S&P 500: The Winners and Losers of April 2026
S&P 500: The Winners and Losers of April 2026
April 2026 was the S&P 500’s strongest month since November 2020, with the index returning 10.49% on a total-return basis. Out of the 500 index constituents, 341 ended April in positive territory, while the remaining stocks closed the month in the red. The biggest sector gains came from Communication Services (+18.54%) and Information Technology (+17.47%), while Health Care (-0.45%) lagged and Energy (-3.46%) declined. The month’s biggest winners were all tied to AI infrastructure, compute, or storage, while the worst performers faced company-specific setbacks that outweighed the broader rally. In this article, we break down the top winners and losers in the S&P 500 for April 2026 and examine the key drivers behind their stock movements.
Top S&P 500 Performers in April
Among the top performers were Intel ($INTC), Advanced Micro Devices ($AMD), and SanDisk ($SNDK). Here’s a closer look at why each of these stocks stood out:
Intel ($INTC) +114.09%
Intel, one of the world’s largest semiconductor companies known for its CPUs and foundry services, more than doubled in April as a series of strategic announcements, partnership wins, and a major earnings surprise came together to reshape investor sentiment around the stock.
The month opened with a capital structure move. On April 1, Intel announced it would repurchase the 49% outside stake in its Ireland Fab 34 joint venture for $14.2 billion, describing the step as supported by improved financial discipline and reaffirming Ireland’s central role in its Intel 4, Intel 3, and future process roadmap. For investors, the announcement reinforced the idea that Intel’s manufacturing platform was becoming a strategic asset rather than a liability.
The strategic narrative strengthened from there. On April 9, Intel announced a multiyear AI infrastructure collaboration with Google focused on Xeon CPUs and custom IPUs, arguing that these chips remain essential in heterogeneous AI systems. Reuters also reported that Intel had joined the Terafab project with SpaceX and Tesla, with Tesla potentially becoming the first major external customer for Intel’s 14A process — a meaningful signal for a foundry business that had long needed external validation.
The decisive rerating came after earnings. Intel reported first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, up 7% year over year, non-GAAP EPS of $0.29, and second-quarter revenue guidance of $13.8 billion to $14.8 billion. Reuters reported that AI-related CPU demand was strong enough that Intel sold chips it had previously shelved, while also benefiting from improved pricing. Analysts broadly raised price targets following the report.
Advanced Micro Devices ($AMD) +74.26%
Advanced Micro Devices, a semiconductor company specializing in CPUs and GPUs for data centers, PCs, and gaming, surged more than 74% in April as a steady stream of AI-related announcements reinforced its position in the AI infrastructure market.
On April 1, AMD published MLPerf Inference 6.0 results showing its MI355X systems surpassed 1 million tokens per second on generative AI workloads. On April 16, it announced a multi-year collaboration with the government of France to support AI infrastructure and research, including the country’s planned Alice Recoque exascale supercomputer — a sign that AMD was expanding beyond its role as a GPU alternative into a broader sovereign AI platform.
AMD also benefited from a powerful sector-wide readthrough. Reuters reported that TSMC raised its revenue outlook and capital-spending plans on what it described as extremely robust AI demand. Another Reuters report noted that AMD and Arm both jumped more than 11% on April 24 after Intel’s earnings results strengthened conviction that inference workloads could restore CPUs to the center of AI systems.
The post-month earnings release on May 5 then validated what April’s rally had been pricing in. AMD reported first-quarter revenue of $10.3 billion, up 38% year over year, with Data Center revenue up 57%. Management cited stronger demand for high-performance CPUs and accelerators as inferencing and agentic AI continued to expand.
SanDisk ($SNDK) +72.59%
SanDisk, a flash storage company serving data center, enterprise, and consumer markets, rallied more than 72% in April as an index addition brought new investors in and earnings results confirmed a major shift in the company’s business model.
On April 10, Nasdaq announced that SanDisk would join the Nasdaq-100 effective April 20. Index inclusions of this kind tend to matter for a stock because they increase visibility, draw passive fund flows, and require benchmark-aware investors to build positions quickly.
Fundamental confirmation arrived at month-end. On April 30, SanDisk reported fiscal third-quarter revenue of $5.95 billion, up 97% sequentially, with Datacenter revenue up 233% sequentially. Management described the quarter as an inflection point tied to a new business model built around multi-year customer engagements backed by financial commitments. The company disclosed three signed partnerships by quarter-end, two additional agreements already signed in the fiscal fourth quarter, and a $6 billion share repurchase authorization.
Guidance added another leg to the thesis. SanDisk forecast fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $7.75 billion to $8.25 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $30 to $33. Reuters reported that the company had secured five long-term contracts, including three worth at least $42 billion combined, as AI-related storage demand and tight supply conditions improved pricing across enterprise SSDs and flash.
Worst S&P 500 Performers in April
Among the biggest decliners in the S&P 500 for April 2026 were Charter Communications ($CHTR), Tractor Supply ($TSCO), and Insulet ($PODD). Each faced distinct pressures — ranging from accelerating broadband subscriber losses and earnings misses to a high-profile medical device recall — that weighed heavily on their stocks even as the broader market surged. Here’s a closer look at what drove their underperformance.
Charter Communications ($CHTR) -23.49%
Charter Communications, one of the largest U.S. cable and broadband providers operating under the Spectrum brand, fell more than 23% in April after reporting a quarter that showed the company’s core franchise continuing to erode.
On April 24, Charter reported first-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, down 1.0% year over year, adjusted EBITDA of $5.6 billion, down 2.2%, and free cash flow of $1.4 billion, down 12.3%. Most damaging was a net loss of 120,000 Spectrum Internet customers during the quarter. Internet revenue fell 1.3%, monthly residential revenue per customer fell 1.4%, and capital expenditures rose 19% to $2.9 billion as the company continued its network evolution and expansion programs.
Tractor Supply ($TSCO) -22.52%
Tractor Supply, a U.S. retail chain serving rural lifestyle customers with farm supplies, pet products, and outdoor equipment, dropped more than 22% in April after reporting a quarter that came in below Wall Street expectations.
On April 21, the company reported first-quarter net sales of $3.59 billion, comparable-store sales growth of just 0.5%, and diluted EPS of $0.31, down from $0.34 a year earlier. Operating income fell 6.3%. Reuters reported that both sales and earnings missed analyst estimates.
Management said companion animal performance trailed the rest of the company because of softer demand trends, category shifts, and unfavorable mix. Gross margin held roughly flat only because disciplined cost management offset higher tariffs and transportation costs. SG&A deleveraged because comparable sales were weak and the company accelerated store openings. Reuters added that discretionary demand remained soft amid tariff uncertainty and elevated interest rates. Because the company only reaffirmed its full-year outlook rather than raising it, investors treated the quarter as evidence of slowing momentum rather than a temporary setback.
Insulet ($PODD) -17.97%
Insulet, a medical device company that makes the Omnipod tubeless insulin delivery system for people with diabetes, fell nearly 18% in April as a product quality issue that first surfaced in March continued to expand in scope during the month.
On March 12, the company had announced a voluntary medical device correction for specific Omnipod 5 pod lots after identifying a manufacturing issue, a small tear in internal tubing that could lead to insulin under-delivery. At that time, the company said it had received 18 reports of serious adverse events, including hospitalizations, and that affected pods represented roughly 1.5% of annual Omnipod 5 pod production globally.
April kept that issue front and center. On April 10, according to Insulet’s Omnipod update page, the company expanded the affected lot list to include expired pods and warned that the defect might occur without triggering an alarm. On April 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration updated its communication, confirmed the matter as a Class I recall, the most serious category and said serious injuries reported by Insulet had risen to 29 as of April 17. Because Insulet was not scheduled to report first-quarter earnings until May 6, there was no operating update during April to shift the focus. As a result, the stock spent the month trading largely on recall execution risk and reputational overhang.
What the month really said
April’s dispersion followed a clear pattern. The winners were companies sitting at key bottlenecks in the AI buildout: CPUs, foundry access, and flash storage. The losers were businesses facing a meaningful reset in how investors thought about durability and execution — accelerating broadband losses at Charter, margin-and-demand pressure at Tractor Supply, and a high-severity medical device recall at Insulet. The biggest moves were not random. They were tied to specific disclosures that changed how the market assessed future earnings power, competitive position, or operating risk.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell securities. The content is based on publicly available information and reflects the author’s opinions as of the publication date, which may change without notice. All investments carry inherent risks, including the potential loss of principal, and past performance is not indicative of future results. Readers should conduct their own research or consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions. BBAE holds no position in the securities mentioned, nor are they compensated by the companies mentioned.
