By the end of the 2024 financial year, investors were feeling pretty upbeat. Australian stocks had another strong year, with the ASX 200 – which tracks the top 200 companies in Australia – jumping 7.8%.1 That’s much better than the average annual gain of about 4.8% over the past decade. 2
Over in the US, things were even more exciting. S&P 500 stocks soared by 23%3, mainly because tech companies did really well. The Tech Giants make up almost a third of the top 500 US stocks, while in Australia, tech stocks are about 6% of the ASX 200. 4
All of which begs the question, which stocks were the biggest winners? We asked CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian for a run-down of the five best Aussie and US performers during the 2024 financial year. And the more you understand which stocks have done well – regardless of where you are on your investing journey – the more informed you’ll be when it comes to picking stocks in the future.
Best FY24 Aussie shares
1. Pro Medicus
Healthcare software developer Pro Medicus was the best-performing ASX 200 stock in the year to June 30, delivering a 118% share price lift. “Pro Medicus provides medical imaging software,” Daghlian says. “It won several new contracts, contributing to strong growth in its key market, theUS. Its financial results were generally well received by investors and its shares have hit multiple record highs recently.”
2. Life360
The second-best performer was US-headquartered tech player Life360, up 115%. “Parents might be familiar with Life360, a real-time location-sharing app,” he says. “Like many growth-focused tech stocks, it hasn’t yet reached profitability but losses are narrowing thanks to aggressive growth. Monthly users globally have gone up 30% in the past year to more than 66 million.” 5
3. Red 5
Lifting its share price almost 90% was third-placed Red 5, a Western Australian gold miner. “The strong performance has come as it’s merged with another miner, Silver Lake Resources, which has increased its scale and diversification,” Daghlian says. “It also benefited from a lift in the price of gold, which was up more than 20% during the 12-month period.” 6
4. West African Resources
The gold price also helped the next-best stock during the year – emerging mid-tier gold producer West African Resources. “Its share price surged by 86%, with much of the rally coming in the last six months of the year on the back of promising updates provided by the company on prospective production at its Burkina Faso goldmine development.”
5. Altium
Rounding out the top five was software company Altium, up 84%. “Altium has had an interesting ride over the years with a lot of ups and downs. But this was its second continuous year of growth after a decline in 2022,” Daghlian says. “It’s currently being taken over by a Japanese firm, pending regulatory approvals, which has helped the share price lift.”
Best FY24 US shares
1. Super Micro Computer
Technology was the standout theme among the best five stock performers in the US, topped by Super Micro Computer. “It’s a much smaller company than the likes of market-darling chip-maker Nvidia but Super Micro’s share price more than tripled in the 12-month period, delivering a 229% lift,” Daghlian says. “Super Micro makes servers equipped with Nvidia’s AI chips.”
2. Vistra Corp
Coming in a very close second was Vistra Corp, up about 228%. “Vistra owns power plants in the US,” he says. “A key value driver has been the projected growth of power-hungry data centres, spurred by the rise of generative AI, which is expected to increase electricity demand and power prices.”
3. Nvidia
Computer chip maker Nvidia – the most talked about stock globally in the past year – came in third, with a 192% lift in its share price. “It has grown into one of the world’s largest companies,” Daghlian says. “For context, it’s roughly 21 times the size of BHP, which is our largest company here in Australia. The key driver of Nvidia’s growth is its dominance in the AI chip industry.”
4. CrowdStrike
Now a household name due to a Microsoft update malfunction in July, cybersecurity software company CrowdStrike gained about 161%, placing it fourth. “Given the continuing rise in the world’s cybersecurity needs, operators in this industry are receiving plenty of attention,” says Daghlian.
5. Constellation Energy
Fifth was Constellation Energy, which more than doubled its share price over the year to finish 119% higher. “The largest US owner of nuclear power plants has had demand from data-centre clients like it has never seen in the past 20 years,” he says. “The company also flagged profit growth for the next few years.”
So what does it all mean?
While these stocks were “hot” in the last financial year, Daghlian warns there’s never any guarantee they will be in the next. “In the absence of a crystal ball, any investment decision needs to be grounded in due diligence to understand the business, consider the risks and take your own financial circumstances and goals into account.” This performance does show plenty of reasons why it’s exciting to be an investor, though.
To research a stock, investors can explore the company’s online investor centre, the ASX or a share-trading platform. On CommSec you can see information about a company’s performance, including its sales, earnings, financial projections and performance ratios, along with analyst recommendations and watchlists to monitor stocks.
Past performance is not a reliable indication of future performance. Investing comes with risk.