15 Stocks That Outperformed the S&P 500 in 2021

It's harder than you probably think to outperform the S&P 500. Out of all the many hundreds of large-cap stock mutual funds out there, fully 82.5% of them underperformed the S&P 500, and a whopping 93.8% of them underperformed it over 20 years. For many people, the best thing to do with that news is to just stick with broad-market index funds, which will offer roughly a market-matching return. If you want to aim higher, though, look at individual stocks. Here are 15 that left the S&P 500 in the dust in 2021.

The returns listed for each stock are as of mid-December 2021, and you can compare them to the S&P 500's return of about 26% over that same period. (Note, by the way, that a 26% return is outstanding for one year. The S&P 500's long-term average annual gain is closer to 10% over long periods.)

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.

Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) was founded in 2010, but few had ever heard of the company until the past few years. It's now a household name, offering one of several COVID-19 vaccines. As you might imagine, the vaccine has been great for business, with its revenue surging sixfold between fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2020, and more than 30-fold from its third quarter of 2020 to its third quarter of 2021. How did its stock fare? Well, as of mid-December, it's up 160.4%, far beyond the S&P 500's 26%.

An 118-year-old automaker clocked the S&P 500? Well, yes, it did. Over the past year, Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) shares surged around 132%, versus 26% for the S&P 500. The company has been challenged, like its peers, by chip shortages, but has still been posting very strong sales numbers in recent quarters, with its trucks (such as the F-150) and electric vehicles (such as the Mustang Mach-E) doing particularly well.

Nucor (NYSE: NUE) may not be a household name, but it's a major American steelmaker and North America's largest recycler. The company has long paid a dividend (which recently yielded 1.7%), and it has hiked it annually for 48 consecutive years. The stock popped about 117% in 2021, versus about 26% for the S&P 500, and there seems plenty of room for growth -- especially with more attention being paid lately to infrastructure projects.

ALSO READ: This Steel Giant Is Winning With a New Brand of Environmentally Friendly Steel

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) is a major American semiconductor chipmaker, recently with a market value near $700 billion. Its shares have surged nearly 80-fold over the past decade, and around 115% in 2021 alone. Its shares have been dropping lately, in part because they are so richly valued relative to other chip specialists.

Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU) shares have risen around 76% in 2021, versus around 26% for the S&P 500. The company, recently valued near $180 billion, is a financial software specialist and is probably most known for its TurboTax tax-prep platform. The company has been on a roll recently, in part due to organic growth and in part due to acquisitions. Recent major purchases include Mint, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp.

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.

Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM) offers a vital service for many companies: safely storing their data and documents. Its document storage operation is being challenged lately, though, because many companies are shifting as much as they can from paper to digital formats. Thus, Iron Mountain, which is now a real estate investment trust (REIT), is shifting much of its focus to data centers. That's promising, but it's doing so with a lot of debt, which isn't so good. Still, its 2021 has been positive, with its stock jumping around 68%.

ALSO READ: How Safe Are Iron Mountain and Its Dividend?

Shares of AutoZone (NYSE: AZO) have popped some 67% so far in 2021, versus just 26% for the S&P 500. (All returns in this slideshow are as of mid-December.) The company got a tailwind from the pandemic, as sales of used cars grew, and used cars often need spare parts for repairs. On top of that, the company has been growing its online sales while working to reduce delivery times.

Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOG) (NASDAQ: GOOGL) is the company formerly known as Google -- and the company that now encompasses the dominant search engine along with a host of other assets, such as such as the Android operating system, YouTube, Fitbit, Nest, and the Google Play store. The growth stock has gained a whopping 67% so far in 2021, and that's despite its massive market value recently near $1.9 trillion. Better still, its shares remain attractively valued.

If you don't have a farm, ranch, horse, or big yard, you may not know about Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO). It has described itself as "the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the United States," with offerings including lawn mowers, chicken coops, feeding troughs, riding boots, rabbit feed, band saws, and air fryers, among many other things. Tractor Supply has close to 2,000 stores in 49 states, and its stock has grown by more than 20%, on average, over the past decade -- and some 65% in 2021 alone.

ALSO READ: Growth Wasn't the Best Part of Tractor Supply's Earnings Report

Home-improvement and construction retailer Lowe's (NYSE: LOW), with a hefty market value recently near $170 billion, isn't normally thought of as a fast grower, but in 2021 its shares have surged some 60%, versus a still-solid 26% for the S&P 500. The pandemic wasn't as bad to Lowe's and rival Home Depot because many people who were spending more time at home decided to spruce up their environment.

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.

Public Storage (NYSE: PSA) is another REIT, but its real estate focus is on storage unit facilities, of which it recently owned 2,678, in 39 states. It also owns about 35% of Europe's Shurgard Self-Storage, among other entities. The industry has been experiencing rapid growth, but some expect it to slow down in the coming years. Meanwhile, though, Public Storage's stock has soared some 54% so far in 2021, versus 26% for the S&P 500.

Like Moderna, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has enjoyed a massive tailwind provided by sales of its COVID-19 vaccine. Its stock didn't soar quite as much, though, in large part because Pfizer is a much bigger company, with many more products on the market. The company recently projected $36 billion in vaccine revenue for 2021, and total revenue near $81 billion. Its third-quarter revenue popped 134% over year-ago levels. And its stock? Up about 50% so far this year.

ALSO READ: 3 Reasons Pfizer Stock Will Crush the Broader Market in 2022

Charles Schwab (NYSE: SCHW), with a recent market value near $150 billion, has seen its shares jump about 50% so far in 2021, versus 26% for the S&P 500. The company has long been counted among the ranks of the best brokerages, and it has been getting bigger over time in part via acquisition. Last year, for example, it bought TD Ameritrade. Schwab recently boasted "32.9 million active brokerage accounts, 2.2 million corporate retirement plan participants, 1.6 million banking accounts, and $7.92 trillion in client assets as of November 30, 2021."

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ: COST) is a massive warehouse retailer, recently with 828 warehouses, 572 of which were in the U.S. and Puerto Rico; 105 in Canada; and the rest in Mexico, Japan, the U.K., and beyond. The company has long treated its workers, customers, and shareholders well, capping markups on products, offering above-average wages and benefits, and delivering solid share-price growth. So far in 2021, its shares have gained about 48%.

ALSO READ: Here's Why Costco Can Continue Its Growth Streak

Then there's CVS Health (NYSE: CVS), the Rhode Island-based drugstore juggernaut that has seen its shares rise 45% so far in 2021, as it grows in several directions. It's a drugstore, as you'd imagine, of course, but it's also been building out a network of MinuteClinics and HealthHUBS, aiming to offer primary care, diagnostics, and monitoring. Its purchase of Aetna has made it a health insurer, too. The stock is a solid dividend payer, with a recent yield of 2.2%.

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.

If you have the time and energy (and skills!) to study stocks, carefully selecting the most promising ones for your long-term portfolio, there are many solid candidates to consider that can deliver market-beating returns. But remember that just meeting the market's average performance -- via index funds -- is a very respectable strategy that can grow your money very powerfully over time.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Charles Schwab is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Selena Maranjian owns Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Costco Wholesale, and Ford. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Costco Wholesale, Home Depot, Intuit, Iron Mountain, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends CVS Health, Charles Schwab, Lowes, Moderna Inc., and Tractor Supply. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.