Many of 2023's best-performing stocks turn out to have been merely partial recoveries from massive losses in 2022.
Why it matters: The convention of looking at stock performance on an annual basis can make winners out of losers.
By the numbers: Coinbase, Affirm, and Carvana shares rose by 491%, 508%, and 1,117% respectively in 2023, making them the top 3 performers among companies worth more than $10 billion.
By the same token, however, they ended 2023 down 60%, 71%, and 86% respectively from their highs of 2021.
In other words: The greater the fall, the greater the bounce.
The bottom line: It's sometimes impossible to tell whether a bouncing stock is actually a dead cat.