Which DFW companies have performed best, worst on stock markets in 2024?

DALLAS — Read this story and more North Texas business news from our partners at the Dallas Business Journal

In the first half of 2024, Sonida Senior Living Inc. and Vistra Corp. experienced the biggest stock market gains of any publicly traded companies headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro — both saw their share prices more than double.

Through the first six months of the year, shares of Dallas-based Sonida Senior Living (NYSE: SNDA), which operates senior housing communities across the United States, have increased 185% to $27.50. Meanwhile, shares of Irving-based energy company Vistra (NYSE: VST) have surged 123% to $85.98.

Overall, 58 of DFW's 119 publicly traded companies, or 49%, saw their stock prices increase in the first half of the year.

That came despite no interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, persistent inflation and a looming presidential election. The technology-heavy Nasdaq has gained 18.1% in the past six months, in large because of the investor craze over artificial intelligence, while the S&P 500 jumped 14.5% and notched 31 all-time closing highs during the period. The Dow Jones industrial Average lagged behind with a 3.8% gain.

Nationally, the so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech companies — Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia and Tesla — contributed to much of the stock market's growth, with Nvida standing out. Nvidia's stock price increased more than 149% in the first half of 2024, and the chipmaker continues to vie with Microsoft for the title of world's most valuable public company, each with a market valuation of more than $3 trillion.

DFW's largest publicly traded companies didn't do quite as well as Nvidia, but still saw positive results in the first half. Irving-based McKesson Corp., which has the largest market cap in DFW, saw its stock price increase 23%. Dallas-based AT&T Inc.'s stock price grew 14%. And Caterpillar Inc., which moved its headquarters to Irving in 2022, saw its stock price climb 13%.

But farther down the list of most valuable companies in North Texas, there were more significant gains. The largest percentage increases in the first half of 2024 were:

1. Sonida Senior Living: 185% to $27.50
2. Vistra: 123% to $85.98
3. Sow Good Inc. (Nasdaq: SOWG): 99% to $20.02
4. Tenet Healthcare Corp. (NYSE: THC): 76% to $133.03
5. Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT): 68% to $72.39
6. Wingstop Inc. (Nasdaq: WING): 65% to $422.66
7. New Concept Energy Inc. (NYSE: GBR): 60% to $1.60
8. U.S. Lime & Minerals Inc. (Nasdaq: USLM): 58% to $364.18
9. Katapult Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: KPLT): 54% to $16.81
10. Primoris Services Corp. (Nasdaq: PRIM): 54% to $51.19

On the other end of the spectrum, 61 publicly traded companies DFW saw their stock prices decline in the first half.

Dallas-based financial services company Beneficient, which avoided delisting from the Nasdaq with a reverse stock split in April, experienced the biggest decrease as its stock price fell 94% to $2.22.

The steepest declines were all small-cap companies with stock prices under $10 a share:

1. Beneficient (Nasdaq: BENF): Down 94% to $2.22
2. Intrusion Inc. (Nasdaq: INTZ): -78% to $1.10
3. Container Storage Group Inc. (NYSE: TCS): -76% to 54 cents per share
4. Heart Test Laboratories Inc. (Nasdaq: HSCS): -70% to $5.21
5. XPB Europe Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: XPB): -67% to $1.75
6. Solo Brands Inc. (NYSE: DTC): -63% to $2.28
7. Finance of America Cos. Inc. (NYSE: FOA): -55% to 49 cents
8. Asset Entities Inc. (Nasdaq: ASST): -41% to 38 cents
9. DZS Inc. (Nasdaq: DZSI): -41% to $1.17
10. Sabre Corp. (Nasdaq: SABR): -39% to $2.67