The S&P 500 Is Up More Than 10% This Year: But Nearly 40% of S&P 500 Stocks Are Down 20% From Their Highs.

The S&P 500's double-digit gain this year conceals steep losses across a substantial portion of its membership, with 191 stocks trading at least 20% below their 52-week highs, according to an analysis published Friday.

MarketWatch's report puts nearly four in 10 of the benchmark's constituent stocks in what investors commonly describe as bear-market territory, even as the index remains comfortably higher for 2026. It highlights how differently a portfolio of individual stocks can perform from the market average.

The apparent contradiction can be explained by how the index is constructed and the different periods being measured. The S&P 500 weights companies according to their stock market value, adjusted for shares available to public investors.

Those annual advances have survived a difficult stretch for technology stocks. Declines were reported in semiconductor manufacturers and cloud computing companies, including CoreWeave, Nebius and Iren. Gains in Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan helped support the Dow. Stocks were rebounding on Monday.

CoreWeave has become a focal point because its business requires substantial financing to build computing infrastructure before collecting the revenue expected from future demand.

Larger companies therefore exert more influence than smaller members. A strong performance from heavily weighted businesses can offset declines across numerous stocks with smaller allocations. The index measures the combined performance of those weighted holdings, rather than giving each company an equal vote.

The dates also change the comparison. A year-to-date return measures movement since the previous year's final close. A decline from a 52-week high measures the distance from a stock's highest price during the past year. Those peaks occurred on different dates.

A hypothetical stock that started January at $100, climbed to $150 and subsequently fell to $120 would still be up 20% for the year. It would simultaneously sit 20% below its high.
However, the 191-stock figure does not mean those shares have all lost at least 20% during 2026. Nor does it establish that the S&P 500 itself is approaching a bear market. It documents the extent of individual declines from recent peaks.

The losses nevertheless create a demanding recovery calculation. A stock that drops 20%, from $100 to $80, must rise 25% to regain its starting price. A 40% decline requires a subsequent gain of roughly 66.7%. For investors holding concentrated positions, an advancing benchmark can therefore coexist with substantial losses and a lengthy climb back to previous portfolio values.

The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index holds the same constituent companies but resets each company's allocation to approximately 0.2% at quarterly rebalancings. Its performance offers a comparison with the conventional index because the largest businesses receive no special starting advantage at those resets. Weights subsequently drift as share prices change.

Meanwhile, trading this week has shown investors moving between industries. Gains in healthcare and consumer companies helped support the broader market while AI-related technology shares faced pressure over financing costs and future growth expectations. After ratings upgrades from Deutsche Bank, companies like UnitedHealth, Eli Lilly, and Walmart saw substantial stock growth.