Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of the S&P 500’s closing high during the Dot Com Bubble.  After rallying 14% in the month leading up to its peak on 3/24/2000, the S&P would go on to fall 25% over the next year and 49% at its low point in October 2002.

Had you bought the S&P 500 at the peak on 3/24/2000, you would have felt like the worst market timer in the world a year later.  But eventually the market recovered, and if you rode it out and held through today, you would still have generated annualized gains of more than 7.5% if you bought on the day of the Dot Com Bubble peak.  As the saying goes: time heals.

Within the Russell 1,000 (a larger large-cap index than the S&P 500), just over half of the stocks in the index now were around 25 years ago.  These stocks have posted an average total return of more than 2,600% since 3/24/00.  Just under 300 stocks in the index have been “10-baggers” in the last 25 years, meaning they’ve gone up 10x.  But there are also nineteen stocks in the index that have been “100-baggers” since 3/24/00, meaning they’ve gone up at least 10,000%.

Below is a list of these nineteen “100-baggers.”  For each stock, we provide its percentage change since 3/24/00, how much a $1,000 investment in the stock on 3/24/00 would be worth today, and a brief one-sentence description of what the company does.

While you may think that Tech stocks would dominate the list of biggest winners over the last 25 years, that’s not the case.  Of the nineteen “100-baggers,” just four are in the Technology sector, while there are five Industrials and five Consumer Discretionary stocks.

The biggest winner by far, though, is a Consumer Staples stock: gas-station/convenience store energy-drink maker Monster Beverage (MNST).  A $1,000 investment in MNST on 3/24/00 would be worth — wait for it — $1.275 million today!  That’s double the return of the second-best performer — NVIDIA (NVDA).

Notably, Apple (AAPL) is the second-best performing Tech stock behind NVDA with a gain of 20,821%.  It’s the stocks that sit just above and below Apple that are more interesting.  Just above AAPL sits a farming supply retailer — Tractor Supply (TSCO) — with a gain of 26,036%, while an auto parts retailer — O’Reilly Auto (ORLY) — sits just below AAPL with a gain of 16,381%.

Below are some of the things that other 100-baggers do:

-Provides less-than-truckload freight shipping services (ODFL)

-Makes commercial and residential kitchen equipment (MIDD)

-Develops credit scoring and analytics software (FICO)

-Offers hazardous waste disposal and environmental services (CLH)

-Distributes HVAC equipment and refrigeration products (WSO)

-Provides kidney dialysis and healthcare services (DVA)

Good businesses that can execute can be found in any industry!

Along with the 25th anniversary of the Dot Com Bubble, 3/23 was the fifth anniversary of the market’s low point during the COVID Crash in 2020.  Along with highlighting 100-baggers over the last 25 years, below is a list of stocks that have been 10-baggers (up at least 10x) in the last five years since the COVID low.

What’s most remarkable about this list is how many Energy stocks there are.  Four of the five biggest winners are domestic oil and natural gas stocks: Antero Resources (AR), Targa Resources (TRGP), Matador Resources (MTDR), and Permian Resources (PR).  Antero is up the most with a gain of just under 5,000%.  The only non-Energy stock in the top five is bitcoin-holder MicroStrategy (MSTR), which is up 2,867% since 3/23/20.

Rounding out the top ten are video-game seller GameStop (GME), server-seller Super Micro (SMCI), energy-drink maker Celsius (CELH), AI chip-king NVIDIA (NVDA), and another oil and gas play: Ovintiv (OVV).

Other notables on the list of 10-baggers over the last five years include Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS), Vertiv (VRT), Dillard’s (DDS), Comfort Systems (FIX), Vistra (VST), Quanta Services (PWR), Builders FirstSource (BLDR), and Broadcom (AVGO).

Welcome to Bespoke Brunch Reads — a linkfest of some of our favorite articles over the past week. The links are mostly market-related, but there are some other interesting subjects covered as well. We hope you enjoy the food for thought as a supplement to the research we provide you during the week.

Freedom Finds Its Voice: On March 23, 1775, at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, Patrick Henry delivered one of the most electrifying speeches in American history. Addressing the Second Virginia Convention, Henry called for armed resistance against British rule. His words, culminating in the legendary phrase “Give me liberty, or give me death!”, helped push the colonies toward revolution. By 1775, tensions between Britain and the American colonies had reached a breaking point. The British government had imposed harsh measures, including the Intolerable Acts, to suppress colonial resistance. While some leaders still hoped for reconciliation, Henry saw war as inevitable. He warned that waiting for peace negotiations would only lead to further oppression. Within a month, the first shots of the American Revolution rang out at Lexington and Concord. His words became a rallying cry for revolutionaries and still symbolize the fight for freedom.

AI & Technology

Why Most Companies Shouldn’t Have an AI Strategy (WSJ)
Most companies scrambling to build AI strategies put the cart way before the horse. They don’t have the data, infrastructure, or internal culture needed to execute anything meaningful. The piece argues that AI shouldn’t be treated like some standalone revolution but as one part of a broader digital toolbox, integrated thoughtfully with existing tech and workflows. Instead of flashy top-down plans, progress is more likely to come from empowering employees to experiment responsibly and letting digital maturity grow from the ground up. [Link]

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