Markets in Motion
Uncovering FAANG Stock Trends in Uncertainty

Ivy Zhuang

What’s FAANG?

In finance, FAANG is an acronym referring to the stocks of five prominent American technology companies: Meta (META) (formerly known as Facebook), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX); and Alphabet (GOOG) (formerly known as Google). The FAANG companies are seen as transformative leaders within their respective sectors, known for their powerful brand recognition and consistent attention from Wall Street. These companies are often viewed as benchmarks for innovation and growth in the tech sector, with products and services that have reshaped everything from how we communicate to how we shop, work, and consume media. They benefit from massive user bases, global reach, and strong financials, which together help explain why FAANG stocks attract so much investor attention. Over the years, these companies have come to symbolize the broader tech-driven momentum behind the U.S. stock market as their stocks have generally outperformed the broader market.

Still, their journeys have not all looked the same. In times of crisis, markets don’t just wobble, they reveal. Economic downturns and disruptions rocked global equities, but within the chaos, some patterns emerged across the FAANG companies. Each responded to the uncertainty in different ways, reflecting underlying differences in business models, consumer demand, and investor expectations. Examining how their stock performances evolved over the past decade—especially during periods of disruption and recovery—offers a window into the varying degrees of resilience, adaptability, and long-term positioning among these industry leaders.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at how these companies fared during one of the most turbulent periods in recent memory—the COVID-19 pandemic.

Apple?

Among the FAANG companies, Apple’s stock performance over the past decade reveals a pattern of steady growth that contrasts with the sharper fluctuations seen elsewhere in the group. Even during periods of broader market uncertainty, its upward trajectory in average high trading price remained relatively smooth, suggesting a level of investor confidence grounded in consistent earnings, strong product ecosystems, and resilient global demand.

While Apple doesn’t consistently post the highest average peak stock prices, its performance stands out for its stability. Rather than dramatic spikes or steep drops, Apple’s stock price follows a more gradual and reliable climb. This suggests a long-term growth narrative supported by sustained consumer demand, disciplined management, and a strong brand ecosystem. In contrast to the volatility that characterizes some of its peers, Apple’s performance reflects a kind of quiet confidence—less reactive to short-term market swings, and more aligned with durable, strategic growth over time.

Netflix and Meta, while showing impressive rebounds after 2022, experienced far more turbulence during the height of the pandemic. Both companies saw rapid surges in value early on—Netflix benefiting from a boom in at-home entertainment, and Meta from increased digital advertising and social media engagement—but those gains proved difficult to sustain. Netflix faced mounting subscriber fatigue and growing competition in the streaming space, leading to sharp corrections. Meta, meanwhile, grappled with shifting user behavior, regulatory scrutiny, and challenges tied to its costly pivot toward the metaverse. Their quick recoveries reflect renewed investor optimism and strategic recalibrations, but the volatility in their trajectories during the pandemic suggests that their business models were more exposed to short-term shocks and shifting market sentiment than Apple’s.

With that, let’s take another look at the company’s trading volumes.

The trading volumes during the pandemic tell another revealing story. When markets tumbled in March 2020, trading volume increased across the board — not just because investors were panicking, but also because uncertainty breeds opportunity.

For Apple, this spike wasn’t only about fear. It was about attention.

Even amid widespread sell-offs, Apple seemed to quickly become a magnet for investors seeking clarity and confidence. Apple’s trading activity steadied in the months that followed, which points to a sense that, amid crisis, Apple was not only resilient but essential in a way. As people shifted to remote work, leaned more heavily on personal tech devices, and deepened their reliance on digital ecosystems, Apple’s relevance grew. The spike and subsequent normalization of trading volumes reveal a story of trust—investors moved fast, but many ultimately stayed, betting on Apple’s ability to thrive in a rapidly reshaped world.

So how volatile are prices for these companies? Let’s take a look.

Not all volatility is created equal — and here, the gaps tell the story. Apple and Google sit together on one side of this spectrum, showing visible tight distributions of daily price changes. Both hover right around the 1% mark on average, reflecting not only steadiness in their stock prices but also consistency in how investors respond to news, earnings, and market conditions. These are companies investors seem to understand — and trust — with their calm, predictable trading patterns signaling belief in their long-term value.

Contrast this with Netflix and Facebook, whose wider, flatter distributions paint a different picture entirely. Netflix especially stands out with the more dramatic swings, day in and day out. This likely reflects shifting sentiment tied to subscriber growth, fierce streaming competition, and market reactions to quarterly surprises. Facebook, too, faced greater volatility tied to platform changes, regulatory issues, and market reorientation post-pandemic.

In short, while all FAANG companies faced the same macro shocks, the way their stock prices behaved day-to-day revealed how differently investors perceived their futures. For Apple and Google, the market seems to have embraced a steady, trusted narrative. For Netflix and others, uncertainty — and therefore volatility — remained the name of the game.

What’s happening now? And next?

As of April 2025, the ten largest companies on the list of S&P 500 companies accounted for approximately 35% of the market capitalization of the index and were, in order of highest to lowest weighting: Apple (6.4%), Microsoft (6.2%), Nvidia (6.0%), Amazon.com (3.8%), Alphabet (3.6%, including both class A & C shares), Meta Platforms (2.7%), Berkshire Hathaway (2.0%), Broadcom (1.8%), Tesla (1.6%), and JPMorgan Chase (1.4%).

Today, tech giants continue to dominate the market, shaping not only stock indices but also the broader economy. What began as resilience during the pandemic has evolved into something deeper — these companies are no longer just growth stories, they are pillars of global infrastructure. Apple, in particular, has become a symbol of consistency, with steady stock movements that reflect enduring investor trust.

Looking ahead, however, new questions are beginning to emerge. Regulatory scrutiny, evolving consumer behaviors, and the rapid rise of AI are reshaping the landscape. While companies like Apple may still offer stability, even the steadiest players face a future defined by change. The pandemic chapter has closed, but the next phase — shaped by innovation, competition, and shifting global dynamics — is only just beginning.

About this story

This website is created using html as part of a class project for DATA 1500 (Data Visualization & Narrative), a Brown University course taught by Professor Reuben Fischer-Baum, an editor on the graphics team at the Washington Post. The charts are created using R and polished using Adobe Illustrator.

The original dataset is found on Kaggle, which contains historical stock price data and financial metrics from 2005/01/01 to 2024/10/18 for the five major tech companies (acronym known as FAANG): Apple, Facebook (Meta), Google (Alphabet), Amazon, and Netflix. The data was collected using the Yahoo Finance API via the yfinance library in Python (Rudra prasad bhuyan, Kaggle).