The record-breaking strength of the U.S. dollar has caused significantly more pain for large-cap companies heavily reliant on foreign markets than companies more focused on domestic sales.

Share prices of large-cap, multinational companies dependent on overseas sales, such as Meta Platforms Inc. and NVIDIA Corp., have cratered in 2022, often underperforming the S&P 500, which fell 24.8% in the first nine months of 2022, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. While the strong dollar has caused a drop in the price of foreign goods, it has also increased the price of goods in overseas markets and chilled worldwide demand.

The S&P 500 Foreign Revenue Exposure Index fell more than 28.9% from the start of 2022 to the end of September, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices. The index measures the performance of companies with high revenue exposure to non-U.S. regions. By comparison, the S&P 500 U.S. Revenue Exposure Index, which measures the performance of companies that earn more U.S. revenue than the average S&P 500 stock, has fallen 17% over that same stretch.

Stocks hammered

Of the 10 largest stocks in the Foreign Revenue Exposure Index, Meta and NVIDIA have fared the worst, losing about 59.7% and 58.7%, respectively, so far this year. Exxon Mobil Corp. has gained about 42.7% on relatively high oil and gas prices.

While the overall U.S. Revenue Exposure Index has fared better this year, some of its biggest stocks have performed just as poorly. JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Home Depot Inc. and Bank of America Corp. have each lost more than 32% in 2022.

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the index's largest stock by weight, is essentially flat on the year.

Dollar soars

The dollar has rallied amid growing fears of a global recession. Investors have flocked to the safe haven currency as the Federal Reserve and other central banks have hiked rates and as Europe braces for its energy crisis to worsen this winter.

The Dow Jones FXCM Dollar Index on Sept. 27 settled at the highest level in its history. The index, which measures the dollar's value against the euro, the British pound, the Japanese yen and the Australian dollar, has risen more than 11% since the start of the year. The dollar has outperformed all of its G10 peers in 2022, particularly the Japanese yen, Norwegian krone and Swedish krona.

S&P Dow Jones Indices and S&P Global Market Intelligence are owned by S&P Global Inc.