The Five Biggest Stocks on S&P 500

Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet,Amazon and Facebook — now make up 18% of the total market capitalization of the S&P 500, the highest percentage in history, according to Morgan Stanley.

"A ratio like this is unprecedented, including during the tech bubble," Mike Wilson, the bank's head of U.S. equity strategy, said in a note Sunday. "Capital concentration is following corporate inequality like never before."

Apple's weighting in the S&P 500 surpassed 4% in October, the sixth time the iPhone maker has crossed that threshold. But if history is any guide, it could be a ominous sign for the stock, according to Leuthold Group analyst Phil Segner.

He noted during the previous five times when Apple topped the 4% threshold, the stock underperformed the S&P 500 by nearly 9% on average in the next 12 months.

Going back to 1990, only five stocks — Apple, Microsoft,Generic Electric, Cisco Systems and Exxon Mobil — have claimed more than 4% of the S&P 500, and their leader status has typically been short-lived.  General Electric stayed the longest — 15 months — above the threshold, while Cisco only lasted a month.

Apple and Microsoft, which surged 86% and 55% in 2019, respectively, together accounted for nearly 15% of the S&P 500′s advance last year. No other stock even came close to their contribution.

The megacap stocks are leading the market again in the new year. In fact, the 50 largest stocks in the S&P 500 are up the most this year with an average gain of 1.22%, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

"The larger, the better so far in 2020," Paul Hickey, Bespoke's co-founder said. "Market cap has seemingly been the most important factor in terms of performance so far this year."

Bank of America highlighted the "rising correlation and concentration risks" in a recent note to clients, arguing a case can be made for active stock picking in other areas of the market away from the big players.

The 10 largest stocks in the S&P 500 and the Russell 1000 benchmarks now account for 23% and 21% of the total index market cap, respectively — the highest levels since the tech bubble, according to Savita Subramanian, head of U.S. equity and quantitative strategy at Bank of America.

As these tech giants' market caps ballooned to record highs, their income contribution to the broad market decreased in recent years, a red flag for the stock prices, Wilson of Morgan Stanley said.

"These companies will then need to deliver on the income side of the inequality divide or risk a sharp decline in price," he said.

Reference:

The five biggest stocks are dwarfing the rest of the stock market at an 'unprecedented' level, Yun Li, Jan 13 2020 (https://www.cnbc.com)