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.
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Which ASX 200 large-cap shares outperformed in 2024?
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% |
Why did Pro Medicus shares rise the most?
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."
