In recent years, stock market observers have noticed that a small group of mega-sized technology stocks, nicknamed the “Magnificent Seven,” have driven an outsized portion of the return in the broad stock market.
A decade ago, it was FANGs (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google — sometimes, Apple too) leading the charge.
These cadres tend to make headlines because they go against the idea that the stock market is a rising tide that, over time, lifts all boats. In fact, a “thin” market — one in which a few top stocks advance while the bulk of the market retreats — is often considered a signal for a possible pullback.
But over the past century, a few stocks driving the bulk of returns is the rule, not the exception, according to research from Hendrik Bessembinder, a professor at the Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
From 1926 through 2025, while the weighted average return among nearly 30,000 stocks was more than 30,000%, the median stock returned -6.9%, he found. All in all, he found that over the past 100 years, just 46 firms accounted for half of the wealth created by the stock market.
