Portfolios by year2020

The 20 best stocks of 2020 according to reliable analysts

3 JPI methods (Light / Fair / Risk +) · selected early January 2020, held 12 months · real return · S&P 500 · Updated 2026-07-08
In short — in early 2020, the 3 JPI methods (based on the most reliable analysts, ≥2 who beat their sector) would each have selected 20 S&P 500 stocks, held 12 months. Real results: 🟢 Light +60% · 🎯 Fair +37% · ⚡ Risk+ +78% — vs +16% for the S&P 500. Best selection (Fair): CRWD (CrowdStrike) at +325%.

These stocks were not cherry-picked in hindsight: they are the ones the method would have selected using only info known by end of 2019 (price targets from reliable analysts in the prior ~90 days), then held unchanged for 12 months. A true point-in-time record.

🟢 JPI Light +60% · vs S&P 500 +16% · +44.2 pts

#Stock12-month return
1TSLA Tesla, Inc.+743%
2CRWD CrowdStrike+325%
3UBER Uber+72%
4WSM Williams-Sonoma, Inc.+39%
5ISRG Intuitive Surgical+38%
6MCHP Microchip Technology+32%
7DIS Walt Disney Company (The)+25%
8WMT Walmart+21%
9EW Edwards Lifesciences+17%
10TDG TransDigm Group+11%
11XEL Xcel Energy+5%
12ZBH Zimmer Biomet+3%
13NRG NRG Energy-5%
14DTE DTE Energy-6%
15EXC Exelon-7%
16BDX Becton Dickinson-8%
17SRE Sempra-16%
18ETR Entergy-17%
19T AT&T-26%
20FE FirstEnergy-37%

🎯 JPI Fair +37% · vs S&P 500 +16% · +20.9 pts

#Stock12-month return
1CRWD CrowdStrike+325%
2FDX FedEx+72%
3UBER Uber+72%
4DXCM Dexcom+69%
5EBAY eBay Inc.+39%
6KKR KKR & Co.+39%
7WSM Williams-Sonoma, Inc.+39%
8MCHP Microchip Technology+32%
9SHW Sherwin-Williams+26%
10CSX CSX Corporation+25%
11EXPE Expedia Group+22%
12GDDY GoDaddy+22%
13WMT Walmart+21%
14EW Edwards Lifesciences+17%
15FTV Fortive+11%
16WRB W. R. Berkley Corporation-4%
17BDX Becton Dickinson-8%
18ETR Entergy-17%
19T AT&T-26%
20BA Boeing-34%

⚡ JPI Risk + +78% · vs S&P 500 +16% · +61.7 pts

#Stock12-month return
1TSLA Tesla, Inc.+743%
2CRWD CrowdStrike+325%
3UBER Uber+72%
4DXCM Dexcom+69%
5ODFL Old Dominion+54%
6MNST Monster Beverage+46%
7DELL Dell Technologies+43%
8WSM Williams-Sonoma, Inc.+39%
9ISRG Intuitive Surgical+38%
10MCHP Microchip Technology+32%
11SHW Sherwin-Williams+26%
12CSX CSX Corporation+25%
13NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc.+24%
14WMT Walmart+21%
15EW Edwards Lifesciences+17%
16FTV Fortive+11%
17PCAR Paccar+9%
18WRB W. R. Berkley Corporation-4%
19SRE Sempra-16%
20ETR Entergy-17%

What if you'd kept following the method in 2021?

In short — not every year is positive: this is not a miracle method. 2020 shows it — the JPI Fair method returned +37%, better than the S&P 500 (+16%). But the method replays every year: in 2021, the 20 newly recommended stocks returned +23%. Outcome if you kept going (accept 2020, then buy the 2021 picks): +69% over 2 years — vs +47% for the S&P 500.
YearJPI FairS&P 500
2020+37%+16%
2021+23%+27%
2-year cumulative (if you kept going)+69%+47%

💡 The takeaway — you have to accept the average or down years and stay in the method (sell, rebuy the newly recommended names). Whoever panics after a bad year misses the rebound. Discipline > emotion.

💡 Read it honestly: one good year proves nothing — the method also has down years (2018, 2022). The real judge is the 11-year backtest. Price returns, excluding dividends and fees. Not a buy recommendation.

📊 See the full 11-year backtest → 🎯 Stocks to buy today →

📅← 2019 · All years · 2021 →

FAQ

What were the best stocks to buy in 2020?

Per the JPI Fair method (targets from the ≥2 most reliable analysts per sector), the 20 S&P 500 stocks selected in early 2020 returned +37.1% on average over 12 months, vs 16.2% for the index. The best was CRWD (CrowdStrike) at +325%. See the full list above.

How were these 2020 stocks chosen?

With no hindsight: only from information known by end of 2019 (price targets from analysts with a real reliability track record on their sector), then held 12 months. A point-in-time backtest, not a hindsight pick.

Does this method actually work?

Over 11 years (2015-2025), the JPI Fair method returned +26%/yr vs +12.6% for the S&P 500 — double the market. But it's lumpy (drawdowns in 2018 and 2022) and risk-adjusted the edge is thinner. A quality signal, not a guarantee.

What is JPI Invest?

JPI Invest aggregates analyst recommendations across the entire S&P 500 (plus the S&P MidCap 400), replays them against real prices and measures who predicts best — on results, not reputation. Instead of taking a price target at face value, you see each analyst's track record on each stock.

Explore JPI Invest for free → How it works: the method →

⚠️ Educational analysis, not investment advice. Point-in-time backtest on recomputed Yahoo data, universe = stocks still in the index (survivorship bias). Past performance does not predict the future. · Updated 2026-07-08
JPI AI Analyst AI assistant · JPI Invest
Answers based on the tool’s data · not financial advice · full version (free)