Technology Stocks that Drive the US Stock Market

Have you heard of the FAANG? Technology companies like Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google specialize in the production and management of technology-related products and services. These companies are involved in businesses like manufacturing hardware and software, running e-commerce services, building robotics applications, digital electronics, etc. The stocks of many technology companies, big and small, are listed on US Stock Exchanges like NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The movement of the US Stock Market exchanges depends heavily on Technology Stocks. The stock exchanges have a lot of exposure to many Tech companies, including the old tech giants like Apple and Microsoft and the relatively new ones like Netflix and Alphabet Inc (Parent company of Google).

NASDAQ 100 and Tech Stocks – A Close Relation

NASDAQ 100 index comprises the top 100 US non-financial companies. In 2020, the top 6 technology companies -Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla- owned more than half the value of the NASDAQ100. You can conclude that the stock price movements of these tech giants majorly affect the index movement of NASDAQ100.

FAANG – The Five Top-Performing US Technology Stocks

In the Stock Market language, investors and traders use a popular term called ‘FAANG’. It stands for the Five technology giants with a combined market capitalization of over $7 trillion. FAANG is Facebook (META), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (Alphabet). Let us learn some interesting facts about each of them–

1. Facebook (Now META) (NASDAQ: META)–

• Facebook launched in 2004 as a social media company. It has also bought other popular social media companies-Instagram and WhatsApp.
• It is now re-named as ‘Meta’, which is representative of its business expansion in the field of the 3D version of the internet.
• It was listed in 2012 at $38 per share. In Sep 2021, Meta’s share price reached over $350.
• Currently, Meta has a market capitalization of over $ 300 billion. (Source)

2. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) –

• It was founded in 1994 by Jeff Bezos and started as an online bookstore initially. Today, it’s the largest online marketplace with all kinds of sellers and buyers on its platform.
• Amazon’s share was listed on NASDAQ in 1994 at a share price of $18 per share.
• Its share price reached an all-time high of $186 in 2021.
• Today it has a market capitalization of over $848 billion. (Source)

3. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)-

• It was founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak as a computer manufacturing company. 
• Today, it is one of the most popular technology companies selling mobile phones, laptops, computers, tablets, and other electronic accessories.
• Apple’s share was listed in 1980 at $22 per share and its share has been split up several times since then to attract more retail investors.
• Apple was the first company to touch a record market capitalization of $ 1 Trillion, $ 2 Trillion, and even $ 3 Trillion. 

4. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX)–

• It was founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a doorstep delivery service of DVDs then. Customers could order DVDs on their website and Netflix would send them by post.
• Today, it is one of the top online entertainment streaming companies, having a huge library of movies and TV shows and over 200 million subscribers.
• Netflix’s share was listed in 2002 at $15 per share and its share price touched an all-time high of over $600 in the year 2021.
• Currently, the market capitalization of Netflix stands at $123 Billion. (Source)

5. Google (Now Alphabet Inc) (NASDAQ – GOOGL) –

• It was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
• Google was invented as a search engine to organize all the web pages on a single platform and is accessible to all web users.
• Over the years it has acquired 232 companies and in 2015, Google changed its name to Alphabet to bring its other businesses under one name.
• Google is the world’s largest search engine. It has formed a partnership with other applications like YouTube, Google Cloud, and Android under Alphabet Inc.
• Google’s share was listed in 2004 at $85 per share. Since then, the share has split thrice, the most recent one in 2022.
• Currently, it has a market capitalization of $1.1 trillion. (Source)

Disclaimer: This article is written for educational purposes only. The securities quoted are only examples and not recommendations.