15 Stocks That Have Beaten the S&P 500 Since the Pandemic Began

Three years ago at this time, the idea that a global pandemic would soon kill millions and paralyze the global economy in ways not seen in at least a century … well, that wasn't really too much on the minds of anyone except those who study such things.

But then a year later, we were in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have been enduring it and its many effects ever since. That makes now a good time for investors to take a look at companies that have weathered this moment well.

A good way to measure that is by comparing their performance to that of the S&P 500. Here are 15 stocks that have bested that index's total return of about 64.59% since April 2019.

5 Stocks Under $49
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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!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Shares in Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) have returned a resounding 1,880% since April 2019. That’s about 28 times the 65% return of the S&P 500 over the same span. While perhaps most familiar are its electric cars, this Austin, Texas-based industrial titan also produces batteries and solar panels and tiles for individual homes and major grids -- all products that would seem to be in a growth cycle.

ALSO READ: Should You Invest in Tesla Right Now?

Helping to stem the pandemic has been very good business for Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA), whose very ticker reflects the genetics technology this pharmaceutical and biotech leader specializes in, including producing one of the major COVID-19 vaccines. In three years, Moderna stock has returned some 524.2%, and that's without paying a dividend.

A $10,000 investment in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) three years ago would be worth about $36,510 now. That compares quite favorably to the $16,460 resulting from the same $10,000 put into an index fund mirroring the S&P 500. Apple stock also pays a dividend and is yielding about 0.49% based on its current share price of about $169.90. But this is a classic growth stock, after all, so dividends are just a little extra here.

ALSO READ: Growth Stocks: What They Are and How to Find Them

Target (NYSE: TGT) did just fine during the retail apocalypse that accompanied the lockdowns of the pandemic. Sales at its more than 1,900 stores impressed investors enough to drive a 182% total return in the past three years, about three times that of the S&P 500, and the big retailer's stock also is providing a dividend yield of about 1.68% at a current price of about $214.44 a share.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has been a major moneymaker for decades, and the pandemic years haven't changed its market-beating ways. The software and service giant has provided its investors a total return of 167.6% since April 2019, and it's currently yielding 0.79% at a share price of about $299.61.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
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!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Steel isn't sexy compared with electric cars, crypto, and the metaverse, but it’s been very good business for Nucor (NYSE: NUE) and investors in the country’s largest steelmaker. A $10,000 investment in its stock in April 2019 would now be worth about $26,600, and you'll get a yield of about 1.46% at the current share price of about $145.56.

ALSO READ: 3 Charts Show What's Ahead for Nucor in 2022

Kroger (NYSE: KR) owns the nation's largest grocery store chain, and along with the company keeping the pantry stocked during the pandemic, its stock has more than doubled the S&P 500 with a total return of about 157.3% since April 2019. A current dividend yield of about 1.46% at a share price of about $58.56 helps keep the cart full, too.

Costco (NASDAQ: COST) has soldiered through the pandemic nicely, maintaining its status as the world’s second-largest retailer and exceeding its biggest rival and the overall market with a total return of 146% since April 2019. A dividend yield of about 0.55% at a share price of about $586.27 is hardly eye-popping, but it's something.

ALSO READ: Investing in Retail Stocks

Prologis (NYSE: PLD) is the poster child of logistics space success, if you can call an operator of about a billion square feet of industrial real estate space worldwide a child. The largest of all warehouse landlords -- and also one of the largest of all real estate investment trusts (REITs) -- has produced a total return of about 143.8% in the past three years and is currently yielding about 1.93% at a share price of about $169.47.

It's good to be Google. Parent company Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) has turned $10,000 into $23,700 in the past three years, without the benefit of a yield. Investors have been stocking up on this search giant for years, although at $2,274 or so a share, the average investor might find filling the stocking a bit pricey, if the number of shares matters a lot to you.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
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!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

Investors who stashed $10,000 in Extra Space Storage (NYSE: EXR) three years ago now have about $22,200, compared with the $16,460 the same stake would have returned in the S&P 500. It's second only to fellow REIT Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) among self-storage operators. Extra Space Storage also is yielding about 2.91% at a current share price of about $210.38, compared with about 1.27% for the S&P 500.

ALSO READ: Investing in Self-Storage REITs

Owning shares of home-improvement giant Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW) has also helped improve many a do-it-yourselfer's portfolio during the pandemic, returning 87.24% over the past three years compared with 64.59% for the S&P 500. Add in a yield of about 1.57% at a current share price of about $200.77, and that makes the outcome even a bit better .

Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is the most venerable name on this list, and the global car and truck maker is still chugging along, despite all the supply travails of the pandemic. Ford stock is providing a decent yield of 2.40% -- about twice that of the S&P 500 -- at a share price of about $15.32 and in the past three years has turned a $10,000 investment into about $18,420.

Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is big, really big, and its stock is pricey, really pricey. But that $3,181.55 or so a share today includes a total return of about 78.58% since April 2019, besting the S&P 500's 64.59% over the same time frame. Amazon's massive presence in e-commerce and web services would seem to merit even greater growth during the pandemic, but this is also one of the most widely held stocks in the world, and it can be tough to move a battleship in any direction sometimes.

Speaking of price, a single Class A share of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) will cost you about $528,907.50. So, for about a half-million dollars a pop, you can join Warren Buffett in owning a very long list of well-known brands, from Geico to Dairy Queen to Duracell and Fruit of the Loom. You also would have seen a return of 67.65% since April 2019, about on par with the 64.59% of the S&P 500. And that's with no dividend yield.

5 Stocks Under $49
Presented by Motley Fool Stock Advisor
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!" It's true, but we think these 5 other stocks are screaming buys. And you can buy them now for less than $49 a share! Click here to learn how you can grab a copy of “5 Growth Stocks Under $49” for FREE for a limited time only.

While past performance is never a guarantee of future gain, the fact remains that each of these companies in their own way stayed ahead of the greater market during the worst of the pandemic. The reasons vary -- some are in essential businesses, some are leading the e-commerce and green energy waves, some are just darn good investors themselves (Mr. Buffett) -- but they all provide reasons to look at them as possible buy-and-holds for the years ahead.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Marc Rapport owns Amazon. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Amazon, Apple, Costco Wholesale, Microsoft, Prologis, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Berkshire Hathaway (B shares), Lowe's, and Moderna Inc. and recommends the following options: long March 2023 $120 calls on Apple and short March 2023 $130 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.