2017 winners and losers

The stock market had a banner year overall, but there were plenty of big winners, and big losers, among individual U.S. companies. Here’s a look at a few of them.

THE WINNERS THE MIGHTY AMAZON

Amazon’s gain of 56 percent in 2017 was hardly shabby, but that number only begins to tell of the enormous effect the company had on the broader market. No other company struck as much fear in its rivals, or potential rivals. Department stores and mall-based retailers continued to plunge as Americans did more of their shopping at Amazon, while other companies like Walmart raced to build up their own online offerings. And when Amazon snapped up Whole Foods in June, investors dumped the stocks of supermarket companies.

BOEING TAKES FLIGHT:

Boeing soared 89 percent, one of its best years on record. The aerospace giant has benefited greatly as the global economy kicked into a higher gear, increasing demand for airplanes. At the same time, military spending in the U.S. is expanding again. Late in the year, Boeing became the highest-price stock on the Dow Jones industrial average.

BREAKING GROUND

Homebuilders made huge gains for the year as housing prices continued to rise. The companies dramatically outperformed the market. NVR and KB Home both doubled, and PulteGroup and D.R. Horton rose almost as much. Without a lot of houses for sale, people also spent more money on home improvement. That was good for Home Depot and Lowe’s.

THE LOSERS GE’S DIMMING FORTUNES:

The icon of U.S. industry saw its stock price slump 45 percent as investors wondered what its future will look like. GE health care executive John Flannery replaced Jeffrey Immelt as chairman and CEO. Soon after he took over, Flannery said GE will shed about $20 billion in businesses over the next few years. He said 2018 will be a “reset” for GE as the company narrows its focus down to aviation, health care and energy.

FLAGGING ENERGY

Crude oil spent most of 2017 trading in circles, and energy companies faded after a big gain the year before. While oil prices are stronger than they were and energy companies have cut spending, it’s hard to see what would make oil prices go higher and stay there. Among energy companies, Baker Hughes dropped 51 percent. Hess fell 24 percent and Exxon Mobil lost 7 percent.

FADED FUN

Mattel didn’t have much fun in 2017 either. Rival toy maker Hasbro continued to benefit from a partnership with Disney. Mattel had outsold Hasbro every quarter for 17 years. In September, retailer Toys “R” Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which hurt both companies.