4 Biggest Stock Returns in History: Should You Add Them to Your Portfolio?
Written by
Karen Doyle
Edited by
Ashleigh Ray
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Every investor knows the jealousy-inducing headlines — “I invested in Microsoft’s IPO, and now I’m a millionaire!” and “Here’s how much a $1,000 investment in Google’s IPO would be worth today!”
Hindsight is always 20/20, though, and no one wants to talk about the money they lost in investments that went bust.
There are some stocks, however, that seem to consistently produce market-beating returns for their shareholders year after year. Is it time to add some of these outperformers to your portfolio? Here’s what you need to know.
Highest Performers
Looking at some of the highest performers in history is fun and may help you decide whether to add these positions to your portfolio — if they’re not already there. Of course, past returns are no indication of future returns.
Apple
Apple (AAPL) began trading at $22 per share in 1980. It began its stratospheric rise almost immediately and gained 35.93% on a single day in 1987. By 2002, however, turmoil at the company and uncertainty about its future drove the price below $0.30 per share.
But the tech giant didn’t stay down for long. Those who bought at its lowest point and have held it have enjoyed an annualized return of 35.79%. A $1,000 investment in July 2022 would be worth $838,194 today.
Amazon
Amazon (AMZN) stock opened at $18.00 per share on May 15, 1997. After adjusting for subsequent splits, the price is equivalent to $0.075. If you had invested $1,000 in Amazon at its IPO and held it, your investment would be worth about $1.83 million today.
Apple and Amazon are good examples of stocks that, while they have seen huge gains over time, continue to perform well for shareholders. Other tech giants have also done well to date but have run into difficulties as of late.
Meta
Meta (META), the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, went public as Facebook in 2012 at $38.00 per share. With its current price of about $450 per share, those who invested $1,000 in the IPO and held it would be sitting on about $12,100 today.
Tesla
Tesla (TSLA) stock was priced at $17 for its IPO in 2010. After adjusting for splits, the price would be $1.13. Today, a $1,000 investment in Tesla at the IPO price would be worth about $148,000 today.
The investing adage that ‘past performance is not indicative of future returns’ is certainly true of these high-performing stocks. As with any other investment, doing your due diligence. Making an informed decision about the company’s future prospects is the best way to determine if the investment is worthwhile.
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