Five of the most notable Internet and technology names on the market – Apple, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. – increased this year, even though they finished in the red in the final. Trading day of 2021.
While their 2021 performance varied from Alphabet’s 65% jump to Amazon’s 2.4% slog, the group collectively added more than $2.45 trillion to the market valuation. Microsoft, Apple and Alphabet were among the three biggest contributors to the S&P 500 index’s 2021 gains.
“Investors recognize that these companies are performing extremely well,” said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Jenny Montgomery Scott. Sheets have protected him from some of this year’s risks, he said.
“While I believe in the merits of leaning toward cyclical names going into 2022, I will not give up on technology,” Luschini said.
The group ended 2021 on a negative note. Apple dropped 0.4% on Friday, while Microsoft dropped 0.9%, Amazon 1.1%, Alphabet 0.9% and Meta 2.3%. The Nasdaq 100 index lost 0.7% for the session, but still gained about 27% for the year.
Here’s how the group fared in 2021 with its biggest gains:
Alphabet Inc.
Google’s parent company grew 65% in 2021, making it the top-performing company among the biggest names on Wall Street. It was the stock’s strongest year since 2009, and it briefly joined Apple and Microsoft with a $2 trillion market valuation.
Alphabet benefited from growth in its cloud business as well as a rebound in digital ad spend, especially in key categories like travel that were hurt by the pandemic in 2020. Earlier this week, the CFRA upgraded the stock to a strong buy based on its “lucrative”. valuations versus large-cap tech peers” as well as “confidence that it can maintain the momentum of mid-teens annual revenue growth over the next three years.”
Microsoft Corporation
The software giant grew 51% in 2021, pushing it into the $2 trillion market capitalization club. The stock has risen for 10 consecutive years, its longest rally to date, and has delivered double-digit returns for nine consecutive years. Shares have risen nearly 1,200% since the end of 2011.
Microsoft’s strength has come from the constant demand for its cloud computing and enterprise software.
Apple Inc.
The iPhone maker grew by 34% in 2021, beating the S&P 500 for the third year in a row. While 2021 marked its weakest performance of the three — the stock rose more than 80% in both 2019 and 2020 — the rally brought the company within striking distance of its historic $3 trillion market capitalization.
Despite issues like chip shortages and the ongoing pandemic, which recently prompted Apple to close its New York City retail stores, the stock remains a favorite with investors in 2021.
The company continues to benefit from the global popularity of its products, the ability to innovate to maintain steady sales growth, and a strong cash balance. And the future looks bright with investors favoring higher-quality stocks with a long record of growth amid Federal Reserve policy-related uncertainty and the prospect of higher rates.
Meta Platform Inc.
Despite one of the most tumultuous years in the company’s history, shares rose 23% in 2021, roughly in line with the S&P 500. While Facebook’s parent continued to benefit from higher user engagement on its platforms and the ongoing shift of advertising budgets toward social media, it struggled with the impact of Apple’s changed privacy policy and intense scrutiny of its products, particularly After the issuance of documents from a whistleblower.
In October, the company announced a new focus on the Metaverse, an immersive virtual reality technology, and a new name to reflect the change.
Meta’s gains came mainly in the first half of 2021, as the stock hasn’t traded on record since September. However, Wall Street is optimistic about the company’s prospects in 2022, which is seen as a powerful engine for generating attractive valuations and profits. Baird named it one of his top large-cap Internet picks for the next year.
Amazon.com Inc.
The e-commerce company was a notable underperformer in 2021 against its megacap peers and the market as a whole. The stock gained 2.4%, enough for its seventh positive year in a row, its longest win yet. Since the end of 2014, the shares have risen nearly 1,000%.
Amazon traded within a fairly narrow range in the second half of the year, as a pair of disappointing quarterly reports, rising labor costs and supply chain disruptions weighed on stocks. On Wednesday, Mizuho Securities’ managing director Jordan Klein wrote that there is a “clear view among investors that the sell-side is mis-modeling 1H22 (as in too many.)” Still, several firms have named Amazon as their top name. . Select for 2022.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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