As mega-cap stocks, led by giants such as Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), have been dominating finance narratives, small-cap companies have, on average, actually been outperforming their bigger peers in 2026.
Specifically, the benchmark S&P500 equity market index rose 4.05% this year from 6,858 on January 2 to nearly 7,136 at the latest close on April 29. Simultaneously, the Russell 2000 – comprised of the smallest 2,000 of America’s 3,000 biggest public companies – rallied 9.22% from 2,508 to over 2,739 in 2026.
One trait of the index tracking the smaller 2,000 U.S. companies that it shares with the one following the 500 bigger is that, judging by the year-to-date (YTD) heatmap, it owes much of its success to a relative handful of major winners.
Still, as could be expected given the higher-risk, higher-reward nature of the equities involved, the Russell 2000 features a more extreme spread in terms of YTD performance.
These are the top Russell 2000 stocks of 2026
Inside the S&P500, there are six stocks that more than doubled their value in 2026, with SanDisk (NASDAQ: SNDK) – having risen 348% – and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) – at 156.78% – being the biggest winners.
The Russell 2000, for its part, holds well over a dozen such companies.
Perhaps the most notable – in no small part thanks to being of the stronger Congressional investments from one of the most prolific traders in the House of Representatives – is Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE).
The company saw significant success thanks to the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom, considering it specializes in manufacturing solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), which are used in data centers.
BE stock is, at its April 30 press time price of $291.90, up 235.94 compared to the end of 2025.
The immunotherapy healthcare stock ImmunityBio (NASDAQ: IBRX) is another top performer with IBRX shares changing hands at $6.97 for a 251.52% YTD rise.
Applied Optoelectronics (NASDAQ: AAOI) – a semiconductor, laser components, optical transceivers, and RF access network equipment producer – and Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ: AEHR) – another semiconductor-related company – are arguably the biggest winners of the index in 2026.
Specifically, AAOI shares are, at $155.31, up 345.51% YTD, and, with its press time price of $83.94, AEHR rallied 315.69%.
Most prominent Russell 2000 stocks underperformed in 2026
Elsewhere, the Russell 2000’s performance in 2026 is also notable due to some of its most prominent names – and biggest companies – have either traded flat or underperformed.
For example, Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin (BTC) giant, Strategy (NASDAQ: MSTR), is only 4.28% up in 2026, while Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) is a modest 3.94% in the green, having soared in the April 30 pre-market. Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) – once seen as the next Nvidia-like investment – crashed nearly 21%.
Even some of the stocks popular among U.S. politicians – especially in the context of President Donald Trump’s military actions – such as the drone company AeroVironment (NASDAQ: AVAV) and Kratos Defense & Security Solutions (NASDAQ: KTOS) underperformed, with the former dropping 23.93% and the latter 21.44%.
Featured image via Shutterstock
