The best performing stocks in the S&P 500 over the past 30 years answer a question many investors get wrong: the biggest winners are not all chip makers or iPhone sellers. Alongside NVIDIA and Apple sit a pool supply distributor, an off price retailer, a homebuilder and an energy drink maker, each posting jaw dropping long term gains.
Anyone building a portfolio around the idea that only technology stocks can deliver monster returns is missing a lot of the picture. Companies from healthcare, consumer staples, consumer discretionary and even homebuilding have quietly compounded wealth for shareholders over three decades, often by dominating a narrow niche rather than chasing every trend. That pattern matters for how ordinary investors think about diversification.
How These Best Performing Stocks Were Identified
The rankings come from stocks currently in the S&P 500 index, chosen because the index tracks large, established companies that lead their industries. Analysts calculated 30 year price returns for each company through September 30, 2024, a window long enough to capture multiple recessions, bull markets, interest rate cycles and technological shifts. Looking at three decades rather than five or ten years reveals which businesses built durable advantages instead of riding a single hot trend.
It is worth remembering that many of these companies traded as penny stocks (shares below $5) earlier in their history, and some spent time trading over the counter rather than on major exchanges. That context helps explain why the percentage gains look so extreme: a stock climbing from pennies to hundreds of dollars produces staggering multiples even if the dollar amounts involved were once modest.
The Non Tech Names Beating the Market for Decades
ResMed, the sleep apnea device maker, has grown into a digital health company with an all time return of 31,766.67%, driven by its CPAP machines and cloud connected AirView monitoring platform launched in 2014. Its acquisitions of Brightree in 2016 and Medifox Dan in 2022 pushed the company beyond hardware into healthcare software.
Ross Stores, parent of Ross Dress for Less and dd's DISCOUNTS, has posted an all time return of 27,223.47% by sticking to a simple formula: discounted name brand apparel and home goods sold through a constantly rotating, treasure hunt style inventory. The chain grew from roughly 400 stores in the early 2000s to more than 2,100 locations today, largely by avoiding heavy investment in ecommerce and instead pouring resources into foot traffic.
Pool Corporation, the world's largest wholesale distributor of swimming pool supplies, has delivered an all time return of 40,312.74%. Its growth has come from an aggressive acquisition strategy, including European distributors and Horizon Distributors, expanding into irrigation and lawn management. The company now runs more than 440 sales centers worldwide, though its business remains seasonal and sensitive to weather and regional climate.
Biogen's path looks different. Its all time return sits at 6,754.50%, respectable but well behind the other names here, reflecting a rockier recent stretch. The biotech built its early success on multiple sclerosis drugs Avonex, Tysabri and Tecfidera, then stumbled with Aduhelm, its controversial Alzheimer's treatment that won accelerated FDA approval in 2021 before Biogen abandoned it in 2024 amid pushback over efficacy data and pricing. The company has since pivoted to Leqembi, which received traditional FDA approval in 2023.
Comparing the Ten Standout Performers
Here is how the ten companies stack up on returns and market classification, based on figures through September 30, 2024.
| Ticker | Company | 1 Yr Return | 5 Yr Return | 10 Yr Return | All Time Return | GICS Sector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RMD | ResMed Inc. | 57.59% | 77.26% | 379.53% | 31,766.67% | Health Care |
| ROST | Ross Stores, Inc. | 38.47% | 39.55% | 301.11% | 27,223.47% | Consumer Discretionary |
| POOL | Pool Corporation | 8.53% | 87.20% | 584.94% | 40,312.74% | Consumer Discretionary |
| BIIB | Biogen Inc. | -24.69% | 15.46% | 36.70% | 6,754.50% | Health Care |
| NFLX | Netflix, Inc. | 88.33% | 165.75% | 994.73% | 61,066.85% | Communication Services |
| AAPL | Apple Inc. | 34.52% | 313.15% | 803.84% | 177,378.42% | Technology |
| NVR | NVR, Inc. | 63.58% | 168.98% | 757.52% | 3,065.71% | Consumer Discretionary |
| MNST | Monster Beverage Corp. | 1.47% | 80.83% | 246.04% | 80,478.77% | Consumer Staples |
| AMZN | Amazon.com, Inc. | 51.54% | 115.07% | 1,069.84% | 154,133.06% | Consumer Discretionary |
| NVDA | NVIDIA Corporation | 185.92% | 2,664.43% | 26,234.06% | 277,384.45% | Technology |
NVIDIA's numbers dwarf everything else on this list, and for good reason. A 10 year return above 26,000% reflects how thoroughly the AI boom of 2023 and 2024 reshaped demand for its chips. Apple's steadier climb, helped along by stock splits in 2014 and 2020, shows a different kind of compounding: consistent, broad based growth rather than a single explosive catalyst.
What Separates the Winners: Niche Dominance, Global Reach and Discipline
Look closely at these companies and a few common threads emerge. Several built dominance in a narrow, unglamorous niche rather than trying to be everything to everyone. NVR, the homebuilder, took a deliberately conservative