Biggest winners and losers of 2023

We came into 2023 with gloomy predictions of a recession. We’re coming out of it with a surprisingly resilient economy—high interest rates notwithstanding—and still buzzing about generative AI. Against this backdrop, take a look at a few of the companies and sectors that rose and fell this year:

• Winning: Big Tech. With Nvidia and Tesla on the rise, acronyms like FAANG and MAMAA no longer cut it: The top tech giants (Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Google, plus Nvidia and Tesla) have now been dubbed the “Magnificent Seven.” Buoyed by the generative AI gold rush, they were responsible for29% of the S&P 500’s total value.
• Winning: Weight-loss drugmakers. Novo Nordisk, the Danish manufacturer of diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, beat out luxury giant LVMH this year to become the EU’s most valuable company. Its shares have grown fourfold in the past five years. Eli Lilly sold $3 billion worth of rival drug Mounjaro in the first nine months of 2023—and that was before the FDA approved it for obesity, under the brand name Zepbound, in November.
• Winning: The travel sector. Hotel chains Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott notched revenue gains as lockdown-weary consumers hit the road. Cruise lines Royal Caribbean and Carnival were two of the S&P’s top performers of the year, according to Bankrate.
• Losing:Solar power. Solar energy companies, including SolarEdge and Enphase, saw stocks slide this year. The industry has overproduced panels, driving their prices down. And as consumers typically use financing when buying solar power systems, high interest rates have also caused sales to slow.
• Losing: Bud Light. The beer company had been losing market share for the past decade, but a boycott sparked by its use of a trans influencer in an advertisement hastened its decline. In May, it lost its position as America’s top-selling beer brand to a Mexican import, Modelo.
• Losing: WeWork. Once a $47 billion “unicorn,” the coworking company filed for bankruptcy last month. WeWork stumbled after a failed bid to go public in 2019, and was hit hard by the pandemic and the rise of remote work. It joined a list of other household names that went bankrupt in 2023, including Bed Bath & Beyond, David’s Bridal, Party City, and Instant Brands, maker of the Instant Pot.