Over the past 30 years, stocks from different sectors—like apparel, technology, and food and beverages— have delivered astonishing returns to long-term investors.
At Investopedia, we analyzed the best-performing stocks during the terms of each of the last five presidents: Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
We only analyzed those stocks that were included in at least one of the major indices—the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Our analysis was based on a stock’s total return during a president’s term in office.
NVIDIA
Total return during the Biden Presidency: ~933%
NVIDIA (NVDA) gained more than 900% in Biden’s term, rising from $13.71 to more than $137.
This Silicon Valley-based company first launched its signature product, graphics processing units (GPUs), in 1999, which were first used for developing computer graphics.
Decades later, these chips would power artificial intelligence models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which was first launched in late 2022. According to the Wall Street Journal, NVIDIA was estimated to account for more than 80% of AI chip sales as of February 2024.
Enphase Energy
Total return during Trump’s first term: ~10,678%
Enphase Energy (ENPH) far surpassed the other stocks on the list, raking in a return of a whopping 10,678% during Trump’s first term. Its stock price rose from $1.85 to $212.07.
Enphase Energy makes microinverters, which convert solar power into usable household electricity.
What drove the stock’s meteoric rise during this period? Between 2016 and 2020, the company underwent restructuring, implemented new upper management, and expanded its product lineup to include the Enphase storage system, which provides electricity when solar grids are down.
Netflix
Total return during Obama’s second term: ~878%
Between 2013 and 2017, Netflix soared nearly 875%, going from a price of just $14.17 to more than $142.45.
Originally a DVD rental company founded in 1997, Netflix reinvented itself as a streaming giant in 2007. Netflix has developed popular TV shows and movies, including Stranger Things, Bridgeton, and Don’t Look Up.
While Netflix’s first years were rocky (it cancelled its IPO shortly after the dotcom bubble burst but ended up IPOing in 2002), it eventually found its footing as a streaming service, which it launched in 2007, as DVDs fell out of vogue and cable television viewership declined. From January 2015 to January 2016, Netflix’s stock price rose more than 100%.
At the beginning of 2015, the company said it would expand its services globally, and by January 2016, it became available in roughly 190 countries worldwide.
Lululemon
Total return during Obama’s first term: ~1,915%
From 2009 to 2013, Lululemon gained more than 1,900%. Its stock price increased from $3.45 to $66.80.
The Canadian athletic clothing company was first founded in 1998 by Chip Wilson, who first came up with the idea for the brand’s quintessential yoga pants a year earlier while attending a yoga class.
While the company’s stock rose more than 100% between 2009 and 2010 as sales rose dramatically in the latter half of 2010, the company would suffer a setback in 2013 when it unintentionally sold sheer or see-through yoga pants to consumers. At the end of 2013, Wilson would also step down as chairman of the board of directors due to controversial remarks.
The stock price tumbled more than 15% between March 2013 and January 2014.
Monster Beverage
Total return during Bush’s second term: ~615%
Monster Beverage (MNST), formerly known as Hansen Natural Corporation, experienced a boon as its stock grew more than sixfold between 2005 and 2009.
While the company was initially founded in the 1930s and primarily sold fruit juices and natural sodas, Monster would skyrocket in popularity much later, thanks to its famous caffeinated beverage, Monster Energy, which was launched in 2002 as a competitor to Red Bull.
Between the release of Monster Energy in April 2002 and June 2005, sales for the brand doubled. And just a few years later, in 2007, Monster partnered up with Anheuser-Busch for the distribution of Monster Energy beverages to bars, restaurants, and nightclubs. In 2008, CNN reported that Monster made up 85% of Hansen’s sales.
Tractor Supply
Total return during Bush’s first term: ~1,013%
Tractor Supply (TSCO) trampled many other stocks between 2001 and 2005 as its stock rose more than 1000%, rising from $0.18 to $1.76, thanks to growing sales and earnings during this period.
Founded in 1938, Tractor Supply was a mail-order catalog where professional farmers could purchase tractor parts. However, decades later, the company would primarily serve those interested in farming as a hobby, selling pet food, gardening equipment, and more. In 2002, the company announced a two-to-one stock split, a strategy companies may use to make their company’s shares more appealing to potential investors.
Walmart
Total return during Clinton’s second term: ~354%
Walmart’s stock (WMT) rose more than 350% during Clinton’s second term in office, surging from $3.83 to $17.88.
This Arkansas-based retailer was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, who created a profitable business model of selling high volumes of discount goods at stores in small towns.
Between 1999 and 2000, the stock would rise nearly 50%.
“Wal-Mart has just completed its best year ever, with sales of over $137 billion in fiscal 1999, up 17%…” the company’s 1999 annual report states. During this period, the company expanded globally and domestically. It increased its international sales by more than 60% from the previous year and planned to open 150 new supercenters in the U.S. in 1999.
The company also benefited from a prosperous economy—inflation and unemployment were low, while GDP growth was strong during this period.
Citigroup
Total return during Clinton’s first term: ~327%
Between 1993 and 1997, Citigroup (C) returned more than 300%, its stock price increasing from $43.75 to $215.70.
The bank, which was first founded in 1812, has become a multinational banking conglomerate, with consumer and investment banking services, wealth management, and more.
For Q1 of 1996, the earnings for the bank were up 10%, due, in part, to its expanding business in developing countries.
Two years later, in 1998, Citicorp would merge with Travelers Group, an insurance company—to become Citigroup—the world’s largest financial services company at the time.
The Bottom Line
While different sectors took the spotlight under each administration, one constant remained: long-term investors who identified innovation, strategic pivots, or changing consumer habits early on often reaped the biggest rewards.
From semiconductors to soft drinks, these standout stocks helped define each presidency’s economic narrative.
