all stocks in the s and p 500 in 1972

HP (HPQ) had the highest return in 1972 by a US stock in the S&P 500 (GSPC), returning 101.4%.

ASSETYEAR% RETURN
HP (HPQ)
1972
101.39%
McDonald’s (MCD)
1972
101.39%
Walt Disney (DIS)
1972
72.19%
Altria (MO)
1972
70.45%
Motorola Solutions (MSI)
1972
54.15%
Wells Fargo (WFC)
1972
47.09%
Deere (DE)
1972
46.05%
Chevron (CVX)
1972
45.39%
Merck (MRK)
1972
45.39%
Procter & Gamble (PG)
1972
44.47%
Halliburton (HAL)
1972
44.11%
Boeing (BA)
1972
33.92%
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
1972
32.98%
3M (MMM)
1972
28.45%
Exxon Mobil (XOM)
1972
24.7%
International Paper (IP)
1972
24.54%
Eli Lilly and (LLY)
1972
24.28%
Coca-Cola (KO)
1972
23.46%
Ford Motor (F)
1972
22.73%
PG&E (PCG)
1972
21.24%
International Business Machines (IBM)
1972
21.16%
GE Aerospace (GE)
1972
18.9%
CenterPoint Energy (CNP)
1972
14.5%
General Dynamics (GD)
1972
13.45%
American Express (AXP)
1972
12.86%