2024 top stocks: AI, crypto, energy and weight loss stocks most popular with retail investors

• AI stock Super Micro Computer led ‘top risers’ list for 2024 with 579% growth in eToro holders
• Romanian investors are keeping Tesla in first place in the most-held stocks standings
• Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy came second, with another AI favourite Broadcom ranking highly
• Energy stocks Eni, Repsol and TotalEnergies saw significant growth in holders as share prices benefitted from commodities strength

 Retail investors around the world voted with their feet on several key themes in 2024 with AI, crypto stocks, energy and weight loss drug makers dominating the list of ‘top risers’ on the trading and investing platform eToro.

eToro looked at which companies saw the biggest proportionate change in holders at the end of 2024 versus the end of 2023 (table 1), while also looking at the 10 most widely held stocks on the platform (table 2) globally and by Romanian investors (table 3).

The list of most widely held stocks globally was majorly disrupted in 2024, with Nvidia jumping from seventh place to first, taking Tesla’s crown as it was bumped to second place. There was also a new entrant in the top ten, as chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices rose from 16th to tenth place.

Romanian investors are following the global trend with some notable exceptions. While Nvidia, the undisputed star of 2024, was the top-held stock globally, Romanians kept their faith in Elon Musk’s Tesla, which has been their favorite stock since 2022. Nio, the Chinese electric car maker, maintained second place – a position held since 2022, though, at the end of 2021, it was top-held stock by Romanian investors. Even though UiPath price dropped from a maximum of almost 90 dollars in 2021 to a minimum of a bit over 10 dollars in 2024, the Romanian-born company still has a base of fan followers maintaining it in the top 5 ahead of some of the “Magnificent 7” – tech giants like Amazon, Alphabet and Meta.

Amongst the top 20 biggest ‘risers’, AI beneficiary Super Micro Computer topped the list with a 579% growth in eToro users holding the stock. Bitcoin proxy MicroStrategy was a strong second place, with a 449% increase in eToro holders.

European energy firms also ranked highly as they benefitted from the rising prices of commodities, with Eni Energy (+259%) in fourth place, Repsol (+239%) in fifth and TotalEnergies (+149%) in seventh. French firms Atos SE (+319%) and BNP Paribas (+140%) ranked in third and eighth place following restructuring and M&A activity this year.

The top 20 also featured the two leading weight loss drug makers, as Novo Nordisk saw 139% growth in holders and Eli Lilly saw 120%. AI stalwart Nvidia, despite already having a huge number of holders at the beginning of 2024, still saw 98% growth, coming in at 19th.

Commenting on the data, eToro’s Global Market Strategist Lale Akoner, said: “2024 was the year that AI went from being a niche area to a dominant theme across multiple industries, bitcoin set several new all-time highs, and geopolitical uncertainty kept energy prices high. Retail investors were clearly invested in these themes, demonstrated by the sharp rise in holders of stocks like AI chipmaker SuperMicro, self-proclaimed ‘bitcoin treasury company’ MicroStrategy, and Big Oil firms Eni and TotalEnergies.”

At the other end of the spectrum, it was a fairly mixed bag in terms of the stocks that lost popularity. Travel and leisure names such as TUI AG (-96%), Delta Air Lines (-38%) and United Airlines (-35%) were prominent, as all three rebounded significantly after a brief summer slump, leading investors to take profit. Some sports and entertainment names also lost support, such as Formula One and Live Nation owner Liberty Media (-42%) and baseball team Atlanta Braves (-41%), while Mattel saw a 40% slump after 2023’s Barbie hype.

Bogdan Maioreanu, eToro’s Market Analyst in Romania added: “The end of the year is often a time for retail investors to recalibrate their portfolios in response to evolving economic and market conditions. As the newly elected Trump administration is expected to bring a wave of deregulation and protectionist tariffs, investors are adjusting their AI plays to focus on American chipmakers and network infrastructure providers. Romanian investors showed during the last years a preference for technology companies and 2025 is poised to continue this trend. At the same time, investors are taking profits or cutting exposure to sectors like travel and entertainment due to weakening consumer demand curtailing a strong run in 2024.”

Table 1: Shows which stocks have seen the biggest proportional increase and decrease in holders year-on-year

Table 2: Shows which stocks are most widely held by eToro’s users globally

Table 3: Shows which stocks are most widely held by eToro’s Romanian users

Nvidia, beating expectations, future growth concerns