Where The Buying Ran Strongest: 14 Large Cap Stocks At 52-Week Highs
A list of giants at new highs raises a key question about the price of quality.
Visa (V), with a market value of about $691.4 billion, is trading at its strongest price of the past year. As of Monday, it is one of 14 Large Cap stocks in our coverage universe to do so, a screen that only considers companies with a market value above $40 billion. While the S&P 500 returned +3.3% over the last month, some names on this list saw much larger gains, including a 41.5% run from Newmont (NEM).
The presence of such large, established companies prompts a core question for any investor looking at this list. Below are the 10 largest names making new highs.
The 10 Largest, By Market Cap
- 21 S&P 500 Stocks Just Made New 52-Week Highs
- The 52-Week-High List: 32 Small Cap Names On Monday
- 20 Mid Cap Stocks Hit 52-Week Highs On Monday
- S&P 500 Movers | Winners: EXPE, DLTR, CHD | Losers: STX, SNDK, CIEN
- 18 Stocks Just Touched 52-Week Lows
- Market Movers | Winners: CYPH, FWDI, GENB | Losers: RGNX, AIAI, TMS
The table below shows the 10 largest of the 14 names, sorted by market capitalization, with returns over four windows:
| Tickers | Market Cap |
1D % Chg |
1W % Chg |
1M % Chg |
1Y % Chg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| V | $691.4 Bil | 3.1% | 6.6% | 7.7% | 12.2% |
| MA | $534.48 Bil | 3.3% | 6.7% | 11.2% | 2.0% |
| KO | $395.74 Bil | 1.0% | 5.8% | 11.8% | 33.9% |
| AMGN | $239.67 Bil | 1.0% | 6.5% | 18.7% | 55.5% |
| VZ | $210.88 Bil | 1.4% | 4.3% | 8.1% | 19.0% |
| SCHW | $198.43 Bil | 1.2% | 2.8% | 11.8% | 20.1% |
| UNP | $183.87 Bil | 0.6% | 3.3% | 0.8% | 40.7% |
| NEM | $140.41 Bil | 0.2% | 9.6% | 41.5% | 90.1% |
| ABNB | $113.75 Bil | 1.6% | 6.1% | 34.8% | 50.4% |
| FCX | $111.95 Bil | 1.5% | 13.8% | 24.3% | 88.5% |
Are these valuations supported by business growth?
The two largest companies on the list, Visa and Mastercard (MA), offer a clear picture. Visa trades at 31.8 times trailing earnings after a 7.7% gain over the last month. Over the last twelve months, its revenue grew 14.4% and its operating margin was 65.6%.
Mastercard, the second-largest name, trades at 32.5 times trailing earnings following an 11.2% one-month gain. Its revenue grew 16.0% over the last twelve months, with an operating margin of 59.8%. In both cases, the new highs are accompanied by double-digit revenue growth and substantial margins.
A 52-week high is a starting point, not a conclusion.
Strength often persists, and a list of stocks at their yearly highs is a useful screen for names the market currently favors. But a price is not a verdict. A disciplined investor treats this list as a signal to do the work: to check whether the underlying business fundamentals can earn the stock’s new, higher valuation.
Before chasing any name on this list, ask what the company itself expects next. Our Guidance Momentum screen surfaces the stocks whose managements just raised their own outlooks, which is the momentum that tends to have staying power.
Chasing Highs Is A Reflex. Owning Strength Is A System
A 52-week-high list is seductive: everything on it has been going right. But buying a stock because it is at its high is buying a price, and prices revert; what persists is the quality underneath the run.
The Trefis High Quality (HQ) Portfolio is built to own that quality before and after it makes headlines: roughly 30 businesses selected for consistent cash generation, strong margins, and resilient balance sheets, sized and rebalanced with rules. It has a track record of outpacing a benchmark that combines the three major indices – the S&P 500, S&P Mid-cap, and Russell 2000. Admire the list; own the system.