12 Stocks That Would Have Made You a Fortune in 2020

To say that 2020 has been a wild year in the stock market would be a massive understatement. After plunging into a bear market faster than ever before in March, stocks have rebounded sharply. As of mid-December, the S&P 500 is actually up by more than 15% year to date.

However, some stocks have done far better, and these 12 have really excelled. Just to give you an idea of the type of performance they've delivered, the worst-performing stock in this group has more than doubled investors' money. Here are a dozen of the year's biggest winners, listed in order from smallest return to greatest.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Square's (NYSE: SQ) biggest tailwind in 2020 came in the form of its Cash App ecosystem, which saw its active user base double year over year in the third quarter. Not only that, but with Cash App gross profit more than tripling, the company is getting much better at monetizing the platform as well. In 2020, Square added stock trading capabilities to the Cash App, and the resurgence of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has also been a catalyst.

However, this could just be the beginning. Square has previously said that it wants its Cash App to do essentially everything a bank can do, so we could see many new features roll out in 2021 and beyond.

ALSO READ: Why I'll Never Sell My Square Stock

It shouldn't be a surprise that Zoom Video Communications (NASDAQ: ZM) performed so well in 2020. Over the past year, Zoom has gone from a nice way to meet with co-workers and clients remotely to a household name that hundreds of millions of people around the world rely on to stay in touch, both in their professional and personal lives. The number of businesses that are Zoom subscribers has grown nearly 500% over the past year, and Zoom is generating seven times the free cash flow it was producing at this time last year.

Teladoc (NASDAQ: TDOC) is the leader in virtual healthcare delivery, facilitating appointments between patients and their care providers remotely. And the platform essentially sells itself. Healthcare providers save an average of $472 per visit by using Teladoc.

While the pandemic certainly provided a tailwind to Teladoc's business, it's worth noting that this company was growing rapidly before COVID-19. Since 2015, Teladoc has grown its revenue at a staggering 67% annualized rate.

Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) saw a dramatic increase in demand for its connected, high-end stationary bikes as the pandemic forced gyms around the United States to shut their doors, and shares have nearly quadrupled as a result.

The million-dollar question is whether demand for at-home fitness will be as strong after the pandemic. But Peloton has key advantages -- its bikes require a large capital outlay (nearly $2,000) and aren't too useful without a subscription. And people who use their Peloton bikes regularly love them.

ALSO READ: Could Peloton Be a Millionaire-Maker Stock?

Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) used its revolutionary messenger RNA vaccine technology to produce one of the most effective COVID-19 vaccine candidates at a record-setting pace. While helping to vaccinate the world from this terrible disease will certainly bring in quite a bit of revenue, the company's technology could also be applied to inoculating against other diseases down the road.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

In a very 2020 move, DraftKings (NASDAQ: DKNG) went public via a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) merger earlier this year, and it's fair to say that investors were excited about it. Once the pandemic hit and people were forced to stay at home, the excitement multiplied.

DraftKings is one of the leaders in daily fantasy sports and sports betting, and the legalization of these activities is a clear trend sweeping across the U.S. Several states have recently legalized sports betting, and others are attempting to do so as I write this.

Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) is Richard Branson's space tourism company that went public via SPAC merger. And unlike most companies on this list, Virgin Galactic's biggest rally took place in February, before the pandemic worsened. While this is perhaps the most speculative stock on this list -- it barely generates any revenue -- it could pay off in the long run if space tourism becomes a viable industry.

ALSO READ: 2 Top Growth Stocks to Buy in December

Penn National Gaming (NASDAQ: PENN) is one of two gambling stocks in this list. It operates both a network of physical casinos and online operations, including a sports betting partnership with Barstool Sports. There's a big trend toward legalized gambling in the United States, and Penn National could be a major beneficiary as that continues to play out, and as the pandemic gradually winds down and traffic to casinos increases.

Fastly (NASDAQ: FSLY) has a simple mission. It aims to make the internet faster, hence the company's name. Fastly operates an "edge computing" platform, which essentially means that it brings data closer to its end user, dramatically reducing transmission times and improving reliability. The pandemic didn't create a need for edge computing, but the dramatic uptick in remote work and streaming content certainly accelerated it, which is why Fastly is one of the year's biggest winners.

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ: CRWD) is a cloud-based cybersecurity company that uses a combination of crowdsourced data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology in order to detect threats more effectively than other cybersecurity platforms. Over the past year, CrowdStrike's quarterly revenue is up by 86%, and the company was certainly a beneficiary of the stay-at-home economy, as businesses needed security solutions that could work in a number of different locations.

5 Winning Stocks Under $49
We hear it over and over from investors, “I wish I had bought Amazon or Netflix when they were first recommended by the Motley Fool. I’d be sitting on a gold mine!” And it’s true. And while Amazon and Netflix have had a good run, we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Simply click here to learn how to get your copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Zscaler (NYSE: ZS), the second cybersecurity company on this list, provides a security platform that is completely cloud-based, requiring no on-site hardware or software. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of many corporations, and this has resulted in an accelerated sense of urgency to upgrade security.

ALSO READ: 3 Top Cybersecurity Stocks to Buy in December

MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) provides databases designed to be more scalable and secure than alternatives, and that also work effectively with cloud-based applications. More than 20,000 customers rely on MongoDB's solutions, including tech giants like Facebook and Alphabet. The company estimates that it has a $50 billion addressable market opportunity, and even after its recent pandemic-fueled growth, its annual revenue is just over 1% of this, so it could be just getting started.

To be sure, these aren't the only stocks that have doubled investors' money (or much more) in 2020. Generally speaking, stocks that benefited from remote work and from people generally staying home did quite well, while stocks that rely on people being willing and able to go places have not. But it's fair to say that many investors with tech-heavy portfolios did quite well this year.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Matthew Frankel, CFP owns shares of Square and has the following options: short September 2022 $155 calls on Square. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., Facebook, Fastly, MongoDB, Peloton Interactive, Square, Teladoc Health, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, Zoom Video Communications, and Zscaler. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.