With Kamala Harris leading the Democrats in the upcoming US presidential election, female leaders are more in the spotlight than ever.
Here at Nemo, we wanted to delve into the stock performance, past and present, of some of the biggest and most well known companies that have a woman in the driver’s seat.
While of course a company’s leader can’t totally determine whether it’s successful or not, you can’t escape the level of influence a CEO has over their company - making major decisions about what direction to go in, and affecting the company’s culture as well as its image in the media.
So what are we waiting for? Let’s get into the research!
General Motors 🚗
Mary Barra has been the CEO of General Motors since 2014 - it’s the first time one of the ‘Big Three’ American automakers has had a female leader. Barra has done a lot to bring the company into the future, making a big move in 2017 by acquiring self-driving car startup Strobe.
GM’s stock price right now is $44.67, which is up 33.48% in the past year. Stock on 16 January 2014, the day after she started as CEO, opened at $29.68. Since then, the stock has risen in value with an incredible increase of 50.51%.
Analysts predict this stock will continue to increase in value by 21.79% in the next 12 months, to reach a price of $54.40 - and this stock is currently rated as a ‘Buy’.
Let’s compare General Motors to the other two companies in the ‘Big Three’.
Stellantis (formerly Chrysler): Carlos Tavares, previously CEO of Groupe PSA until its merger with Stellantis, has been CEO since 2021. Stellantis’ stock price right now is $15.21, down 20.07% over the past year. Stock on January 18 2021 the day after he started as CEO opened at $13.05. That’s an increase in value of 16.55%.
Ford Motor Company: Jim Farley has been CEO since 2020, after starting at Ford in 2007. Shares in Ford are priced at $10.45, which is down 14.88% over the past year. Stocks on 2 October 2020, the day after Farley started as CEO, opened at $5.71. So the current price is an increase of 83.01% which looks huge, but the fact is, the price of the stock was already quite low. It’s predicted that this stock will increase by 30.53% up to $13.64 in the next 12 months, but it’s currently rated as a ‘Hold’ rather than a ‘Buy’.
Advanced Micro Devices 🖥️
Lisa Su was appointed CEO of semiconductor company AMD in 2014, and is also Chair. In her time at the company, she’s won numerous awards for her achievements. In 2021, she was awarded named as #49 on the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women, and was also inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame.
AMD’s stock is priced at $149.86 - up 42.30% in the past year. Stock opened on 9 October 2014, the day after she was appointed CEO, at $2.95. Since then, it has increased by an astonishing 4980%. One reason for this growth is, of course, how fast the tech sector moves and how much it has grown, especially as AMD competes in the semiconductor space.
Analysts think it will increase by 24.89% to a price of $187.16 in the next 12 months. The stock is currently rated as a ‘Buy’.
Intel Corporation: Patrick Gelsinger was previously the company’s CTO from 2001 to 2009, returning to Intel in 2021 as CEO after stints at VMWare and EMC. The stock price is currently $19.64, which means it has dropped 49.49% in a year. The day after Gelsinger started as CEO, 16 February 2021, the price was $56.82 - and since then it has decreased by 65.43%. Analysts think it could rise by +95.13% in the next 12 months to reach $38.32, but overall the verdict is a ‘Hold’.
NVIDIA: We can’t talk about semiconductors without mentioning NVIDIA, the biggest in the business. The CEO is founder Jensen Huang, who has been in this position since 5 April 1993. The stock price is currently $116.90. When NVIDIA’s stock became available on the market, it was worth $12 a share - since then, under Huang’s leadership it has grown by 874.17%. Analysts think it will increase to $125.16 in the next 12 months, a gain of 7.05%. In the past year it has increased in value 170.89%.
AMD is coming after NVIDIA’s crown, announcing new products targeted for AI, including the MI325X accelerator - a computer part that can increase performance and speed - which is set to be released in Q4 2024. Interestingly, NVIDIA boss Huang and AMD’s Su are actually first cousins once removed!
Accenture 👔
Julie Sweet took over as CEO of professional services company Accenture in 2019, which provides businesses with a wide range of consulting services. Fortune and the New York Times have listed Julie Sweet as one of America’s most powerful women in business.
Right now, Accenture’s stock is worth $350.87, and over the past year it has risen by 11.88%. On 3 September 2019, the first working day after she became CEO, the stock was worth $181.84, meaning it has increased in value under her leadership by 92.96%. Sweet has held the position for 5 years now, and the company seems to be thriving under her management.
Analysts estimate that Accenture will rise in value to $352.52 in the next 12 months, an increase of 0.67%. It’s currently rated as a ‘Buy’.
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp: The CEO of consultancy business Cognizant Technology Solutions is Ravi Kumar S., who took over the position at the start of 2023. The price of this stock is currently $77.10. The day after the new CEO took over the stock was $62.20, and since then it has risen by 23.96% - but Cognizant stock is predicted to fall in value by 1.31% in the next 12 months, to $76.20. In the past year, the company’s stock rose by 9.95%.
Marsh & McLennan companies: John Q. Doyle is the CEO of Marsh & McLennan, and he took over in January 2023. The stock is currently worth $229.74, but the day after Doyle started in his new role it was priced at $161.86. It has increased in value by 41.93%, which is a good growth in value but still much less than the amount Sweet has boosted the value of Accenture. The company’s stock has gone up by 41.93% in the past year. Like the new Cognizant CEO, John Q. Doyle hasn’t been in his role that long, so we will have to see how these companies fare in the months ahead under their new management. However, Marsh & McLennan stock is predicted by analysts to drop in value by 7.19% in the next 12 months, reaching an average target price of $213.18.
Here’s all the info on the companies we’ve talked about in a chart. As you can see, the stock prices of General Motors, AMD and Accenture have all increased under the management of the women who lead these businesses.
The future is female 🙋
There is a wealth of research into female leaders, with some studies indicating that women are especially likely to be powerful ‘transformational leaders’, who work together with their teams to guide change. Transformational leaders have been described as encouraging learning and development in their staff, and as being more creative in their decision making.
These are amazing examples of women in business, in roles where they share their expertise, take charge and lead their companies to success. And it’s likely that we’ll see more and more examples of businesswomen like Barry, Su and Fraser in the years to come.
Countries around the world are recognising that women are underrepresented in the C-suite, so there are an ever-growing number of schemes and grants designed to inspire women and girls to go into business.
All stock information is correct at the time of writing.
