23 Smart Investments You Should Have Made in 2019

Take Stock

Though a trade war with China continues and the stock market has seen patches of volatility and turbulence, this year has been good for investors. "Yes, the huge market decline in December 2018 made that possible, but even compared to the peak in 2018, the S&P 500 is still up a couple percentage points," says Kevin Panitch, of Just Start Investing. As of November, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were also up for the year. Among the top performers are many well-known household names, including Apple and Chipotle. Here's a closer look at some stocks you should have bought.

Note: All stock performance averages and percentages were for the year to date as of mid-November.

Apple

Apple and all FAANG stocks — that is, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google — with the exception of Netflix, have delivered excellent growth in 2019. But Apple has been the best-performing stock in the Dow Jones. "Apple itself is up over 60% since the start of the year, with Google and Facebook delivering similar returns. As an S&P 500 index investor, I'm happy to see these tech stocks continue to lead growth in the U.S. and lift the entire market up, despite worries about their potential to slow down," Panitch said.

Microsoft

Microsoft is another top-performing tech stock this year, with returns up more than 43.9% since Jan. 1. "Not only that, they've had a massive run this past decade," Panitch says. "Since 2009, Microsoft is up over 350%. While they may not have the phones that Apple does or the consumer-facing streaming service of Netflix, they do have a gigantic cloud service business that is delivering year after year," Panitch said.

Facebook

Facebook stock continues to be a winner, up 44.6% year to date, despite headlines surrounding the company over fake news in its feeds, antitrust investigations, bad attempts at public relations by founder Mark Zuckerberg, and the Cambridge Analytica data scandal that saw the political consulting firm tapping the data of 87 million Facebook users improperly to help get Donald Trump elected president.

Chipotle

Though in past years Chipotle was challenged by foodborne illness outbreaks, 2019 proved good for the Mexican-food chain. Buoyed by customers ordering meals online, Chipotle has been one of the year's best-performing stocks, says David Bakke, finance expert for Money Crashers. As of November, the stock was up more than 72%. "Most of this increase is due to an increase in digital sales, something we've seen a lot of in the restaurant industry of late," Bakke says.

Tyson Foods

Tyson Foods was another stellar stock pick, Bakke says. Tyson was up 54.9% as of November. "One reason for its rise is the Chinese swine flu epidemic, which drove up meat prices," Bakke explains. "Tyson also acquired a few other businesses, which boosted its improvement in stock price."

Advanced Micro Devices

While not exactly a household name like Apple or Google, this cloud computer chip company (a small rival of Intel) has done quite well for itself in 2019, Bakke says. Advanced Micro Devices' stock had realized a stellar 97% gain as of November. "It's rise is mainly due to its scalability, innovation, and association with Google Cloud," Bakke says.

Ball

Ball stock shot up 40.4% this year thanks primarily to increased beverage-packing earnings — the Colorado company makes metal packaging for beverage, personal care, and household products. By some accounts, the company is benefiting from a movement away from plastics and toward more environmentally friendly aluminum packaging, Bakke says.

Duke Realty

Real estate investment trusts in general have performed well in 2019, says Gladice Gong, personal finance writer and creator of Earn More Live Freely. "It's a great year for almost all REITs. This is largely due to the market expectation of ultra-low interest rates continuing," Gong says. One REIT in particular that Gong says has done well: Duke, up 34.2%. The company, which has about 156 million rentable square feet of industry space, has a more than 98% occupancy rate for all of its warehouses, Gong says.

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble's performance is notable because it was among the worst-performing stocks of 2018, says financial analyst David Dock Treece, of Fit Small Business. The consumer products giant's stock was up 29.8% year to date in November. It's been growing sales consistently and beating earnings expectations.

JPMorgan Chase

This finance company's stock is up 33.1%, making it another top pick from Dock Treece. Like Procter & Gamble, it's notable because JPMorgan Chase didn't fare nearly as well last year. The company's third-quarter report included record revenue that beat expectations, though, with company execs crediting growing wages and consumer spending that is good for borrowing.

AT&T

AT&T is up 38%, well above its competitor Verizon, which realized only a 6% stock increase this year, says Tenpao Lee, a professor of economics at Niagara University. "The company is well established and offers realistic products and services needed by consumers, with potential to grow. Its 5G offerings may generate additional opportunities for the company," Lee says.

MarketAxess Holdings

Up 70.2%, MarketAxess Holdings is one of the top performers of the year. The international finance technology company is known for making it easier to trade bonds. It has been a favorite among investors thanks to solid operating performance as well as its introduction of services. More recently, the company bought Liquidity Edge, expanding its potential for growth in the long run.

Lam Research

With a stock up a staggering 99.2%, LRCX would have been a good pick for a portfolio. The California company, which designs, makes, and markets semiconductor processing equipment, was a leading stock in the tech sector for the year.

KLA

Another stock with a year-to-date increase well over 90% (94.9%, to be exact), KLA supplies process control and yield management solutions in the semiconductor and nano-electronics industry. This year the California company posted better-than-expected earnings and has projected increased revenue growth in coming years too.

Coty

Up 89.3%, Coty makes cosmetics, fragrances, and skin and hair products, Coty is the global creator of such well-known brands as Wella, Clairol, and OPI. (In 2016, it added makeup brand CoverGirl to its portfolio.) Its performance this year is particularly notable given that last year it was one of the worst stocks in the S&P 500, down 66%, but the company has been under new management since November 2018.

Copart

A Dallas company that runs daily online vehicle auctions and offers remarketing services, Copart saw its stock gain 73.7% as of November, driven by significant demand. The company says it's benefiting from a market that favors sales of used cars – one in which the economy is doing well, but not outstanding, and drivers are not eager to buy new.

Roku

If there's a winner on the list this year, perhaps it should be Roku. The stock price is up a whopping 322%. The TV-streaming platform is the No. 1 smart-television system worldwide, with Barron's reporting that more than one in three televisions sold in this country in the first part of 2019 used a Roku.

Related: Best Streaming Devices

Xerox

A staple in office products for decades, Xerox now also offers document management software and has made a recent foray into 3D printing — all apparently good for Xerox, since the stock is up 94.1%.

Coupa Software

Posting stock gains of 111.4%, Coupa is another clear winner in 2019. The company, based in California, makes software aimed at business spending management. Its products cover everything from procurement to expenses.

General Electric

General Electric is another well-known household name. Based in Boston, the company is 125 years old and has a presence in 180 countries — and while a leader in industrial manufacturing for much of its existence, is pivoting toward new technology. All of which appears to be just fine with investors; the stock is up 56%.

The New York Times

In a signal of the importance of journalism in a challenging era, the stock price of the not-failing New York Times is up 39.9% this year. The political attacks leveled at this publication and many others appear to have been good for business, and experts say the Times has capitalized on a particularly scandal-driven time in U.S. politics.

Mirati Therapeutics

You may not have heard of this company, so it's time to get it on your radar: Its stock is up 143.2%. The San Diego biopharmaceutical company develops important products to fight cancer.

Related: 34 Famous Cancer Survivors

Sage Therapeutics

One last stock worth noting: Another hotshot biopharmaceutical company, Massachusetts-based Sage has ticked up 44.4%, best known for developing a postpartum depression drug named Zulresso. It's at work on more postpartum-related treatments too.