September's Leaders And Laggards

Technology was the place to be among September’s biggest S&P 500 winners, accounting for 13 of the month’s 20 best-performing stocks. The losers were a much broader group in terms of sector representation, with ten of the eleven present among the bottom 20.

Everpure (P) led the winners with a 40.70% gain, ahead of Moderna (MRNA), Intel (INTC), and Bloom Energy (BE), which each rallied more than 30%. For several of these stocks, September added to already outsized gains in 2026. Moderna finished the month up 553% YTD, while Intel and Bloom Energy were both up more than 200%. Dell (DELL) also deserves a mention. Its 17.97% September gain ranked 12th on the list, but its 327.35% YTD rally was second only to Moderna among these names. Meta Platforms (META) rally this month, extending from a mid-August low, has helped pull the stock out of a rut. Despite its 26.70% run higher in September, the largest company on the list is up just 9.86% YTD, the smallest gain of the group.

Technology may have dominated the winners, but it also accounted for the two worst performers. Fair Isaac (FICO) lost nearly half its value in September, falling 48.36%, while Gen Digital (GEN) dropped 28.97%. That left a gap of nearly 20 percentage points between the month’s worst and second-worst stocks. The selling extended well beyond Technology, though, with companies ranging from Charter Communications (CHTR) and MGM Resorts (MGM) to General Mills (GIS) and Blackstone (BX) losing more than 20%.

September also flipped stocks into the red or added to an already difficult year for most of the names on the losers list. Eighteen of the 20 finished the month down YTD, including five that had lost more than half their value. The only exceptions were Casey’s General Stores (CASY) and SLB (SLB), which were still up 10.09% and 26.94%, respectively, despite September declines of roughly 19% each.