In the highly uncertain economic environment of 2024, characterised by higher-for-longer interest rates and inflation, were ASX 200 large-cap shares a reliable safe haven for investors?
The large caps are often less volatile in price movement and typically pay strong and reliable dividends.
This is because they are big blue-chip companies with greater capacity to weather economic upsets.
The large caps have a minimum market capitalisation of $10 billion.
At the time of writing, there are 49 large caps in the ASX 200.
Let's take a look at which ASX 200 large-cap shares outperformed their peers in terms of share price growth last year.
For comparison purposes, keep in mind that the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) rose by 7.49% in 2024 and delivered total gross returns, including dividends, of 11.44%.
Here are the top 16 ASX 200 large-cap shares for stock price growth last year.
| Rank | ASX 200 LARGE CAP SHARE | SHARE PRICE GROWTH IN 2024 |
| 1 | Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | 161% |
| 2 | TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) | 103.7% |
| 3 | JB Hi-Fi Ltd (ASX: JBH) | 74.8% |
| 4 | Aristocrat Leisure Ltd (ASX: ALL) | 67.5% |
| 5 | Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) | 67% |
| 6 | Wisetech Global Ltd (ASX: X) | 60.6% |
| 7 | Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd (ASX: FPH) | 60.1% |
| 8 | Xero Ltd (ASX: XRO) | 50.1% |
| 9 | Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) | 49.5% |
| 10 | Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) | 45.5% |
| 11 | Resmed CDI (ASX: RMD) | 44.5% |
| 12 | Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) | 41.5% |
| 13 | Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) | 40.9% |
| 14 | Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU) | 39.2% |
| 15 | Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) | 37.3% |
| 16 | Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) | 37.1% |
The share price of this medical imaging technology company climbed 161% to $250.12 by 31 December.
Pro Medicus reported strong sales and earnings growth last year.
Revenue increased 29.3% to $161.5 million in FY24, largely due to increased sales in North America. The company's underlying EBIT margin lifted to 69.5% from 67.2% in FY23.
Underlying profit before tax rose by 35.3% to $116.5 million. Net profit increased by 36.5% to $82.8 million.
The company attracted various large new customers for its industry-leading Visage platform.
One of its new contract wins in 2024 was a 10-year $330 million deal with Trinity Health.
Despite the 161% surge in the Pro Medicus share price, Goldman Sachs still sees value for buyers today.
The top broker has a buy rating on the stock with a 12-month price target of $278.
The broker said: "PME is not cheap, trading on 114x FY26E EV/EBITDA, but we highlight its revenue/margin outlook, unique cloud offering, and significant long-term opportunity."
Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.