The S&P 500’s 2024 rally stalled in December as investors took profits to close out a second consecutive year of 20%-plus gains for the index. The S&P 500 still finished the year up about 23%, and investors are hoping the market can regain its momentum in 2025.
Top 2024 performers include multiple health care stocks with unique catalysts, as well as several quantum computing technology companies. Here are the 10 best-performing stocks of 2024 among companies that trade on major U.S. exchanges and have market capitalizations of at least $1 billion:
AppLovin Corp. (APP)
AppLovin provides software to app developers used for app discovery and monetization. Not only was AppLovin one of the best-performing stocks of 2024, it was also one of the best-performing stocks of 2023. The company has reported impressive profit and revenue growth, and investors are understandably bullish on AppLovin’s AI-powered ad-tech platform Axon-2. AppLovin has sizable opportunities in high-growth markets such as gaming and e-commerce, and it hopes to maintain annual revenue growth above 20%. AppLovin’s stock price was up 712.6% in 2024, and it’s up about 3,000% since the beginning of 2023.
Mesoblast Ltd. (MESO)
Mesoblast is an Australian biopharmaceutical company that develops medicines for complex inflammatory diseases that resist conventional treatment. The company’s late-stage product portfolio includes remestemcel-L (Ryoncil) for the treatment of steroid-refractory acute graft versus host disease (SR-aGVHD) and moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome due to COVID-19 infection. The stock ripped higher in December after the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved Ryoncil as the first therapy for children aged two months and older with SR-aGvHD. Mesoblast’s stock gained 800% in 2024.
SoundHound AI Inc. (SOUN)
SoundHound AI is a conversational intelligence technology company that provides voice AI solutions to business customers to automate customer service. The company has reported impressive growth numbers in recent quarters, and the stock has certainly gotten swept up in the Wall Street AI technology craze. Enthusiasm for SoundHound AI ramped up to a new level in December amid a surge in speculative growth stocks. Earlier in 2024, leading AI chipmaker Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) revealed an investment stake in SoundHound, which investors see as a major vote of confidence in SoundHound’s technology. SoundHound’s stock finished an eventful 2024 up 835.8%.
D-Wave Quantum Inc. (QBTS)
D-Wave Quantum develops and delivers quantum computing systems. Quantum computers take advantage of the principles of quantum mechanics to conduct calculations that even the highest-performance conventional computers cannot. D-Wave and other quantum computing-related stocks skyrocketed in December after Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) announced a breakthrough in quantum computing technology: a new chip that can perform computations in under five minutes that would take conventional supercomputers 10 septillion years to complete. For now, investor appetite for quantum computing has most of the industry flying high, and D-Wave is no exception. QBTS stock gained 854.5% in 2024.
Dave Inc. (DAVE)
Dave is a digital banking service that is designed to help users avoid many of the most frustrating and costly elements of traditional banking. Dave offers a budgeting tool to manage bills and avoid overspending, as well as its ExtraCash product to provide cash advances and help users avoid overdraft fees. It also helps gig workers with its job board, Side Hustle. Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban was an early investor in the company, and Cuban made a killing on his stake in 2024. Strong growth numbers drove Dave shares higher by 935.9% in 2024.
Sezzle Inc. (SEZL)
Sezzle is a financial technology company that specializes in buy now, pay later (BNPL) transactions. As of December 2023, Sezzle had 307,000 active subscribers, and 2.6 million active consumers had transacted with the platform in the previous 12 months. Sezzle has reported impressive financial growth metrics, which have fueled the stock. In the third quarter, Sezzle reported 40.6% underlying merchant sales growth and $15.4 million in net income. SEZL stock rose 1,146.5% in 2024.
Red Cat Holdings Inc. (RCAT)
Red Cat provides services and solutions to the drone industry, including distributed data storage and analytics. Red Cat shares caught fire in December when the company reported a new partnership with Palantir Technologies Inc. (PLTR) to integrate visual navigation software into its drones. Red Cat and Palantir announced the partnership following a series of mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey and throughout the Northeast that many investors believe could boost funding for the drone industry as a whole. Influential Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk has also recently spoken favorably about drone technology. Red Cat shares gained 1,360.2% in 2024.
Rigetti Computing Inc. (RGTI)
Rigetti Computing is another tech stock that is ideally positioned for a quantum computing boom. Rigetti provides full-stack quantum computing services to enterprise and government customers around the world via its Rigetti Quantum Cloud Services platform. The company also builds quantum computers, their processors and other key components. Rigetti has drawn comparisons to Nvidia because of Rigetti’s potential role as the major infrastructure provider for quantum computing. Rigetti plans to release a 100-qubit quantum computing system by the end of 2025. Following the December Google breakthrough, RGTI finished 2024 up 1,441.4%.
Quantum Computing Inc. (QUBT)
Quantum Computing develops algorithms and solutions for difficult problems by harnessing the power of quantum and quantum-inspired computing. Like many other quantum computing companies, Quantum has reported impressive (but volatile) growth numbers and likely remains a high-risk, speculative investment. The quantum computing industry is in the early stages, and companies like Quantum Computing face intense competition from much larger tech companies with far more resources. In the third quarter, Quantum reported just $101,000 in revenue and a net loss of $5.7 million, but revenue more than doubled year over year. QUBT stock finished 2024 up 1,718.6%.
GeneDx Holdings Corp. (WGS)
GeneDx has industry-leading exome and genome tests that help analyze complex genomic data and improve health system efficiency, accelerate drug discovery and translate genetic data into diagnoses. The stock jumped in April when GeneDx reported 96% year-over-year growth in exome and genome test revenue and raised its full-year sales growth guidance. Another earnings beat and guidance hike in late October sent the stock to new highs. After years of abysmal performance culminating with a 1-for-33 reverse stock split in May 2023, investors seem to finally be on board with GeneDx. The stock was up 2,694.9% in 2024.