The 10 Best Performing Stocks in the Last 25 Years
Published: May 1, 2026 | Analysis by YCharts Research Team
Introduction
Understanding which companies have stood the test of time is invaluable for advisors guiding clients through uncertain markets. That’s why we used the YCharts Stock Screener to identify the best performing stocks across key lookback periods, including year-to-date, 1, 3, 5, 10, and 25 years, across the entire Russell 1000.
Rather than focus solely on recent winners, this analysis reveals which companies consistently rewarded investors over time, whether through capital appreciation, strong fundamentals, or dividend reinvestment. These insights help advisors put short-term volatility in context while positioning for long-term growth.
From 2026’s leaders to the stunning 25-year returns of household names like Monster Beverage and NVIDIA, here’s what advisors need to know about the stocks that delivered year after year.
Click to jump to a section:
- Best-Performing Stocks YTD
- Best-Performing Stocks in the Last Year
- Best-Performing Stocks in the Last 3 Years
- Best-Performing Stocks in the Last 5 Years
- Best-Performing Stocks in the Last 10 Years
- Best-Performing Stocks in the Last 25 Years
- What Was the Growth of $10,000 Over the Last 25 Years?
- How Would Making Regular Contributions Affect Overall Returns?
For a look at the best performers with a dividend focus, check out our analysis on the Best Performing Dividend Stocks.
Best Performing Stocks YTD
These are the top-performing stocks year-to-date in 2026, as of April 30th, 2026.
| Ticker | Name | YTD Price Return | YTD Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNDK | Sandisk Corp. | 361.92% | 361.92% | $161.81B |
| INTC | Intel Corp. | 156.04% | 156.04% | $474.86B |
| WDC | Western Digital Corp. | 152.23% | 152.35% | $147.32B |
| LITE | Lumentum Holdings, Inc. | 144.80% | 144.80% | $64.43B |
| CIEN | Ciena Corp. | 125.59% | 125.59% | $74.60B |
| IRDM | Iridium Communications, Inc. | 124.80% | 126.15% | $4.131B |
| VRT | Vertiv Holdings Co. | 102.76% | 102.81% | $126.18B |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 97.18% | 97.29% | $64.78B |
| MRVL | Marvell Technology, Inc. | 94.34% | 94.57% | $144.42B |
| GNRC | Generac Holdings, Inc. | 90.09% | 90.09% | $15.25B |
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Best Performing Stocks in the Last Year
These are the top-performing stocks between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026.
| Ticker | Name | 1Y Price Return | 1Y Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNDK | Sandisk Corp. | 3314.86% | 3314.86% | $161.81B |
| LITE | Lumentum Holdings, Inc. | 1428.32% | 1428.32% | $64.43B |
| WDC | Western Digital Corp. | 890.70% | 894.87% | $147.32B |
| CIEN | Ciena Corp. | 685.56% | 685.56% | $74.60B |
| MU | Micron Technology, Inc. | 572.07% | 573.71% | $583.22B |
| COHR | Coherent Corp. | 397.06% | 397.06% | $59.94B |
| INTC | Intel Corp. | 370.05% | 370.05% | $474.86B |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 362.90% | 364.24% | $64.78B |
| TER | Teradyne, Inc. | 362.84% | 364.52% | $53.77B |
| MKSI | MKS, Inc. | 304.55% | 307.40% | $19.08B |
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Best Performing Stocks in the Last 3 Years
These are the top-performing stocks between May 1, 2023 and April 30, 2026.
| Ticker | Name | 3Y Price Return | 3Y Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVNA | Carvana Co. | 5603.17% | 5603.17% | $56.70B |
| APP | Applovin Corp. | 2525.59% | 2525.59% | $150.54B |
| VRT | Vertiv Holdings Co. | 2101.68% | 2109.06% | $126.18B |
| RKLB | Rocket Lab Corp. | 2004.85% | 2004.85% | $46.98B |
| LITE | Lumentum Holdings, Inc. | 1770.09% | 1770.09% | $64.43B |
| PLTR | Palantir Technologies, Inc. | 1694.97% | 1694.97% | $332.71B |
| WDC | Western Digital Corp. | 1569.71% | 1576.73% | $147.32B |
| SMMT | Summit Therapeutics, Inc. | 1525.76% | 1525.76% | $16.64B |
| ASTS | AST Spacemobile, Inc. | 1291.71% | 1291.71% | $21.63B |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 1131.02% | 1145.16% | $64.78B |
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Best Performing Stocks in the Last 5 Years
These are the top-performing stocks between May 1, 2021 and April 30, 2026.
| Ticker | Name | 5Y Price Return | 5Y Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 2134.40% | 2185.34% | $64.78B |
| VRT | Vertiv Holdings Co. | 1347.09% | 1353.61% | $126.18B |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | 1229.62% | 1232.95% | $4.850T |
| CRS | Carpenter Technology Corp. | 1030.71% | 1110.75% | $21.33B |
| LITE | Lumentum Holdings, Inc. | 960.93% | 960.93% | $64.43B |
| CIEN | Ciena Corp. | 945.33% | 945.33% | $74.60B |
| WFRD | Weatherford International plc | 941.04% | 967.65% | $7.937B |
| FTAI | FTAI Aviation Ltd. | 935.35% | 1124.59% | $25.61B |
| FTI | TechnipFMC plc | 921.22% | 941.23% | $30.23B |
| VST | Vistra Corp. | 835.63% | 932.50% | $53.44B |
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Best Performing Stocks in the Last 10 Years
These are the top-performing stocks between May 1, 2016 and April 30, 2026.
| Ticker | Name | 10Y Price Return | 10Y Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | 22367.77% | 22841.87% | $4.850T |
| AMD | Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 9885.63% | 9885.63% | $577.94B |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 6140.25% | 6556.61% | $64.78B |
| DRS | Leonardo DRS, Inc. | 5246.05% | 5309.77% | $10.80B |
| MU | Micron Technology, Inc. | 4710.79% | 4833.52% | $583.22B |
| ANET | Arista Networks, Inc. | 4047.94% | 4047.94% | $217.02B |
| CELH | Celsius Holdings, Inc. | 4010.61% | 4010.61% | $8.627B |
| LITE | Lumentum Holdings, Inc. | 3466.48% | 3466.48% | $64.43B |
| LRCX | Lam Research Corp. | 3275.13% | 3770.21% | $322.47B |
| CIEN | Ciena Corp. | 3034.76% | 3034.76% | $74.60B |
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Best Performing Stocks in the Last 25 Years
These are the top-performing stocks between May 1, 2001 and April 30, 2026.
| Ticker | Name | 25Y Price Return | 25Y Total Return | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MNST | Monster Beverage Corp. | 226856.83% | 226856.83% | $76.33B |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | 99913.59% | 124768.87% | $64.46B |
| AAPL | Apple, Inc. | 59513.91% | 70958.66% | $4.162T |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | 57399.21% | 62609.06% | $4.856T |
| TPL | Texas Pacific Land Corp. | 55824.81% | 70075.77% | $29.94B |
| DECK | Deckers Outdoor Corp. | 52310.26% | 52310.26% | $14.49B |
| ODFL | Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. | 49281.88% | 51336.00% | $43.49B |
| AMZN | Amazon.com, Inc. | 33494.42% | 33494.42% | $2.897T |
| ISRG | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | 31100.67% | 31100.67% | $162.51B |
| CLH | Clean Harbors, Inc. | 27448.90% | 27448.90% | $16.63B |
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What Was the Growth of $10,000 Over the Last 25 Years?
If you invested $10,000 25 years ago into any of the ten best-performing stocks over the last 25 years, your balance today would be in the millions of dollars.
The best-performing stock in the last 25 years was Monster Beverage (MNST). A $10,000 investment into Monster Beverage 25 years ago would be worth $22.7 million today. Right behind it is Comfort Systems USA (FIX); $10,000 invested into FIX in 2001 would’ve turned into exactly $10 million today, or $12.49 million after dividend reinvestment.
| Ticker | Name | 25Y Price Growth | 25Y Total Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNST | Monster Beverage Corp. | $22.70 million | $22.70 million |
| FIX | Comfort Systems USA, Inc. | $10.00 million | $12.49 million |
| AAPL | Apple, Inc. | $5.961 million | $7.106 million |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | $5.750 million | $6.271 million |
| TPL | Texas Pacific Land Corp. | $5.592 million | $7.018 million |
| DECK | Deckers Outdoor Corp. | $5.241 million | $5.241 million |
| ODFL | Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. | $4.938 million | $5.144 million |
| AMZN | Amazon.com, Inc. | $3.359 million | $3.359 million |
| ISRG | Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | $3.120 million | $3.120 million |
| CLH | Clean Harbors, Inc. | $2.755 million | $2.755 million |
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How Would Making Regular Contributions Affect Overall Returns?
Using NVIDIA (NVDA)–one of the world’s most valuable companies and fourth-best performer over the last 25 years–as an example, contributing $100 each month since May 2001 would’ve equaled a net total contribution of $30,000, with a total return of $14.13 million.
If the monthly contribution was $250 each month ($75,000 total), the net balance after those 25 years would be $35.32 million today.
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Though total returns achieved via monthly contributions over the 25 year time horizon wouldn’t have been as large as an upfront lump-sum investment, tools like Scenarios illustrate the importance of “staying the course” as an equity investment strategy to clients.
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