Top 10 S&P 500 stock winners since Election Day

Many large US companies have seen their stocks rise since the presidential election.

Top 10 performing stocks in S&P 500 Index saw returns of 18% or more since Election Day, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence, which analyzed returns based on closing prices from November 5 to November 20.

Two companies – Axon Enterprise ( AXON ), which provides law enforcement technology, and Tesla (TSLA), the manufacturer of electric vehicles led by Elon Musk, adviser to President-elect Donald Trump – saw its shares gain more than 35%, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

In contrast, the S&P 500 gained about 2% over the same period.

Investors should be careful about buying individual stocks based on short-term gains, said Jeremy Goldberg, a certified financial planner, portfolio manager and research analyst at Professional Advisory Services, Inc., which ranked No. 37 on CNBC’s annual Top 100 Financial Advisors list.

“It’s usually a bad idea,” Goldberg said. “Momentum is a powerful force in the market, but relying solely on short-term price movements is a risky investment strategy.”

Investors need to understand what’s driving these moves and what factors are driving stock prices to stay sustainable, Goldberg said.

The high stock returns are partly driven by the Trump administration’s policy stance that will benefit certain companies and industries, investment experts say.

Deregulation and a softer look toward mergers and acquisitions are two “key” themes driving bullish sentiment after Trump’s win, said Jacob Manoukian, head of U.S. investment strategy at JP Morgan Private Bank.

In addition, US regulators are likely to be stricter about allowing potential mergers during Trump’s second term, experts say.

Companies in the streaming ecosystem — like Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), which owns the streaming service Max, and Disney+ owner The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) – can be benefactors of looser rules around consolidation, they say.

For some stocks, outperformance is linked to rosy quarterly earnings results or guidance that some companies reported around or after Election Day, experts said.

Many of these businesses are citing artificial intelligence as a growth driver.

For example, Palantir Technologies (PLTR), citing “unprecedented” demand for AI platforms in the third quarter, helping to generate “very strong” earnings, Treasurer and CFO David Glazer told investors November 4.

In addition, Axon beat analysts’ estimates in its Nov. 7 earnings results, with officials citing “AI era plans” and raising revenue guidance, Goldberg said.

Shares of Axon and Palantir were up 38% and 22%, respectively, from Nov. 5 to Nov. 20, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Some companies benefit from a combination of policies and income, experts say.

Take Vistra Corp. (VST), energy providers, e.g. The company’s stock rose 27% after Election Day.

Vistra is in talks with large data centers – or “hyperscalers” – in Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio to build or upgrade gas and nuclear plants, Stacey Doré, Vistra’s chief strategy and sustainability officer, said in the company’s Q3 earnings call on November 7.

Technology companies are building more and more such data centers to fuel the AI ​​revolution – and need increasing amounts of energy to run them.

And then there’s the Elon Musk factor.

Tesla shares got an “Elon Musk premium” from Trump’s victory, said Goldberg of Professional Advisory Services.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla, was one of Trump’s top campaign supporters. Trump tapped him to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. Shares of the electric vehicle maker rose 14% the day after the election and nearly 30% over the weekend.

But Tesla stock has additional tailwinds, experts say.

For one, Trump wants to end the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Eliminating the policy would hurt Tesla’s EV rival.

Tesla has also developed technology for driverless vehicles. In a recent Tesla earnings call, Musk said he would use his influence in the Trump administration to create a “federal approval process for autonomous vehicles.”