- Despite a big down year for stocks, a handful of names managed to print huge gains in 2022.
- Oil stocks dominated the S&P 500's top 10 winners this year as commodity prices spiked.
- These are the index's 10 best performing stocks in 2022, which added a combined $357 billion in market value.
2022 was a tough year for most stock market investors, with the S&P 500 finishing the year down 20% as inflation and higher interest rates dragged down investor sentiment.
But there were still some big winners in 2022, mainly in the energy sector as higher commodity prices sparked by Russia's war against Ukraine led to record profits for oil companies like Exxon Mobil and others.
One investor who won big was billionaire Warren Buffett, as his Berkshire Hathaway built a substantial stake throughout 2022 in the S&P 500's best performer: Occidental Petroleum. Buffett also owns a stake in Chevron, which was the 17th best S&P 500 performer in 2022 with a gain of about 50%.
The energy sector finished the year up 56%, making it the only one to print positive gains for the year. Meanwhile, about 70% of S&P 500 companies logged negative returns, making it all the more impressive for energy stocks to post such massive gains.
Combined, the top 10 performing S&P 500 stocks in 2022 added a total of $357 billion in market value. That pales in comparison to the $1.6 trillion in market value erased by the S&P 500's top 10 losers, which included Tesla, Meta Platforms, and PayPal, among others.
These were the 10 top performing S&P 500 companies in 2022.
10. Valero Energy
Ticker: VLO
2022 Return: 68.1%
Market Value Gained: $18.1 billion
9. Halliburton
Ticker: HAL
2022 Return: 70.0%
Market Value Gained: $15.0 billion
8. First Solar
Ticker: FSLR
2022 Return: 70.7%
Market Value Gained: $6.4 billion
7. APA
Ticker: APA
2022 Return: 70.7%
Market Value Gained: $5.6 billion
6. Schlumberger
Ticker: SLB
2022 Return: 76.7%
Market Value Gained: $33.5 billion
5. Exxon Mobil
Ticker: XOM
2022 Return: 78.5%
Market Value Gained: $192.8 billion
4. Marathon Petroleum
Ticker: MPC
2022 Return: 81.6%
Market Value Gained: $20.8 billion
3. Hess
Ticker: HES
2022 Return: 90.3%
Market Value Gained: $20.6 billion
2. Constellation Energy
Ticker: CEG
2022 Return: 106.6%
Market Value Gained: $14.2 billion
1. Occidental Petroleum
Ticker: OXY
2022 Return: 114.8%
Market Value Gained: $29.8 billion