In the dark days of the coronavirus pandemic, Moderna (NASDAQ: MRNA) was a ray of light in more ways than one. The healthcare company's innovative Spikevax was one of the go-to vaccines that sped to market,

Helping to support the fervor has been strong profit reports from Entergy and other big U.S. businesses. Companies in the S&P 500 are on track to deliver nearly 17% growth in their earnings per share for the final three months of 2024, compared with a year earlier. That would be the best growth since 2021, according to FactSet.

Wall Street edged back from an all-time high following mixed profit reports from big companies. The S&P 500 barely budged on Friday and slipped by a hair, a day after rallying within 0.1% of its record set last month.

Shares of Meta Platforms ( META -2.05%) and AppLovin ( APP -0.41%) have advanced 510% and 4,700%, respectively, since January 2023 as of Feb. 17. Both companies are stock-split candidates after that price appreciation, and both stocks are worth buying, according to Wall Street.

U.S. stock indexes are edging lower in a relatively quiet Wednesday on Wall Street. The S&P 500 was down 0.2%, a day after setting an all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 163 points,

However, the S&P 500 ( ^GSPC -0.01%) is generally considered the best barometer for the overall U.S. stock market due to its scope and diversity. Read on to see the S&P 500's average return over the last decade, and to learn what Wall Street expects in the future.