Apple (AAPL -1.32%) went public in 1980 at a price of $22 per share, or a split-adjusted price of $0.098 per share. Since then, Apple has evolved from a niche computer maker into a global technology leader, revolutionizing the market with products like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, before ultimately becoming the first company to reach a $3 trillion valuation.
Let's examine how Apple's stock splits have affected the number of shares an investor would hold today if they bought at the initial public offering (IPO) and held on, as well as the total return over time.
Apple's stock split history
Apple has split its stock five times throughout its 44-year history as a publicly traded company, most recently 4-for-1 in 2020. By increasing the number of shares each shareholder owns, stock splits reduce the per-share price, attracting more retail investors without changing a company's market capitalization.
A stock split can also help a company qualify for inclusion in a price-weighted index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which Apple joined in 2015. In such indexes, a company's influence is based on its share price, so keeping the price within a certain range can be beneficial.
| Year | Split | Shares |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | IPO | 1 |
| 1987 | 2-for-1 | 2 |
| 2000 | 2-for-1 | 4 |
| 2005 | 2-for-1 | 8 |
| 2014 | 7-for-1 | 56 |
| 2020 | 4-for-1 | 224 |
Data source: Apple Investor Relations.
Given the company's five stock splits, if you had purchased just one share of Apple at its IPO in 1980, you would hold 224 shares today. Moreover, with today's stock price of approximately $224 per share, one share purchased on the first day of trading would be worth $50,176. Notably, this figure does not include dividends, which the company paid quarterly between 1987 and 1995 and from 2012 to the present.
The takeaway is that Apple exemplifies the life-changing rewards that can come from a commitment to long-term investing, showcasing how buying and holding quality companies can yield extraordinary returns over time.
