37 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
Amid a falling market, a small group of stocks is hitting new peaks, but the business performance behind each name varies widely.
Financials are showing concentrated strength, with Asset Management & Custody Banks and Multi-Family Residential REITs each placing 4 names on today’s list. In total, 37 S&P 500 stocks are at their strongest price of the past year, led by the largest company on the list, Eli Lilly (LLY), with a market value of about $1105.2 billion.
This pocket of strength is notable when the S&P 500 (SPY) has returned -1.2% over the last month. The central question is what kind of business performance earns a new high when the broader market is in retreat. The names below offer some clues.
The Full List, Largest First
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 37 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LLY | $1,105.2 Bil | 3.0% | 0.5% | 9.8% | 59.4% |
| JPM | $921.4 Bil | 0.4% | 3.4% | 9.6% | 16.8% |
| JNJ | $643.7 Bil | 3.1% | 3.4% | 17.1% | 75.6% |
| UNH | $388.8 Bil | 2.4% | 2.0% | 8.6% | 42.5% |
| UNP | $167.9 Bil | 0.2% | 3.8% | 7.3% | 22.5% |
| WELL | $166.3 Bil | 2.1% | 4.3% | 18.3% | 57.9% |
| BNY | $105.7 Bil | 2.0% | 6.3% | 6.2% | |
| PNC | $102.9 Bil | 0.3% | 3.0% | 11.9% | 33.6% |
| USB | $97.7 Bil | 0.1% | 3.5% | 14.4% | 36.4% |
| TRV | $74.0 Bil | 1.3% | 3.6% | 17.6% | 32.2% |
Does every new high signal the same kind of strength?
Look at Eli Lilly (LLY). The stock is at a peak, and its revenue grew 47.4% over the last twelve months, with an operating margin of 47.3%. The market is paying for that performance, with the stock trading at 43.7 times trailing earnings.
Contrast that with another large-cap name on the list, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Its stock has gained 17.1% over the last month, a powerful run. Yet its revenue grew 7.9% over the last twelve months. The profiles are different; the list contains both rapid growers and steady performers reaching new levels.
So, is a 52-week high a green light or a warning sign?
A list of stocks at their highs is a map of what the market is rewarding right now, and strength often persists. But a price is not a verdict on a company’s future.
The disciplined approach is to treat this list as a starting point for questions, not a finish line. The key is to look past the price and check whether the business fundamentals, like revenue growth and margins, can support the new valuation.
A new high tells you what the market already believes. The harder question is which of these runs management itself is underwriting. Our Guidance Momentum screen tracks exactly that: stocks where the company raised its own forward numbers.
One more pattern worth noticing: 17 of the 37 names are Financials stocks. When a whole group is making new highs together, a financials ETF like XLF is one way to own the group’s strength without betting on which single name leads it from here.
New Highs Feel Great. Concentration Decides How They End
If a stock you own is on this list, the gain is real – and so is the way winners quietly grow into most of a portfolio right before their worst stretch. Trimming a big winner the usual way means handing a chunk of those gains to the IRS. There is a way to lock in the gains and diversify without the tax hit.