If you are looking for the next big stock, then a peek at history could help you. You can learn valuable investment lessons by studying the most successful stocks of all time. Although the most successful stocks tend to change over time, their characteristics are often the same.
For instance, successful stocks or companies are often profitable, outperform the S&P 500 for decades, and are usually household names. Let’s take look at the most successful stocks of all time.
- These Are The Most Successful Stocks Of All Time
It is almost impossible to compile a true list of the most successful stocks of all time because successful companies often are acquired, split up, or merge with other successful companies.
Nonetheless, we have tried our best to compile an accurate list of the most successful stocks of all time. We used market capitalization as the parameter to determine the most successful stocks of all time:
Founded in 1976 and headquartered in Cupertino, California, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) designs, makes and sells smartphones, personal computers, tablets, wearables and accessories, and related services.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
About $1.8 billion |
$2.84 trillion |
| Share Price |
$22 (10 cents on a split-adjusted basis) |
$181.35 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
1.04 billion |
| Berkshire Hathaway |
915.56 million |
| State Street |
576.28 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
285.17 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
52.35 million |
Founded in 1975 and headquartered in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT) designs, makes and sells software, services, devices and solutions.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$61 million |
$2.42 trillion |
| Share Price |
$21 |
$326.04 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
537.57 million |
| State Street |
292.11 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
144.37 million |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust |
39.26 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
24.46 million |
Founded 2015 and headquartered in Mountain View, California, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) delivers online advertising, cloud-based solutions, and other related products and services, including apps, subscription-based products, and more.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$23 billion |
$1.55 trillion |
| Share Price |
$85 |
$122.83 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investors |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
365.93 million |
| State Street |
192.05 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
97.33 million |
| Dodge & Cox |
43.49 million |
| Sanders Capital |
26.62 million |
Founded in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) deals in cloud computing, digital streaming, e-commerce, online advertising and artificial intelligence.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$54 million |
$1.21 trillion |
| Share Price |
$18 (7.5 cents on a split-adjusted basis) |
$123.04 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
607.62 million |
| State Street |
331.90 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
165.31 million |
| Polen Capital Management |
44.88 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
44.37 million |
Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) designs, makes, and sells computer graphics processors, chipsets, and related multimedia software.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$40 million |
$951.2 billion |
| Share Price |
$12 |
$387.10 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
183.69 million |
| State Street |
91.54 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
46.06 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
10.08 million |
| Matrix Capital Management Company |
5.41 million |
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) designs, develops, makes, and sells electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$1.7 billion |
$744.39 billion |
| Share Price |
$17 |
$243.88 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
178.66 million |
| State Street |
99.68 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
50.05 million |
| Primecap Management |
9.88 million |
| DE Shaw |
6.24 million |
Founded in 1839 and headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK.A) deals in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance, freight rail transportation, finance, utilities and energy, and more.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
Unavailable |
$735.64 billion |
| Share Price |
Unavailable |
$510,840 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| Gardner Russo & Quinn |
2,580 |
| Davis Selected Advisers |
2,040 |
| Markel |
1,110 |
| First Eagle Investment Management |
967 |
| BlackRock |
896 |
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Menlo Park, California, Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META) develops and operates social media applications to help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$104 billion |
$678.16 billion |
| Share Price |
$38 |
$264.95 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Hedge Fund |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
152.93 million |
| State Street |
86.99 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
43.94 million |
| Sanders Capital |
13.72 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
10.44 million |
Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Minnetonka, Minnesota, UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) offers healthcare coverage, software and data consultancy services.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$160 million |
$456.42 billion |
| Share Price |
$14 |
$492.63 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
74.93 million |
| State Street |
45.55 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
17.1 million |
| Sanders Capital |
5.12 million |
| Dodge & Cox |
3.49 million |
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in San Francisco, California Visa Inc (NYSE:V) offers digital payment services and facilitates global commerce. The company also provides debit cards, credit cards, commercial payment solutions and prepaid products.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$44 billion |
$456.25 billion |
| Share Price |
$44 |
$223.75 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
123.84 million |
| State Street |
72.90 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
32.22 million |
| TCI Fund Management |
19.29 million |
| Sands Capital Management |
9.01 million |
Founded in 1882 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) deals in the exploration, development, and distribution of oil, gas, and petroleum products.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$1.3 billion |
$437.41 billion |
| Share Price |
$28 |
$107.43 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
277.97 million |
| State Street |
219.17 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
73.87 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
30.12 million |
| First Eagle Investment Management |
13.44 million |
Founded in 1876 and headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, Eli Lilly And Co (NYSE:LLY) discovers, develops, makes and sells pharmaceutical products, including for diabetes, oncology, immunology, neuroscience and other treatment areas.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$140 million |
$423.05 billion |
| Share Price |
$23 |
$446.25 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
65.57 million |
| State Street |
33.24 million |
| Primecap Management |
25.37 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
14.87 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
4.10 million |
Founded in 1886 and headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) develops, makes and sells healthcare-related products.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$3.5 million |
$416.47 billion |
| Share Price |
$37.50 (59 cents on a split-adjusted basis) |
$160.24 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
201.49 million |
| State Street |
140.27 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
48.71 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
8.41 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
6.24 million |
Founded in 1968 and headquartered in New York City, JPMorgan Chase & Co (NYSE:JPM) is a financial holding company that offers a range of financial and investment banking services in all capital markets.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$394 million |
$411.25 billion |
| Share Price |
$20.50 |
$140.71 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
193.85 million |
| State Street |
123.86 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
52.31 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
19.87 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
8.41 million |
Founded in 1945 and headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas, Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) operates in the retail and wholesale business and offers an assortment of merchandise and services at everyday low prices.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$5 million |
$409.77 billion |
| Share Price |
$16.50 |
$153.06 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
99.86 million |
| State Street |
60.15 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
25.10 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
8.68 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
6.82 million |
Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Purchase, New York, Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA) operates in the payments industry and helps connect consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$5.5 billion |
$348.17 billion |
| Share Price |
$39 |
$368.67 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
65.16 million |
| State Street |
34.76 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
16.37 million |
| Akre Capital Management |
5.87 million |
| Polen Capital Management |
5.16 million |
Founded in 1837 and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) is among the world's largest consumer goods companies. The company owns several popular brands, including Tide, Ariel, Pampers and more.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
Unavailable |
$345.15 billion |
| Share Price |
Unavailable |
$146.56 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
161.84 million |
| State Street |
102.29 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
46.75 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
8.44 million |
| Sanders Capital |
6.75 million |
Founded in 1961 and headquartered in San Jose, California, Broadcom Inc (NASDAQ:AVGO) designs, develops and sells semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$8.2 billion |
$331.88 billion |
| Share Price |
$24 |
$804.55 |
- Five Institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
29.84 million |
| State Street |
16.63 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
7.81 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
1.92 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
1.19 million |
Founded in 1978 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Home Depot Inc (NYSE:HD) deals in the sale of building materials, home improvement products, lawn and garden products, and decor products.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$1 billion |
$302.71 billion |
| Share Price |
$12 |
$297.50 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
77.14 million |
| State Street |
45.56 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
19.14 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
8.40 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
3.84 million |
Founded in 1906 and headquartered in San Ramon, California, Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) offers administrative, financial management and technology support to companies for energy and chemical operations.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
Unavailable |
$301.7 billion |
| Share Price |
Unavailable |
$159.06 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
133.84 million |
| Berkshire Hathaway |
132.41 million |
| State Street |
125.82 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
32.63 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
12.47 million |
Founded in 1977 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) offers products and services that target all corporate information technology needs.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$292 million |
$290.17 billion |
| Share Price |
$15 |
$110 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
117.13 million |
| State Street |
62.59 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
27.75 million |
| First Eagle Investment Management |
20.67 million |
| Harris Associates |
19.18 million |
Founded in 1891 and headquartered in Kenilworth, New Jersey, Merck & Co Inc (NYSE:MRK) provides health solutions through its prescription medicines, biologic therapies, animal health and consumer care products, and vaccines.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$2.47 billion |
$279.93 billion |
| Share Price |
$23.50 |
$110.70 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| BlackRock |
209.10 million |
| State Street |
116.39 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
51.22 million |
| Fisher Asset Management |
12.35 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
9.50 million |
Founded in 1886 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Coca-Cola Co (NYSE:KO) makes and sells non-alcoholic beverages.
| |
IPO |
Today (as of this writing) |
| Market Cap |
$24 million |
$261.07 billion |
| Share Price |
$40 |
$60.50 |
- Five institutions holding the stock
| Institutional Investor |
No. of Shares |
| Berkshire Hathaway |
400 million |
| BlackRock |
311.54 million |
| State Street |
169.62 million |
| Geode Capital Management |
76.98 million |
| Dimensional Fund Advisors |
13.78 million |
- Which stock has had the highest return in the last 30 years?
- Monster Beverage Corp (NASDAQ:MNST) (on the basis of 30-year total return - 213,088%)
- Apple (on the basis of annualized dollar weighted return – 23.5%)
- What would $1,000 invested in Apple in 1984 be worth today?
Apple shares traded at a split-adjusted price of 13 cents on Jan. 23, 1984. Thus, one could have purchased 7,692.31 Apple shares with $1,000. Based on Apple’s current share price of $181.43 (at the time of writing), a $1,000 investment in 1984 would be worth nearly $1.4 million today.
- What is the fastest-growing stock in history?
Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE:DQ) is considered to be the fastest-growing stock in history. This China-based company is a leading manufacturer of high-purity polysilicon, which is a key component for solar panels. It has generated a total return of 280% over the last three years (compared to 25% for the S&P 500).
- What is the best stock to buy right now?
Many stocks could fall in the category of the best stocks to buy right now, including Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), JD.Com Inc (NASDAQ:JD), Alphabet, Amazon and CubeSmart (NYSE:CUBE).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
