While 2024 saw megacap technology stocks propel the stock market to new heights, there were some standouts outside of the tech space. The last year was a record-breaking one for the market, with the bull run of key tech names like artificial intelligence darling Nvidia helping power the market’s gains and becoming one of the year’s most dramatic stories. Surpassing $3 trillion in market cap for the first time back in June, the chipmaker ended the year with gains of more than 171%. With those gains, the market had a massive year, as all three major averages hit new intraday and closing records in the month of December alone. Unsurprisingly, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed out the year with the most gains among the three indexes, rising more than 28%. The broad market S & P 500 finished not too far behind that, jumping more than 23%. Meanwhile, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rose nearly 13%. Still, several non-tech names also made their mark on the market with their performances. In view of this, here is a list of the top 25 names in the index in 2024, according to FactSet. The AI race was a dominant topic in 2024, leading to a boom in data center demand as tech companies looked to connect those centers to nuclear plants as a way to acquire clean energy for their AI needs. But with land and power becoming more limited as a result of this demand, data centers are now making their way outside of the global hub in northern Virginia and into new markets in places like Texas. For Texas-based power company Vistra , which owns six reactors, the boom has served as a massive tailwind. The stock finished the year as the second-best performing name in the S & P 500, jumping about 258%. And that run could continue in 2025, as Wall Street is entirely bullish on it. In fact, all of the 14 analysts covering the stock have a strong buy or buy rating, and its average price target of around $163 implies more than 18% upside potential, per LSEG data. VST 1Y mountain VST, 1-year Yet, Vistra isn’t the only name on the list that has benefited from the AI data center boom. As more tech companies venture into Texas given the state’s less strict regulations and plentiful energy resources, Dallas-based landowner Texas Pacific Land – which owns around 873,000 acres of land in West Texas, with most of it being in the Permian Basin – has stepped up to the plate. When asked about opportunities to lease land for data centers, the company’s CEO, Tyler Glover, said in the latest earnings call that “there’s a lot of conversations taking place within the industry and definitely within TPL.” “We feel that we’re positioned as well as anyone in West Texas to provide land and water solutions as those opportunities unfold,” he continued. Since the start of the year, the stock’s price has more than doubled, with shares up 111%. That said, the sole analyst covering TPL – which joined the broad market index in late November – has taken a neutral stance heading into next year, and has a price target of $565, which implies about 49% downside from here. TPL 1Y mountain TPL, 1-year The year also saw travel demand in the airline industry continue to recover since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to United Airlines executives. In its latest earnings call, CEO Scott Kirby said the industry had reached an “inflection point,” forecasting margin expansion in the coming years. That demand led the airline to plan new routes internationally in 2025, including to relatively remote destinations like Mongolia, Greenland and northern Spain . The move came a few months after the Federal Aviation Administration cleared it to add new routes as well as new aircraft. With that, the stock became the fourth-best performer in the S & P 500 with year-to-date gains of more than 135%, and most of the Street expects its gains to continue. Of the 23 analysts covering it, 22 have a strong buy or buy rating on it, while one has a hold rating. Additionally, its average target of about $113 implies more than 16% upside. UAL 1Y mountain UAL, 1-year While customers criticized Walmart on social media for its decision to roll out digital shelf labels, the retail giant has still been the place many shoppers are turning to during this period of stubborn inflation because of its numerous discounts. Specifically, it said back in August that it had 7,200 “rollbacks,” or short-term deals , within various categories in the quarter that ended July 31. With that commitment to value, Walmart’s earnings have come in strong. In its latest quarterly results, the company’s comparable sales rose 5.3% , while e-commerce sales rose 22%. That performance has helped lead the stock to increase about 72% on the year, and most of the Street thinks more gains are in store. To be sure, 41 out of the 44 analysts covering the retailer have a strong buy or buy rating, but three rate the stock a hold. It also has an average target of around $99, which implies more than 6% upside, as of Tuesday’s close. WMT 1Y mountain WMT, 1-year Deckers Outdoor , which owns the breakout shoe brand Hoka, has also risen massively. That shoe grown in popularity this year, posting a nearly 35% year-over-year increase in net sales in the company’s most recent quarterly results. That has aided the stock’s 82.3% climb in 2024. DECK 1Y mountain DECK, 1-year A little more than half of the Street is sticking with the name into 2025, as 14 of the 24 analysts covering it have a strong buy or buy rating. However, its average target of roughly $202 implies about 0.5% downside ahead.
