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Investors Business Daily
Business
MATT KRANTZ

There's A New World Order As 4 Big Stocks Like Tesla Fall To Pieces

Want to see just how badly stocks like Tesla have fallen to pieces? Just look at the new top 10 most valuable companies in the S&P 500 — it's almost an entirely different list this year.

Gone are Tesla, Nvidia, Meta Platforms and JPMorgan Chase. And in are Johnson & Johnson, Exxon Mobil, Visa and Walmart. In fact, half the top 10 most valuable companies in the S&P 500 are new this year.

Ramifications for such upheaval are giant as trillions of dollars are benchmarked or invested in the S&P 500. And the most valuable stocks hold the largest sway in the index.

Out With The Old: Tesla's Amazing Implosion

Tesla is one of the most dramatic examples of the shake-up at the top of the S&P 500. Falling 68% this year, the company that was the fifth most valuable U.S. company in January isn't even in the top 10 anymore. It ranks just thirteenth now, with a market value of $357 billion. Tesla's value is down $707 billion this year.

But the plunge of Meta Platforms is fascinating, too. Shares of the social media giant stumbling to pivot into virtual reality are down 66% this year, erasing $609 billion. That means the company, which in January was the sixth most valuable in the S&P 500, now ranks just 19th at $307 billion.

"Like many people, we have been watching Tesla's recent slide with a bit of amazement, if not morbid fascination," said Nicholas Colas of DataTrek Research. "The stock is now down (more than 60%) on the year, vying with Meta/Facebook as the worst Big Tech stock blowup of 2022."

In With The New: Welcoming New S&P 500 Titans

Just as the market has tossed out some top 10 members, others rose to take their places.

Exxon Mobil has enjoyed the most meteoric rise in the S&P 500. The energy giant jumped this year almost like tech stocks did in the boom. Shares of the energy giant soared 80% this year, adding $195 billion in market value. That surge in market value — more than with any stock in the S&P 500 — makes Exxon Mobil the eighth most valuable stock in the S&P 500. It's remarkable to think that it only ranked 27th most valuable in the S&P 500 a year ago.

It's stunning to see Exxon Mobil coming back so quickly. It wasn't even in the S&P 500's top 10 since 2018 (when it was ninth). But this is a company that was once dominant. It was the very most valuable S&P 500 company as recently as 2011, until Apple surpassed it in 2012.

Health Care Rises

Another interesting trend among the new top 10 in the S&P 500 is the rise of health care. Two of the most valuable stocks in the S&P 500 are now from the health care sector: UnitedHealth and Johnson & Johnson.

Shares of UnitedHealth are up 6.2% this year, an impressive feat in a year the S&P 500 is off nearly 20%. The health care giant now ranks No. 6 in the S&P 500, up from No. 9 at the start of the year. And Johnson & Johnson is new to the top 10. Shares are up 3.9% this year, making the company the S&P 500's seventh most valuable company, up from No. 12 a year ago.

Stability At The Top

That's not to say the S&P 500's top 10 is completely turned upside down. Apple is still the S&P 500's most valuable stock despite losing 27% of its value this year. It's still valued at more than $2 trillion. And rounding out the top four are Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon.com.

But guess who's coming on strongest? Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. Shares are up 2.6% this year. That might not sound like much, adding $8 billion in market value this year. But it's enough to make Berkshire Hathaway the No. 5 most valuable company, ahead of Tesla and Meta. Berkshire Hathaway was No. 8 in January.

And like Exxon Mobil, Walmart is rejoining the S&P 500's top 10 as No. 10. Walmart is back, after dropping out of the top 10 in 2020.

Looks like the new world order isn't entirely new, after all.

S&P 500: The New Top 10

Company Ticker YTD  change Market value (in trillions) Market value rank on Jan. 1 Sector
Apple -26.8% $2.1 1 Information Technology
Microsoft -29.5% $1.8 2 Information Technology
Alphabet -39.7% $1.1 3 Communication Services
Amazon.com -49.9% $0.9 4 Consumer Discretionary
Berkshire Hathaway 2.6% $0.7 8 Financials
UnitedHealth 6.2% $0.5 9 Health Care
Johnson & Johnson 3.9% $0.5 12 Health Care
Exxon Mobil 80.0% $0.5 27 Energy
Visa -4.8% $0.4 11 Information Technology
Walmart -0.6% $0.4 14 Consumer Staples
Sources: S&P Global Market Intelligence, IBD
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