Amazon stock has not always been the ‘must have’ investment that it is today. Since its IPO over two decades ago, its share price has increased from $18 to almost $2000
When a company offers its stock on a public exchange for the first time, this is known as an Initial Public Offering or IPO. IPOs provide businesses with instant liquidity and publicity, whilst also offering opportunities for early investors. Some of the biggest returns on investments (ROIs) have come from tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Apple, who have all seen impressive growth since floating.
On the 12th December 1980, Apple had its initial public offering, which you could have snapped up at a bargain $22 (although you’d have needed to be quick as they sold out in minutes). Today, a single share would fetch over $200, so if you’d purchased 100 shares that December you could now sell them for over $20,000. However, Apple is not the only company with missed IPO opportunities ....
Amazon recently hit $1 trillion in market value - the second company to do so after Apple achieved the four comma valuation in early August. However, Amazon stock has not always been the ‘must have’ investment that it is today. Since its IPO over two decades ago, its share price has increased from $18 to almost $2000, meaning if you’d have invested in 100 Amazon shares in 1997, you could sell them today for almost $180,000.
When it comes to stocks and shares, it’s impossible to know which companies will perform and which won’t, even past returns do not predict future results. Even investment mogul Warren Buffett didn’t see sure value in the retail giant Amazon when it first floated. Last year, at Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting, self-made billionaire Buffett said "I've watched Amazon from the start. I think what Jeff Bezos has done is something close to a miracle. ... The problem is when I think something will be a miracle, I tend not to bet on it … I was too dumb to realize. I did not think [Bezos] could succeed on the scale he has."
So, if you’re wondering which top tech IPOs have (so far) proved the most profitable, take a look at at this graphic where RS Components have compared the value of 100 shares now and then, of some of the biggest tech giants in the world.
