With the Australian share market coming under pressure recently, a number of shares on the S&P/ASX 200 index are trading lower year to date.
But not all of them are. Some shares on the benchmark index have carved out strong gains this year despite the market volatility.
Here's why these ASX 200 shares are flying high in 2020:
Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)
The Afterpay share price has rocketed 158% higher since the start of the year. Impressively, this is despite the payments company's shares trading 21% lower than their 52-week high. Investors have been fighting to get hold of Afterpay's shares this year following a very impressive performance in FY 2020 and particularly during the pandemic.
Furthermore, the company announced its expansion into the European market and advised that it is testing the waters in Asia. Given the seismic shift to online shopping, this appears to have positioned Afterpay to deliver further strong growth over the coming years.
Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP)
The Domino's share price has risen a sizeable 57% higher year to date. The catalyst for this gain has been a very positive performance by the pizza chain operator during the pandemic. At a time when many companies were struggling, Domino's delivered strong growth in FY 2020 despite the temporary closure of some of its stores. It reported a 12.8% increase in sales to $5,624.9 million and a 7.3% lift in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to $303 million. In addition to this, management revealed that it plans to grow its store network to 5,500 stores by 2033. This will be more than double the 2,668 stores it had at the end of June.
Is it too late to invest? Despite its strong share price gain in 2020, I don't believe it is too late to invest and feel Domino's would be a fantastic buy and hold option. This is due to its bold expansion plans and its increasingly popular pizzas.
