In November 2021, Tesla reached its peak market cap of 1 trillion dollars. In summary, the article provides a comprehensive overview of key concepts in the stock market, analyzes specific companies’ success stories, and offers valuable insights for investors seeking long-term gains. But what really set Apple on its course to becoming the world’s largest publicly traded company – and the greatest wealth creator of the past 30 years – was the 2007 debut of the iPhone. Along the way, Microsoft created $1.91 trillion in wealth for shareholders, good for an annualized return of more than 19%.
Loser: Meta Platforms
Although the auto maker’s prospects seemed dismal, the company’s outlook suddenly reversed when Porsche revealed a controlling stake. As short sellers rushed to cover their positions, the share price increased sharply, until VW was (briefly) the largest company in the world. Netflix stock saw a dramatic price increase when the company expanded globally and shifted from DVD rental to streaming from 2007 onwards. The stock price achieved its peak during COVID-19 as a result of increased demand for streaming services during massive lockdowns in the world. However, it’s worth mentioning that Tesla has one of the biggest rises in stock price in the last decade. The car manufacturer was traded below 2 dollars per share 10 years ago and the stock price made an all-time high of 414,5 in 2022.
- “The majority (51.6%) of these stocks had negative cumulative returns,” finance professor Hendrik Bessembinder of Arizona State University wrote.
- Altria Group, Inc. (formerly Philip Morris Companies, Inc.) is a United States conglomerate that is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of nicotine, cigarettes, and related goods.
- In Q2 of 2012, Zynga, a tech company that develops online games, announced it had radically missed projected earnings and subsequently fell more than 40% during after-hours trading that day.
- Indeed, although the maker of graphics processing units (GPUs) was founded in 1993, it didn’t go public until 1999.
- The firm counts oncology treatments Avastin, Perjeta and Herceptin among its bestsellers.
But with a healthy dose of luck, $1 invested in 1926 would have been worth $2.67 million at the end of 2023, assuming it was invested in the right company. A new research paper has examined all 29,078 US stocks that have existed since 1926 and identified the top 30 performers of all time. Copyright © 2025 FactSet Research Systems Inc.Copyright © 2025, American Bankers Association.
As a senior writer at AOL’s DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Founded in 1998, Tencent is the world’s largest vendor of video games, and has massive footprints in social media, music, e-commerce, payments systems, venture capital and much, much more. A small sample of the firm’s hit products include instant-messaging platform Tencent QQ, multiplayer online battle arena game Honor of Kings, and QQ Music, a streaming music service. From humble beginnings as a single discount store, Walmart (WMT) now operates approximately 10,500 retail locations under 48 nameplates in 24 countries, and it employs 2.2 million workers. The digital revolution is a running theme when it comes to the best stocks of the past three decades, and so it follows almost axiomatically that Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) should make the list. It should come as no surprise that the greatest value investor of all time would be behind one of the best stocks of the past 30 years.
It manufactures consumer electronics, semiconductors, displays, storage systems and sundry other biggest stock gainers of all time computer parts. And it designs software, provides logistics, financing, marketing and consulting services. Samsung is also active in artificial intelligence and cloud-based services. And make no mistake about how important those rising payouts have been to shareholders’ returns. Few blue chips offer so much exposure to so many emerging endeavors and technologies, which explains the semiconductor stock’s relatively recent meteoric rise – and the outsized wealth it created for shareholders.
Biggest Share Price Gain in History – Key Takeaways
The article introduces the concept of “Blue-chip stocks,” referring to stable publicly traded companies with consistent earnings and cash flow. Blue-chip stocks are often considered safe investments, attracting serious investors looking for long-term gains. The emphasis on long-term growth in percentage rather than short-term fluctuations is a key principle for many investors.
Dow Jones on March 15, 1933, has gained 15.34% just in a single day, while Volkswagen became the world’s biggest firm by market capitalization after Porsche unexpectedly bought the company’s shares. The simplest way to find the best stock gainer is to compare what the firm was worth when it was established to what it is worth now. The company’s 20-year trading overall return in percentages is 45.750%. It produces its goods not for those people who are farming for commercial purposes or for making a living, but for those people who are farming as a hobby. Its stocks rose extremely after the pandemic period, when the demand for the company’s goods went up significantly.
- Netflix stock saw a dramatic price increase when the company expanded globally and shifted from DVD rental to streaming from 2007 onwards.
- Berkshire is now a holding company comprising dozens of diverse businesses, selling everything from underwear (Fruit of the Loom) to insurance policies (Geico).
- Tesla’s stock began rising notably in the mid-2010s and transitioned into a significant acceleration in 2019.
of the Most Shocking Stock Increases and Falls
These numbers increase almost every day as the company is also one of the most popular and has a very good recognition on the planet. The company employs more than 164,000 people around the globe and has a famous CEO, Tim Cook. The company is not only producing devices that millions of people love worldwide but is also a large producer of operating systems for these devices including smartphones, tablets, laptops, and personal computers.
Altria Group, Inc (MO)
As much as Samsung has emerged as a major supplier to the tech sector’s supply chain, consumers know it best for its ubiquitous smartphones, televisions and home theater systems. Samsung washers, dryers and refrigerators are likewise major brand ambassadors helping to drive top-line growth. JNJ split off its consumer health business – the one that makes Tylenol, Listerine and Band Aid – from its pharmaceuticals and medical devices divisions. The breakup is meant to free the faster-growth, higher-margin parts of J&J from the drag of its more mature, less profitable operations.
Led by Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway is one of the largest insurance and financial companies in the world. It is also a multinational conglomerate company that owns other companies. Being a world-renowned investor and stock trader, Warren Buffett is known for investing in other companies’ stocks and making billions of dollars. Its main source of capital is insurance, and it invests in a broader range of securities and stocks. Berkshire Hathaway has a total market capitalization of over 780 billion and the 52-week range for its stock is 292.42–373.34 USD. The company is also a blue-chip company that has a history of being stable and worthy of investing.
Tech stocks have been the market darlings of the past three decades, but that doesn’t mean classic consumer brands have automatically gone out of fashion. Disney – a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average since 1991 – has had its pandemic ups and downs recently, but you can’t quibble with the stock’s past performance. Shares in the sprawling entertainment conglomerate have delivered outstanding multi-decade returns.
The Future of Apple Under Tim Cook
Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has certainly made the most of its relatively short time as a publicly traded company. Tesla’s (TSLA) annualized return towers over every other name on this list. But as much wealth as the electric vehicle maker has created in its relatively short life, it has done so with gut-wrenching volatility.
A strategy of acquisitions, strategic alliances and investments has helped keep Roche’s pipeline full of blockbuster drugs. The firm counts oncology treatments Avastin, Perjeta and Herceptin among its bestsellers. The company was incorporated under the UnitedHealthcare name in 1977 and went public in 1984.
When it comes to single stock valuation, the company has the highest stock increase ever. In March 2022, the single stock price hit the All-Time High at $539,180 price. Berkshire Hathaway has Coca-cola, Bank of America, Apple, GEICO, and other big companies under its umbrella. In the 1980s, the company share prices were around 250 USD at its lowest. As of 2022, the company’s market capitalization is around 640 billion US Dollars.
