25+ Interesting Stock Market Statistics, Facts & Trends You Must Know in 2022


Stock Market Statistics

Contents

Everyone wants to know how much money is invested in the stock market or how big is the stock market? But as the Stock market is constantly in flux, it is hard to highlight all the up-to-date facts. So after researching for 113 hours, I have listed out all the crucial and exciting stock market statistics and facts to date that will help you understand how it works and whether you must invest in it or not.

US Stock Market Statistics

The US is one of the biggest stock markets in the World. However, after the 2008 financial crisis, Americans became reluctant to invest in the stock market. So, what is the size and market value of the US stock market? Let’s understand it through these noteworthy facts.
  1. The US stock market represented 40.01% of the global stock market in 2018, which grew to 59.9% in 2022.
The increase in dollar value and the steady drop in most international equity markets in 2005 raised the share of the US in the global stock market. During the 2016 American presidential election, China took the biggest hit. On the day of the election, the stock market share of the US rose to 36.53%, while the share of China was only 10.21% (pushed back to fourth place). After China, France and Switzerland are in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with 2.8% and 2.6% global market share. [Source: Statista, BeSpokePremium] US accounts for 599 of the total global stock market
  1. NYSE and NASDAQ – Two popular US stock exchanges make around 46% of the total global stock market valuation.
The worth of these two exchanges (around $117 trillion) is bigger than the following seven stock exchanges together, i.e., Japan, Hong Kong, China, Euronext, London and Canada. The NYSE market value is around $28.19 Trillion, while the NASDAQ accounts for $12.98 Trillion. In fact, the NYSE share is larger than the World’s 50 smallest major stock exchanges. [Source: Visual Capitalist]
  1. The US Stock market is the most expensive market globally, with a CAPE (Cyclically Adjusted Price-Earnings) ratio of 30.
Although the US stock market holds only about 17% of the world’s stocks, the market is currently around $34 trillion, much bigger than the rest of the world’s combined $44 trillion capitalization. [Source: NASDAQ] USA current cape ratio
  1. Around 55% of US adults have invested in the Stock market.
In 2007, the percentage of US adults holding shares in the stock market was 65%. But after the biggest market crash (2008 financial crisis), the rate dropped to around 55-56% as people stopped trusting the stock market for their investments. In 2020, the percentage was 55%, which rose 2021 to approx 56%. In 2022, the rate of US adults owning stocks has increased to 58% (where 89% of adults in households earn $100,000 or more annually while 25% earn less than $40,000.) [Source: Statista, Gallup]
  1. The six most highly valued companies in the US are US technology stocks whose combined worth is more than the GDP of the UK or Germany.
The combined worth of six giant US technology stocks (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Tesla, and Facebook) is $9.64 trillion, much greater than the combined GDP of Germany’s $3.7 trillion and the UK’s $2.64 trillion. The largest sector of the US stock market is technology, which raised around 16% before the 2008 financial crisis. [Source: CNBC] Combined worth of US popular tech stocks
  1. The S&P 500 US bull market is the longest-run bull market in history – more than ten years old.
On March 9, 2019, the longest-run bull market in history – the US bull market celebrated its 10th anniversary. Although the US bull market (S&P 500) in 2009 had the longest streak in terms of returns, it ranked second for offering the best returns. Since 1938, the average life of a bull market has been 3.8 years, but the S&P 500 broke this record by being the longest-run bull market for around 11 years from 2009 to 2020. [Source: CNBC]
  1. By the end of 2020, the total US stock market capitalization was around $36,258,650.9 million.
Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the US stock market saw a significant downfall in March 2020, which took several months to recover. By the end of 2019, the US stock market capitalization was $37,689,255.8 million, which decreased to around $36,258,650.9 million by the end of 2020. [Source: Siblis Research] S P 500 - the longest run bull market

Global Stock Market Statistics

  1. There are around 10% of US households who hold 84% international equity in the stock market.
It is a shocking yet interesting statistic to highlight here. As per the Pareto Principle, 10% of the wealthiest US people own around 84% of international equity in the stock market. This share of US households in global equity has risen by almost 15% during the past decade due to economic recovery and international investing after the 2008 Great Recession period. [Source: CNBC]
  1. The 2020 Stock market crash (due to Covid-19) was the fastest and most devastating fall in the Global stock market after the 1929 Wall Street crash.
Starting on 20th Feb 2020, the stock market witnessed a significant yet small-lived crash that ended on 7th April 2020. This Covid-19 crash was one of the remarkable global stock market crashes after the 1929, 1987 and 2008 stock market crashes. Although the global stock market re-entered a bull market in April 2020 after witnessing this short-lived crash, the US market didn’t return to normal until November 2020. [Source: Wikipedia] Covid-19 stock market crash
  1. Around 70-80% of the Global Stock market trading is automated.
Like any other industry, automation is taking over the global stock market. Today, machines and computers use AI and advanced mathematical modeling to research and make trading decisions on your behalf, especially in the US. The automation majorly focuses on short-term movements & sell-offs instead of long-term investments. [Source: CNBC]
  1. Total Stock market value in 2020 increased by over $13 trillion, but share repurchases of S&P 500 lowered to the $200 billion range.
In 2019, the share repurchases in the S&P 500 accounted for approximately $709 billion, as people started preferring investing in the stock market instead of mutual funds. But after the pandemic, the number decreased by a considerable margin, bringing the share repurchases back to the $200 billion range in the first quarter of 2020. [Source: Bloomberg]
  1. Commonly experienced stock market falls like a 5-10% decrease or 10-20% take around a few months to recover.
The commonly occurring stock market crash takes less time to get back to normal than the significant pullbacks. For example, a 10-20% drop takes around four months to get back to normal, while a 20-40% drop requires approximately 15 months to recover. However, in case of a full-blown market crash, like during the time of the 2008 Global crisis, the market took around 151 weeks to return to normal. [Source: GuggenHeimInvestments] Also Read:

World’s Stock Market Capitalization & Valuation Statistics

  1. The total market capitalization of all publicly traded companies in 2020 was around $93 trillion.
In the last few years, the World’s stock market has grown significantly. In 2012, its capitalization was around $54.6 trillion, which grew to $93 trillion by 2022. [Source: Wikipedia, AEI]
  1. The 1929 stock market crash wiped out around 71% of the stock market valuation, while the 2000 Dotcom crash wiped out around 40%.
Before the 1929 market crash, the stock market was at its peak on Sept 3, 1929, with a Dow at 381.17. But after the crash, the market witnessed a loss of 89.2% in its stock market valuation, with a Dow at 41.22 on July 8, 1932. [Source: Investopedia] 1929 and 2007 stock market crash
  1. The most valued Global Stock Market sectors are Information Technology, Finance, Communication and Healthcare – making up around 52% of the World’s companies.
Out of all these four sectors, the IT sector has a dominating share of around 16.31%, while finance has a 15.78% share, the health industry has a 12.59% share, and Communication services account for a 9.32% share. Surprisingly, the real estate sector has the lowest (3.2%) share of the global stock market. [Source: Visual Capitalist] Most profitable sectors in stock market
  1. Out of 60 major exchanges globally, only 16 come under the “Trillion dollar club” with a market capitalization of at least $1 trillion.
There are 60 major stock exchanges available worldwide, out of which 17 are in Asia, 17 in Europe, 9 in the middle east and 5 in Africa, North America & South America. Under these 16 trillion dollar club exchanges, the one with the largest market capitalization is NYSE ($20 trillion), followed by NASDAQ ($7 trillion), London Stock Exchange ($6 trillion) and Tokyo Exchange ($4 trillion). [Source: Visual Capitalist]

Stock Owners & Investors Statistics – Demographics, Gender, Income, etc.

  1. During World War 2 in 1943, women started working on the New York Stock Exchange for the first time.
Until the first half of the 20th Century, only men were allowed to work on the New York Stock Exchange. But during World War 2, the shortage of men as clerks and runners opened the door to exchange for women. The New York Stock Exchange was the first one to allow women to work on the trading floor in stock market history. However, it was temporary and lasted till 1947 only. [Source: NYSE]
  1. In China, retail investors dominate the stock market, accounting for 99.6% of total investors.
While institutions primarily dominate the US stock market (around 62%), it is ruled by retail investors in China (about 99.6%). They invest like they are playing casinos with high risks without strategically investing in long-term plans. [Source: Investopedia]
  1. In the US, single females without dependents invest more in stocks than single females with dependents.
As single females without dependents tend to save more than single females with dependents, the former invest more (around 23%) than the latter (only 15%). [Source: Barkeley]
  1. Compared to Boomers and Silent Generations, Millenials invest less in the stock market in the US.
As per the US stock market data, only 22% of millennials own taxable investment accounts compared to Silent Generations at 53%, Boomers at 39%, and Gen Xers at 29%. The primary reason behind this is Millennials’ low income and more responsibilities than any other generation. Usually, people with income higher than $50K, a college degree, and financial literacy tend to invest more in the stock market. [Source: DiversifiedTrust] Millennials prefer less to invest in stock market than other generations -exif-remove
  1. In the US, families led by White American adults tend to invest more than the families led by Hispanic or Black Adults.
More than 61% of Non-Hispanic White adults (having family) own some stocks than 31% of non-Hispanic blacks and 28% of Hispanic households. Among the majority of White Americans, the investment median is about $51,000, while for black families, it is approximately $12,000, and for Hispanic families, it is around $11,000. [Source: PewResearch]
  1. Higher Income White families aged 55 or older tend to invest around a quarter of their total assets in stock investments.
White families earning over $100,000 invest around a quarter of their assets in stock investments. While Black and Hispanic-led households (with age 35 or less) having income around $53,000 or less invest only about 10% of their assets in stocks. [Source: PewResearch] High income families invest more of their assets in US than low income families

Top-Performing Stocks Statistics

  1. Tesla stocks outperformed other stocks in 2020 with an incredible growth of 670%.
At the start of 2020 (in January), the stock market value of Tesla was $117 billion, which skyrocketed by the end of 2020 to $658.39 billion. By mid-January 2021, the stock reached a value of over $840 billion, and in Oct 2021, Tesla reached the milestone of $1 trillion market capitalization. [Source: Investopedia]
  1. The four best-performing major indices in the last twenty years (1998-2018) are NASDAQ 100, Dow Jones Industrial Average, German DAX, and S&P 500.
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) – In the last 20 years, the DJI grew over 191%, with a market capitalization of over $7750 billion.
  • Nasdaq 100 Index (NDX) – NDX has more than 7,000 products linked with it, accounting for its growth of over 468% in the last twenty years.
  • The S&P 500 – It is one of the oldest indexes with over a seventy-year live track record. In the last 20 years, the index witnessed a growth of 158%.
  • German DAX – The index grew over 163% in the last twenty years.
[Source: Financial Express] Four best performing indices of US 25. With a single share worth $458,675 (as of January 2022), Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway is the                   most expensive stock in the World. Warren Buffet is one of the greatest investors in the World, owning some of America’s best companies like Duracell, Geico, Dairy Queen, etc. Not only that, but he also has stakes in some of the giant companies like American Express and Coca-Cola. One of the major reasons Berkshire Hathaway is the most expensive stock globally is because the company never stock split or devalued the worth of its single share. [Source: Investopedia]
  1. Apple is World’s second-largest and top valued company with a market capitalization worth $2.37 trillion.
In August 2020, Apple attained the $2 trillion global equity market capitalization as the first publicly traded US company. Earlier this year, its was leading the market with its $3 trillion market capitalization, $1 billion more than the current world’s largest company – Saudi Aramco. But later, Apple witnessed a drop of 20% in its stock value while the shares of Saudi Aramco increased by 28% (due to a surge in oil prices) to become the most valued company in the World. [Source: Livemint] Apple became the World's second most valued company after Saudi Aramco
  1. With a $1.953 Trillion current market capitalization, Microsoft is the World’s third most valuable company, worth more than the entire Brazilian stock market.
The current market capitalization of Microsoft is more than the worth of the entire Brazilian stock market (around $938 billion) or the Taiwan stock exchange (around $866 billion). In fact, the combined worth of Apple, Microsoft and Alphabet is around $6.8 trillion, more than the entire Chinese stock market. [Source: CompaniesMarketCap]
  1. The combined stock worth of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (FAANG) is more than any other stock exchange.
FAANG stands for the five most popular and best-performing American stocks, having a combined worth more than any other stock exchange. These stocks are well-known consumer brands with remarkable growth in the last few years to attain market capitalizations ranging from $166 billion (in the case of Netflix) to $2.7 trillion (in the case of Apple) this year. [Source: Investopedia] FAANG stock chart

FAQs

What is the best time to invest in the stock market?

The best time to invest in the stock market is in April. This is because the S&P 500 has witnessed positive growth in April for the last 16-20 years. Apart from April, October and November is also a good time to invest in stocks as these months also witness positive growth every year.

What is the worst time to invest in the stock market?

The worst time to invest in the stock market in September. The September Effect is a widespread phenomenon in the stock market because, during this month, popular stock exchanges like Dow Jones and S&P 500 witnessed an average loss of around 0.83% since 1950. That is why most investors start selling their shares in August to avoid the September effect.

After how many years do the stock market corrections usually happen?

When the stock market witnesses a decline of more than 10% but less than 20%, it is known as a stock market correction, and it usually happens after every two years (on average). Before World War 2, the market corrections happened to occur about once a year, which later became less frequent after World War 2.

What is the average stock market return?

The S&P 500 is the popular index of America’s 500 largest publicly traded companies and is referred to as a benchmark index by investors to measure annual returns. So, according to the past performance of the S&P 500 index since its inception (in 1926) is around 10.4%. Over 30 years, the historical average market return has been about 10%.

Conclusion

So, these are some of the most exciting and noteworthy Global Stock market statistics that will help you make your investing decisions smartly. Now, you know the average return of the stock market, how big is the global and US stock market, which are the best-performing stocks worldwide and much more. I hope you use this information smartly to get the best returns on your investment. Like any other sector, the Stock market is full of risk and unpredictability, so always be cautious while investing in any stock and do your prior research.

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Eleanor Martinez is someone who understands statistics in and out. She has been a student and researcher who has worked with statistics for over six years now. She took up this role at AirServer App as it would give her the perfect opportunity to do two things she loves the most: statistics and writing.

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