H1 2026 at a glance
The S&P 500 gained +9.55% (price return) in the first half of 2026, but that single number hides a wide spread between winners and laggards. Only 62% of constituents posted a positive total return over the window — the rest were flat or down, consistent with the index itself rising. The tables below rank every S&P 500 constituent as of the start of H1 2026 by total return (price change plus reinvested dividends), from best to worst.
Top 20 S&P 500 stocks of H1 2026
Micron Technology, Inc. (MU) led the index, up +304.60% in total return. Total return includes dividends paid during the window — a meaningful difference for slower-growing, higher-yield names.
Top 20 S&P 500 Stocks — H1 2026 Total Return
Last close of 2025 through June 30, 2026
| # | Company | Sector | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +304.60% | Technology | |
| 2 | +278.40% | Technology | |
| 3 | +271.05% | Technology | |
| 4 | +251.27% | Technology | |
| 5 | +245.31% | Technology | |
| 6 | +192.72% | Technology | |
| 7 | +182.04% | Technology | |
| 8 | +171.25% | Technology | |
| 9 | +153.62% | Technology | |
| 10 | +150.16% | Technology | |
| 11 | +148.94% | Technology | |
| 12 | +137.47% | Healthcare | |
| 13 | +114.72% | Industrials | |
| 14 | +112.56% | Industrials | |
| 15 | +100.23% | Technology | |
| 16 | +95.83% | Healthcare | |
| 17 | +93.45% | Technology | |
| 18 | +91.46% | Technology | |
| 19 | +89.62% | Technology | |
| 20 | +86.68% | Industrials |
- 1+304.60%
- 2+278.40%
- 3+271.05%
- 4+251.27%
- 5+245.31%
- 6+192.72%
- 7+182.04%
- 8+171.25%
- 9+153.62%
- 10+150.16%
- 11+148.94%
- 12+137.47%
- 13+114.72%
- 14+112.56%
- 15+100.23%
- 16+95.83%
- 17+93.45%
- 18+91.46%
- 19+89.62%
- 20+86.68%
Bottom 20 S&P 500 stocks of H1 2026
EPAM Systems, Inc. (EPAM) was the biggest laggard, down -61.27%. Being in the S&P 500 is no guarantee of a positive year — the list below is a reminder that index-level gains can mask real single-stock losses.
Bottom 20 S&P 500 Stocks — H1 2026 Total Return
Last close of 2025 through June 30, 2026
| # | Company | Sector | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Left S&P 500 in H1 | -61.27% | Technology |
| 2 | -60.40% | Technology | |
| 3 | -57.88% | Real Estate | |
| 4 | -55.24% | Healthcare | |
| 5 | -52.95% | Technology | |
| 6 | -52.77% | Technology | |
| 7 | -52.37% | Communication Services | |
| 8 | -48.62% | Industrials | |
| 9 | -46.44% | Healthcare | |
| 10 | -45.06% | Consumer Cyclical | |
| 11 | -43.00% | Technology | |
| 12 | -42.58% | Technology | |
| 13 | -42.39% | Healthcare | |
| 14 | -42.01% | Industrials | |
| 15 | -41.42% | Technology | |
| 16 | -40.56% | Technology | |
| 17 | -40.32% | Technology | |
| 18 | -37.88% | Technology | |
| 19 | -36.00% | Consumer Cyclical | |
| 20 | -35.57% | Technology |
- 1-61.27%Left S&P 500 in H1
- 2-60.40%
- 3-57.88%
- 4-55.24%
- 5-52.95%
- 6-52.77%
- 7-52.37%
- 8-48.62%
- 9-46.44%
- 10-45.06%
- 11-43.00%
- 12-42.58%
- 13-42.39%
- 14-42.01%
- 15-41.42%
- 16-40.56%
- 18-37.88%
- 19-36.00%
- 20-35.57%
S&P 500 sector performance, H1 2026
Technology led all sectors, cap-weighted at +48.93%. Each bar is cap-weighted by current market capitalization — the same convention used for published sector-index returns — so a handful of mega-cap names can dominate a sector's number. The dashed line marks the S&P 500's own cap-weighted total return of +22.51% — sectors to its right beat the index, those to its left lagged.
Cap-Weighted H1 2026 Total Return by Sector
| Sector | H1 2026 total return (cap-weighted) | Share of index weight | Constituents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technology | +48.9% | 35.8% | 80 |
| Industrials | +23.1% | 7.5% | 71 |
| Utilities | +21.8% | 2.6% | 32 |
| Energy | +21.0% | 2.9% | 22 |
| Real Estate | +14.8% | 1.7% | 27 |
| Basic Materials | +14.4% | 1.8% | 23 |
| Consumer Defensive | +8.3% | 5.2% | 36 |
| Healthcare | +7.9% | 8.9% | 59 |
| Communication Services | +3.2% | 11.0% | 19 |
| Consumer Cyclical | +0.3% | 10.0% | 53 |
| Financial Services | +0.3% | 12.6% | 70 |
What moved the market
- Gains concentrated in a narrow group of stocks — 496 constituents were ranked, but the top 20 outpaced the median name by a wide margin.
- Sector performance diverged: Technology led at +48.93%, while Financial Services lagged at +0.29% — a 48.6% cap-weighted spread.
- First-half seasonality is a recurring pattern worth checking against — see how the S&P 500 has historically performed month by month.
- To see how a specific H1 winner or laggard is valued after its move, try the P/E ratio calculator, or browse the full S&P 500 market-cap rankings.
Methodology & scope
Rankings cover S&P 500 constituents as of the start of H1 2026. H1 total return is calculated from the last trading close of 2025 through the last close on or before June 30, 2026, using dividend- and split-adjusted prices — so it reflects price change plus reinvested dividends, not price change alone. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite figures shown are index price return (no dividend reinvestment), which is how index levels are quoted.
Membership is point-in-time: constituents are those in the S&P 500 as of the last trading day of 2025, reconstructed from official index change history rather than today's live constituent list. A stock added to the index mid-year is excluded, since it wasn't a constituent for the period; a stock removed mid-year — for example, via acquisition — still counts if it has a resolvable full-period price history, and is excluded only when that history is missing rather than shown with a partial return. Names that have since left the index are tagged “Left S&P 500 in H1” in the tables above. Sector returns are cap-weighted by current market capitalization.