-3.23 -0.82%

Volume: 12.48M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

202.69

Dividend Yield

0.04%

Market Cap

$967.52 billion

Rev. per Employee

$987,861

/zigman2/quotes/201889722/composite

Add to watchlist NUE

Nucor Corp.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 143.52

+2.23 +1.58%

Volume: 294,186

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

5.62

Dividend Yield

1.42%

Market Cap

$35.41 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.27M

/zigman2/quotes/205782082/composite

Add to watchlist IT

Gartner Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 339.81

-5.20 -1.51%

Volume: 67,341

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

29.46

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$27.15 billion

Rev. per Employee

$288,306

/zigman2/quotes/208054924/composite

Add to watchlist EXR

Extra Space Storage Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 143.34

-2.71 -1.86%

Volume: 291,939

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

22.69

Dividend Yield

4.51%

Market Cap

$20.55 billion

Rev. per Employee

$414,904

/zigman2/quotes/206966450/composite

Add to watchlist ANET

Arista Networks Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 159.44

-3.19 -1.96%

Volume: 1.12M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

33.24

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$50.14 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.34M

/zigman2/quotes/209746667/composite

Add to watchlist SPG

Simon Property Group Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 108.77

+2.22 +2.08%

Volume: 327,159

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

16.40

Dividend Yield

6.82%

Market Cap

$39.88 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.62M

/zigman2/quotes/200648444/composite

Add to watchlist APA

APA Corp.

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 33.14

+0.07 +0.21%

Volume: 1.20M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

5.42

Dividend Yield

3.01%

Market Cap

$10.21 billion

Rev. per Employee

$4.58M

/zigman2/quotes/204634330/composite

Add to watchlist EOG

EOG Resources Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 112.17

+0.52 +0.46%

Volume: 646,096

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

7.03

Dividend Yield

2.94%

Market Cap

$65.30 billion

Rev. per Employee

$9.98M

/zigman2/quotes/208929343/composite

Add to watchlist IRM

Iron Mountain Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 55.64

+0.41 +0.74%

Volume: 243,480

June 6, 2023 11:25a

P/E Ratio

28.12

Dividend Yield

4.44%

Market Cap

$16.19 billion

Rev. per Employee

$198,841

/zigman2/quotes/201824240/composite

Add to watchlist STX

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC

US : U.S.: Nasdaq

$ 60.22

-0.64 -1.05%

Volume: 903,951

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

4.69%

Market Cap

$12.60 billion

Rev. per Employee

$210,250

/zigman2/quotes/209482112/composite

Add to watchlist CF

CF Industries Holdings Inc.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 65.09

+1.23 +1.93%

Volume: 784,616

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

4.35

Dividend Yield

2.46%

Market Cap

$12.45 billion

Rev. per Employee

$3.83M

/zigman2/quotes/207605056/composite

Add to watchlist COP

ConocoPhillips

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 102.32

+0.25 +0.24%

Volume: 926,966

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

8.18

Dividend Yield

1.99%

Market Cap

$123.51 billion

Rev. per Employee

$7.92M

/zigman2/quotes/208911460/composite

Add to watchlist F

Ford Motor Co.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 12.80

+0.21 +1.68%

Volume: 20.27M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

18.02

Dividend Yield

4.67%

Market Cap

$50.37 billion

Rev. per Employee

$954,075

/zigman2/quotes/205226835/composite

Add to watchlist GM

General Motors Co.

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 35.00

+0.87 +2.55%

Volume: 4.20M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

5.42

Dividend Yield

1.03%

Market Cap

$47.44 billion

Rev. per Employee

$962,521

/zigman2/quotes/203755179/composite

Add to watchlist GME

GameStop Corp. Cl A

US : U.S.: NYSE

$ 24.89

+0.58 +2.39%

Volume: 1.53M

June 6, 2023 11:26a

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

$7.41 billion

Rev. per Employee

$538,836