Only 48% of stocks deliver positive returns over their lifetime.
Just 41% outperformed Treasury bills.
Only 27.6% outperformed the market itself.

Out of 29,754 stocks studied over the past century, just:

1,082 stocks (3.6%) created 100% of net wealth.
The remaining 96.4% of stocks collectively matched Treasury bills.

The top long-term performers generated annual returns in the range of 12% to 16% – not dramatically higher than the market.

The Market Is Becoming More Concentrated
If this dynamic sounds extreme, it is becoming even more so.
In earlier research covering 1926–2016:

89 companies accounted for half of all wealth creation.

With updated data through 2025:

Just 46 companies now account for half of all wealth.

Even more telling, from 2017 to 2025:

The top 30 companies generated over 60% of all wealth created.

Winner Take Most

Markets are increasingly driven by:

Scale advantages
Technology platforms
Network effects
Possibly artificial intelligence