Technology, gaming investors doubled Nasdaq-100 returns: report

07/10/2026 06:38 AST

Investors who focused on the technology and gaming themes achieved significantly higher returns than the Nasdaq-100 over the past decade, says a new analysis from trading and investing platform etoro.

etoro compared the performance of portfolios of large-cap technology stocks, gaming stocks, and banking stocks since their inception just over ten years ago, benchmarked against the Nasdaq-100 and S&P 500.

The technology portfolio returned 1,342% while the gaming portfolio returned 1,252%. Both significantly outperformed the Nasdaq-100, which returned 636% over the same period. The banking portfolio returned 333%, which, though behind the Nasdaq-100, beat the S&P 500's 326%.

Roberto Gornstein, Investment Portfolio Team Leader at etoro, said: "If we look back over the past 10 years, the themes that have driven market growth have changed shape significantly. Technology has moved from smartphones and cloud software to all things AI. Semiconductor stocks like Nvidia, previously best known for powering gaming graphics, are now at the centre of that technological revolution. Meanwhile, gaming itself went from console and PC publishing to an industry where most revenue now comes from mobile."

The technology and gaming portfolios also outperformed the Nasdaq-100 over one-, three- and five-year periods, while the banking portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 over those same periods. This suggests that performance was not limited to the most recent year and reflects sustained exposure to the underlying forces shaping each industry.

Gornstein added: "These themes endured, even as the companies and market forces driving them changed, because they were supported by structural changes rather than short-term market excitement. Investors who maintained a long-term view and stayed invested were ultimately rewarded. That is one of the attractions of thematic investing: it allows investors to focus on the forces reshaping an industry over time, rather than trying to predict which company or market cycle will lead next."

etoro's Smart Portfolios turn 10
The figures come as etoro marks the 10-year anniversary of three of its longest-running Smart Portfolios: BigTech, InTheGame and TheBigBanks. The portfolios track companies exposed to each theme, allowing the analysis to capture the performance of an industry rather than a single stock.

Trade Arabia