There’s no denying the fact that the Dow Jones Industrial Average has been on an absolute tear so far this year. Following a dismal 9.5% drop in December, the index – typically an arbiter of the overall stock market that’s comprised of 30 stalwart U.S.-based firms – notched a 7.2% gain in the first month of year for the best January performance since 1987. Despite climbing only 3.4% in February, the Dow Jones still stayed on track for the best two-month start in over three decades.
Now with the index up for the third month in a row, it’s important to reflect on which of the Dow’s 30 components have been doing most of the heavy lifting. While each company is weighted differently, each plays a critical role in the index’s performance, which itself plays a role in overall sentiment in the U.S. investing landscape.
Here are the top five Dow Jones performers since the close of Dec. 31…
No. 5: United Technologies Corp. (UTX)
Shares of the industrial and aerospace conglomerate are up 19.2% so far in 2019 from $106.48 on Dec. 31 to $126.88 at the March 21 close. UTX experienced a year-to-date peak on Feb. 19 when shares settled at a three-month high of $128.64.
One of the company’s best daily performances happened on Jan. 23 after Q4 earnings demolished analyst expectations. United Technologies posted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.95 for the October-December period, surpassing estimates of $1.51 by more than 29%. The revenue numbers were even more astonishing, with the firm’s $18.04 billion beating Wall Street’s expected $16.79 billion by 7.4%. As a result, investors pushed UTX stock up 5.4% on the day from $111.06 to $117.04.
No. 4: Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM)
America’s largest oil and gas company by market cap ($346.4 billion) has benefited enormously from the 10% rally in oil prices this year. Exxon Mobil stock is up 19.9% in 2019 from $68.19 on Dec. 31 to $81.79 on March 21. The oil giant continues to outperform many of its peers – most notably Chevron Corp. (CVX), the second-largest U.S. oil firm whose shares have only gained 15.7%.
Exxon’s biggest winning streak happened from Jan. 29 to Feb. 1 when the stock vaulted 6.2% from $71.51 to $75.92. Investors seemed to bullish that entire week leading up to the Feb. 1 earnings report, which topped EPS estimates thanks to the company’s eager production boost in the fourth quarter. Exxon earned $1.41 per share, handily beating the $1.08 forecast. And while the $71.89 billion in revenue fell short of the expected $77.28 billion, investors responded to the company’s 4% increase in overall production, largely thanks to the gold mine that has become the Permian Basin in west Texas.
No. 3: Apple Inc. (AAPL)
Even with the impact of the U.S.-China trade war and ongoing battle against Huawei – the producer of smartphones and networking equipment being accused of spying on U.S. intelligence – Apple remains one of the best-performing tech stocks of the year. Its shares have surged 23.7% to $195.09 from the Dec. 31 close of $157.74. The March 21 close was the highest year-to-date as well as the highest since Nov. 9.
The tech titan’s best daily gain also happened on the heels of mixed earnings. Shares of AAPL climbed 6.8% in the session following the Jan. 29 report that noted a $4.18 EPS on $84.3 billion in revenue. While revenue topped estimates by a meager 0.4%, EPS missed Wall Street’s expectations by just one cent. However, the report notably stated that Q4 2018 was the first holiday quarter in which revenue declined since the iPhone was introduced more than a decade ago. Nevertheless, tech investors remained stoic in the face of the weak financials and bought more shares accordingly.
No. 2: International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)
The iconic software firm has managed an impressive year so far, with shares up 24.4% from $113.67 to $141.44. Following last year’s 6.2% decline and revenue shrinking by roughly 26% during the first half of the decade, IBM continues to float higher alongside the rest of the tech sector and, naturally, the rest of the Dow Jones.
IBM stock made its biggest leap on Jan. 23 as investors cheered the firm’s stunning earnings beat. EPS came in at $4.87, trouncing analysts’ expected EPS of $4.82. Meanwhile, the company’s revenue of $21.76 billion slightly edged by Wall Street’s projected $21.71 billion. What really galvanized investors was IBM’s guidance, which anticipates a full-year EPS of $13.90. That surpassed the expected $13.79 by a solid 0.8%.
No. 1: Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO)
The Dow Jones’s top performer of 2019 so far is Cisco, the networking and hardware giant whose shares have leaped 24.5% higher from $43.33 to $53.94 on March 21. CSCO is approaching its highest levels in modern history, with the most recent $53.94 close marking the best settlement since 2000 when the stock was tanking along with the rest of the tech sector amid the dot-com meltdown. Shares have nearly doubled over the last five years, making it one of the steadiest and most reliable long-term gainers in the entire sector.
One notable daily performance occurred during the Jan. 4 session in which shares gained 4.5% from $41.07 to $42.92 after JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said that Cisco could end up stealing much of Chinese networking giant Huawei’s business as the firm experiences increased global scrutiny surrounding accusations of spying. JPMorgan analyst Samik Chatterjee noted that firms like Cisco with a global presence stand to “benefit from a pullback in business wins relative to 5G networks for Huawei.