With just four trading days left in 2024, the grains of sand in the hourglass are running out — and that means there’s only so much time left to harvest those losses or gains, max out your 401(k), and spend those FSA funds. It’s been a wild year, with Bitcoin skyrocketing past $100K, company drama, and major indexes soaring to new records — and today is our last issue of The Average Joe this year.

2024, recapped: This year, we covered hundreds of stocks — including a healthy number from big indexes like the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and Russell 2000. We tackled the record-breaking (and premium-valued) stock market alongside an equally high-flying crypto market, which had its best year in memory thanks to a wild fourth quarter. And in celebration of our final edition — and the year that was — we’re spotlighting some of our favorite stories. This time, with the benefit of hindsight.

• We covered Wall Street’s favorite names — like gaming enterprise-turned ad firm ApplovinAPP
  , government contractor PalantirPLTR
  , and Russell 2000 high-flyer SoundHound AISOUN
  ; they rose 789%, 387%, and 882%, respectively.
• We didn’t forget about the losers, though — including ailing names like WalgreensWBA
  , IntelINTC
  , and ModernaMRNA
  , which fell 65%, 58%, and 65%, respectively.
• We also simplified some of the market’s biggest stories — like drug pricing, consumer spending, the cost of housing, and much more.

Recapping our Above-Average Joes

We didn’t stop at big names, we truly did it all. In fact, we might even be proudest of our most unique stories — like features on the falling star of frequent flyer status, BRICS+, and transit infrastructure, among others. And that’s not all…

• We covered a booming era of travel, including Boeing’sBA
  issues, Southwest’sLUV
  bold new plans for air domination, and the price of new hoteliers trying to beat legacy names.
• We also highlighted a different kind of boom — an energy one — covering oil prices, AI power beneficiaries, soaring utility names, and GE’sGE
  energy spinoff.
• Smaller, lesser-known stories got their moment, too — like the world’s largest producer of metal credit cards, hot HVAC firms, and struggling dollar stores.
• And it was also a big year for the planet — with nine-figure hurricane damages, record coffee and cacao prices, and progress made towards fixing the very-broken carbon credit marketplace.
• Finally, we celebrated the launch of our personal finance-focused Sunday edition, featuring great stories on EV tax credits, how to earn 100K+ miles, and loud budgeting.

Lasting words: If you love The Average Joe, the best gift you can give us this season is to forward this email to a friend who enjoys learning new things. Sharing is what keeps us energized — besides our morning coffee, that is. While the year isn’t quite over, our New Year’s resolution is to keep filling your inbox with insight and alpha. We’ll be back bright and early on Jan. 2, 2025, to round out how markets closed out the year — and a preview of what’s to come. Same time, same place. Until then, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!