How Much a $1000 Investment in Apple 38 Years Ago Would be Worth Today

Business September 18, 2019

Current Worth Of Investment

Apple recently debuted a new set of its updated products. The products include one MacBook Air and 2 iPad Pros. Some analysts are of the opinion that one cannot expressly say yet if these updated products will be worth the increased prices. One thing that is, however, certain is that if you invested in Apple in the early days, then your investment would have definitely paid off.

According to calculations, an investment of $1,000 in the company on the actual day when it held its IPO sometime in 1980 is now worth over $500,000 currently. That calculation is with the inclusion of dividends and price appreciation. The stocks of Apple have no doubt performed excellently well, but any other stock can also under-perform or over–perform. Also, the past returns don’t predict the future results.

An investment of a thousand dollars in Apple when it held its IPO in 1980 is now worth over $500,000

Apple’s Beginning

Steve Jobs, Ronald Wayne, and Steve Wozniak founded Apple in 1976. The first customer of Apple was The Byte Shop and it ordered fifty Apple I computers. For him to be able to fulfill the deal, Jobs had to take out a loan of $15,000.

The mission of Apple was to make computers cheap, small and simple so they could become mass-market products. At that time, computers were bulky and also complicated.

The primary purpose of the Apple startup was to make computers that were cheaper, simpler and smaller than the complicated machines that existed at the time.

Apple grew over time and in June 1977 it released Apple II. While describing the Apple II model, Wozniak wrote that in his opinion, a personal computer ought to be small, inexpensive, reliable and should be convenient for usage. The Apple II model had increased memory and its video graphics were in color.

The company later went public in 1980. The IPO event was described by Wall Street Journal as being one of the events that were the most anticipated at that period.

Reports have it that Apple had 4.6 million shares and each was sold for $22 and the shares reportedly sold out really fast. It subsequently rose with over 30% that same day and it was at $29 at the close of the day.

Apple IPO produced over 30 millionaires in one day and that included a lot of the company’s employees. According to sources, the IPO birthed more millionaires than any other company had ever produced in history. Jobs reportedly made over $200 million.

Rough Days For Apple

Things haven’t always been so smooth for the company. Sometime in 1985, the company ousted Jobs because of his volatility and the company began to experience faltering performances. It fell behind other competitors such as Microsoft. The failure was caused by a couple of products that failed and also the company’s turnover.

By the year 1997, the company was close to bankruptcy and had to lay off some employees. As a last resort, the company rehired Jobs who was then named the interim CEO. Jobs had the power to veto the bulk of the company’s production plans and he also implemented a focus that was based on simplicity.

Apple as far back as the 1980s had already become one of the best-known brands in the world. When Jobs went back, they reduced the products plans of the company by 70% and also commissioned the popular “Think Different” advert campaign.

Apple’s Achievement

Earlier this year, the tech titan went on to become the first American public company to hit the $1 trillion market capitalization after its stock briefly surged to $207.05. The increase made it possible for the company to hit that mark before Amazon.

The iPhone has substantially contributed to the rise of Apple’s market capitalization

It was under Jobs’ leadership that the company in 1998 launched the iMac G3 and that product brought the company once again to prominence. After that, the iPod was released under his leadership in 2001 and later in 2007, Apple released the iPhone. The iPhone went on to rapidly become a top-seller. iPhone also changed how the consumers make use of technology.

The company has sold over 1.4 billion iPhone since it first launched in 2007. Analysts have opined that no decision or product remotely contributed to the rise of its market capitalization as its iPhone. When the iPhone was announced, Apple’s worth was $73.4 billion.