Trading the Stock Market’s 20 Biggest Winners and Losers in 2022
The list of single-stock winners and losers in 2022 closely mirrors overall sector performance, with energy companies producing some of the most attractive returns, and technology/communications companies posting some of the worst
As of mid-November 2022, the U.S. stock market is still down significantly on the year.
The devastation has been particularly severe in the technology sector, with the Nasdaq 100 down roughly 29% year-to-date. However, performance in the broader stock market has been slightly better, with the well-diversified S&P 500 down a more modest 18%.
There haven’t been a lot of bright spots in the 2022 stock market. The lone outperfomer, in terms of market sectors, has been the energy sector, as illustrated below.
So far in 2022, the energy sector is up more than 60%, as evidenced by the +61% return in the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE). Interestingly, the second-best performing sector in 2022 hasn’t even produced a positive return, with the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) down over 4.0% in 2022.
The list below highlights the year-to-date performance in the 10 major sectors of the stock market during 2022:
- Energy ETF (XLE), +63%
- Utilities ETF (XLU), -4.0%
- Consumer Staples ETF (XLP), -4.5%
- Health Care ETF (XLV), -5.0%
- Industrials ETF (XLI), -6.0%
- Materials ETF (XLB), -11.0%
- Financials ETF (XLF), -11.0%
- Technology ETF (XLK), -25.0%
- Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY), -33.0%
- Communication Services ETF (XLC), -36.0%
While the above performance statistics don’t paint a very good picture of the 2022 trading year, recent performance in the markets does provide some reason for optimism. Over the last month, the S&P 500 is up 6%, while the Nasdaq 100 has rallied by 5% over that same period.
Recent optimism in the market appears to stem from a fresh U.S. government report on inflation, which indicated that price appreciation may be cooling as compared to the red-hot inflation figures observed during summer. Moreover, the completion of the midterm elections also appears to have removed some degree of uncertainty from the financial markets.
As previously highlighted by Luckbox, these factors may contribute to an earlier-than-expected “Santa Claus rally.”
Best- and Worst-performing Stocks in 2022
As investors and traders start looking ahead to the 2023 trading year, it’s helpful to review some of the best- and worst-performing stocks from 2022.
The list of single-stock winners and losers in 2022 closely mirrors overall sector performance, with energy companies producing some of the most attractive returns, and technology/communications companies posting some of the worst.
Listed below are the 20 biggest year-to-date winners in the stock market, as well as the 20 biggest year-to-date losers (of companies with at least $2 billion in annual sales).
Best-performing Stocks 2022
- PBF Energy (PBF), +253%
- Peabody Energy (BTU), +168%
- Alpha Metallurgical (AMR), +165%
- Occidental Petroleum (OXY), +145%
- Constellation Energy (CEG), +137%
- CVR Energy (CVI), +136%
- Delek (DK), +130%
- Helmerich & Payne (HP), +117%
- Nabors Industries (NBR), +106%
- Modine (MOD), +104%
- Antero Resources (AR), +104%
- Technipfmc (FTI), +103%
- Hess Corp (HES), +98%
- HF Sinclair (DINO), +96%
- Super Micro Computer (SMCI), +95%
- EQT Corp (EQT), +91%
- Marathon Oil (MRO), +90%
- First Solar (FSLR), +87%
- Marathon Petroleum (MPC), +87%
- Exxon Mobil (XOM), +85%
Worst-performing Stocks 2022
- Carvana (CVA), -96%
- Avaya Holdings (AVYA), -93%
- Vroom (VRM), -88%
- Offerpad Solutions (OPAD), -88%
- Opendoor Tech (OPEN), -87%
- Party City (PRTY), -85%
- Applovin Corp (APP), -85%
- Xpeng (XPEV), -84%
- Newegg (NEGG), -82%
- Wayfair (W), -82%
- Twilio (TWLO), -81%
- Coinbase (COIN), -81%
- Stitch Fix (SFIX), -80%
- Unisys Corp (UIS), -78%
- Context Logic (WISH), -77%
- Snap Inc (SNAP), -77%
- Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), -76%
- Community Health (CYH), -76%
- Roku (ROKU), -75%
- Yellow Corp (YELL), -75%
Companies in the energy sector have benefited from the war in Eastern Europe, which served to disrupt global energy markets, and ultimately push up prices. These firms have benefited immensely from the 2022 pricing environment, as have their underlying stock prices.
On the flip side, the technology and communications sectors have experienced sharp reversals in 2022, with higher financing costs (via higher interest rates) taking a big bite out of profits. The recent slowdown in the global economy has been another strong headwind for many businesses, resulting in softening demand. Declining revenues and profits have forced many companies in the U.S. to start cutting jobs—especially in the tech sector.
In recent weeks, both Amazon (AMZN) and Meta (META) have announced significant job cuts, with the former cutting 10,000 employees, and the latter cutting 11,000. Shares in META are down roughly 67% so far this year, while AMZN shares are down about 44%. Twitter also reportedly laid off about 3,700 employees in wake of its recent acquisition by Elon Musk.
An important question going forward is whether such layoffs will extend to other sectors of the economy. And the answer to that question will likely hinge on future performance in the U.S. economy—especially during the first half of 2023.
Depending on one’s unique market outlook and trading approach, the biggest winners and losers from 2022 may offer some fresh ideas for the new trading year. For a detailed breakdown of sector performance in 2022, check out this new installment of Options Jive on the tastytrade financial network.
To follow everything moving the markets during the remainder of 2022, monitor TASTYTRADE LIVE, weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. CDT.
Sage Anderson is a pseudonym. He’s an experienced trader of equity derivatives and has managed volatility-based portfolios as a former prop trading firm employee. He’s not an employee of Luckbox, tastytrade or any affiliated companies. Readers can direct questions about this blog or other trading-related subjects, to support@luckboxmagazine.com.
