The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) has climbed to fresh highs this year, despite economic headwinds and global volatility, with a number of stocks contributing to that performance.
The UK’s blue-chip index is up 20% year-to-date, at the time of writing, having hit a record high close of 9,911 points in mid-November, closing in on the 10,000-mark. By comparison, the US S&P 500 (^GSPC) is up 15.8% so far this year.
“So much for the UK being the home for old economy companies – the FTSE 100 has had precisely the ingredients desired by investors in a year full of political, trade and market uncertainty,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell (AJB.L).
The UK market has lower exposure to tech companies, which has helped shield it from some of the volatility driven by concerns about the valuations of US big tech stocks and their level of spending on AI.
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Coatworth said that the FTSE 100’s success this year “is not a flash in the pan”, pointing out that the blue-chip index has delivered positive returns in eight of the past 10 years, averaging 9.1% annually over that period including dividends.
“This kind of performance reinforces the attraction of investing over the long term,” he said. “There may be years when performance disappoints, but history suggests it’s worth pursuing.”
Three sectors dominate the FTSE 100’s top performers this year: mining, defence and banks. Demand for safe-haven assets amid uncertainty has driven a rally in gold prices (GC=F), buoying shares in mining companies. And government commitments to spend more on defence has seen investors flock to firms operating in the sector. Meanwhile, strong balance sheets have helped the performance of London-listed banks.
Here’s more detail on which UK blue-chip stocks have delivered the best total returns this year, including both share price performance and dividends.
Precious metals miner Fresnillo (FRES.L) has been the top performer on the FTSE 100 this year, delivering a total return of 386%, according to data provided by AJ Bell.
Concerns about the impact of US president Donald Trump’s tariffs, broader economic worries and geopolitical tensions have fuelled demand for gold (GC=F), pushing prices to record highs.
The precious metal is considered to act as a reliable store of value and a hedge against inflation, so is looked to as a safe-haven investment in times of uncertainty. Central banks cutting interest rates this year has also boosted the appeal of gold (GC=F), as a non-yielding asset.
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These factors have also helped drive silver prices to record highs this year, in addition to industrial demand for the metal to use in products, such as electric vehicles (EVs) and solar panels.
“As the biggest gold (GC=F) and silver producer on the UK market, it’s no wonder Fresnillo (FRES.L) has been the go-to choice for investors seeking to play the precious metal rally via mining shares,” said AJ Bell’s Coatsworth.
“Most people may not have a clue about Fresnillo’s (FRES.L) mine plans or the quality of its projects,” he said. “They just know the company is big, and the more the metal prices go up the more profit it could make.”
Outside of miners, defence and banking stocks, telecoms company Airtel Africa (AAF.L) is another star performer, having generated a total return of 185% this year.
Interactive Investor’s head of markets Richard Hunter said that the company, which provides telecoms and mobile money services in 14 countries in Africa, “sits within a huge potential growth market, revenues have been rising exponentially, share buybacks are in place and currency movements have provided an extra tailwind.”
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In Airtel’s (AAF.L) half-year results, published in late October, the company reported revenue of $2.98bn (£2.22bn), which was up 25.8% compared to the same period last year. This was also ahead of estimates of $2.9bn, according to analyst consensus data provided by Airtel.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $1.45bn for the first six months of Airtel’s (AAF.L) 2026 financial year. This was 33.2% higher than the same period last year and also beat consensus expectations of $1.4bn.
The company’s board declared an interim dividend of 2.84 cents per share and said that its $100m share buyback programme remained on track to complete on or before 31 March 2026.
Another gold (GC=F) miner with strong performance this year was Endeavour Mining (EDV.L), producing a total return of 167%.
In its third quarter results, published on 13 November, Endeavour (EDV.L) said that it had produced 264,000 troy ounces (koz) of gold (GC=F) in the three months ending 30 September. Year-to-date, the company said it had produced 911,000 troy ounces of gold, which was up 23% on the same period in 2024.
Endeavour (EDV.L) said it was on track to deliver production in the top half of its production guidance for the year of 1.11 million to 1.26 million ounces.
Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter came in at $466m, adding up to $1.63bn year-to-date, which was 110% higher than the same nine-month period in 2024.
Endeavour (EDV.L) said it had paid a record $150m – or 62 cents per share – in dividends on 23 October. The miner repurchased $14.4m of shares in the third quarter, taking its year-to-date total at the time to $82.8m.
In the defence sector, engineering services company Babcock International (BAB.L) has delivered a bumper total return of 144%.
The company’s share price has soared this year, thanks to government pledges to raise spending on defence.
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that both Babcock (BAB.L) and Rolls-Royce (RR.L) – which is once again top 10 performer – have benefitted “from a surge in demand as geopolitical tensions remain high, and NATO allies agreed to more than double their defence budgets over the next decade, providing a long-term tailwind for the sector.”
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“UK defence valuations are now sitting in line with their overseas peers, so the period of valuation rerating and easy returns looks to be over, and investor focus now shifts to execution and delivery,” he said.
In its half-year results, released on the 21 November, Babcock (BAB.L) reported revenue of £2.54bn ($3.4bn), up 7% on an organic basis. The company also said it had a contract backlog of £9.9bn.
Operating profit of £234.3m for the first half was up from £183.8m for the same six months last year.
The company declared an interim dividend of 2.5p per share, up 25% from the first half of last year. In addition, Babcock (BAB.L) said it had completed £49m of its £200m ongoing share buyback programme in the first half.
A rise in copper (HG=F) prices has boosted performance for miner Antofagasta (ANTO.L), which has generated a total return of 96% this year.
Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the increase in copper (HG=F) prices has been “driven by tight supply and underlying demand drivers from AI and electrification”.
In a third-quarter production update, released on 23 October, Antofagasta (ANTO.L) said it had produced 161,800 tonnes of copper in the three-month period, which was 1% higher quarter-on-quarter. For the first nine months, the company produced 476,600 tonnes of copper (HG=F), up 3% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, gold (GC=F) production in the third quarter was up 11.6% quarter-on-quarter to 53,900 ounces, totalling 145,000 ounces for the first nine months of the year, which was 22.2% higher year-on-year.
Aero-engineer Rolls-Royce (RR.L) has also delivered a total return of 96% this year, buoyed by both improved financial performance and positive market sentiment towards defence stocks.
Rounding out the top 10 FTSE 100 performers of this year were financial stocks, with banks Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and Lloyds (LLOY.L) delivering a total return of 81%, followed by 79% from insurer Prudential (PRU.L) and 74% from bank Barclays (BARC.L).
Interactive Investor’s Hunter said that UK banks have had a strong year.
“Revenue tailwinds from the so-called ‘structural hedge’ (which effectively mitigates susceptibility to changes in a falling interest rate environment), lower than expected defaults and a return to deal making activity have all played a part,” he said.
“In addition, the banks have all shown particularly sturdy balance sheets and their overall financial strength has enabled generous shareholder returns, both in terms of share buyback programmes and dividend payments.”
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