Clear comparison between 2000 and 2026: What changes have occurred in the leading stocks of the Nasdaq index?

Cailian Press May 10 News (Editor Ma Lan) The global surge in technology stocks driven by artificial intelligence has sparked bubble concerns, and some analysts are comparing the current situation to the internet bubble of the early 2000s in an effort to find some guidance.

BTIG analyst Jonathan Krinsky said that over the past year, the 10 best-performing stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index have averaged a 784% rise—exceeding the average gains of the best-performing stocks in the year leading up to the index’s peak in March 2000, when the top ten stocks averaged a 622% increase.

Data from BTIG

The last boom on Nasdaq revolved around the internet, networks, chips, storage, and the new digital economy, while the current boom centers on artificial intelligence infrastructure, memory, data centers, Bitcoin, and the physical limits of computing power.

Statistics show that among the top ten stocks with the biggest gains in the internet era, most were software stocks. The top gainer, Strategy—formerly known as Microstrategy—used to focus mainly on software, but it has now transformed into a Bitcoin asset management company.

SanDisk and Lam Research—once market darlings—have made the list again after more than two decades, highlighting the importance and advantages of these two semiconductor companies in both the internet era and the AI era.

Meanwhile, tech giants such as Nvidia, Apple, and Adobe, although they failed to become leading gainers in the current AI boom, have already reached the global top tier in market value—representing how long these companies have been favored by the market.

As can be seen, in this round of gains, chip companies have taken the dominant role. Aside from Warner Bros. Discovery, the other nine companies are involved in semiconductor manufacturing or equipment supply, reflecting how hot the semiconductor sector is right now.

This trend became even more evident later this week. SanDisk’s share price increased its gains over the past 12 months to 4040% as of this Friday, while Western Digital expanded to 955% and Micron to 770%…

At the same time, compared with the past, the pull from leading stocks is even more pronounced. In 2000, the average gain of the leading stocks was 622%, while the median gain was 455%; in the current market, the average gain is 784%, but the median gain is only 354%.

In other words, the AI boom has indeed driven a broad rise in U.S. tech stocks, but the biggest winners may be only a handful—and they are very likely already priced in at too high a level. Given SanDisk’s rise of over 4000%, this concern is not unfounded.

(Cailian Press Ma Lan)