AMD was the best-performing stock on the S&P 500 in both 2018 and 2019, and it got off to a hot start in 2020, rising 7.1% on Thursday to touch a fresh all-time high.
The state of play: The stock rose nearly 80% in 2018, despite falling 40% during that year's disastrous fourth quarter, and it gained 148% in 2019, according to MarketWatch. The company's previous record high stock price was set June 21, 2000.
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Given the way S&P 500 earnings have beaten estimates over the past few years it is likely the index will report earnings growth in the fourth quarter — the first and only quarter of growth last year.
Between the lines: John Butters, FactSet's senior earnings analyst, said in a note that on average nearly three-quarters of S&P 500 companies' actual earnings have exceeded estimates by about 5%.
Tesla has been among the most derided companies in the world, but CEO Elon Musk has been getting revenge against hated short sellers since the electric car company's June swoon.
Why it matters: Many probably wish Musk had taken the company private at $420 a share, as he said he would in an August 2018 tweet in which he claimed to have "funding secured" for the move.
Defense sector stocks have predictably seen major buying since the killing of Iran Gen. Qasem Soleimani, in particular Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.
Why it matters: The gains may not be temporary, analysts say.