Investing $5,000 in Amazon's May 1997 IPO would have turned into millions of dollars today, potentially over $10 million or more, considering the stock's massive growth through splits and market appreciation, making it one of the most successful investments ever, far surpassing even modest long-term growth in other major stocks like Apple or general market indexes.
A $1,000 investment made at the time of Amazon's IPO in May 1997 would be worth around $1.2 million as of October 9, according to CNBC calculations. If Orman had invested her $5,000 around the same time and kept them, her shares would be worth more than $6 million.
Amazon's growth
A $1,000 investment at the closing price on the day of the IPO and not sold would be worth roughly $1.87 million today. The stock made its debut on May 15, 1997, at a pre-split closing price of $23.50 per share ($0.098 per share split-adjusted).
If you had invested $1,000 in Apple stock on Feb. 4, 1997, today, you would have $1,343,269. Likewise, if you had invested $1,000 in an index fund replicating Nasdaq, you would have $11,038. A similar $1,000 investment in an index fund that replicates the S&P 500 would be worth $6,140.
Amazon's split-adjusted share price
If you had bought 100 shares of Amazon at its initial public offering (IPO) price of $18 a share – for a total of $1800 – and kept them all during the splits from June 1998 to September 1999, you would now have 1200 shares in Amazon.
A $10,000 investment in Amazon (AMZN) stock 20 years ago (around early 2006) would be worth well over $1 million today (early 2026), with estimates suggesting it could range from roughly $1 million to over $1.1 million, representing an increase of over 100 times (100x) your initial investment, demonstrating massive returns due to significant stock splits and growth, significantly beating the S&P 500.
Yes, Amazon (AMZN) stock did reach and trade above $3,000 per share, first hitting that milestone in July 2020, driven by the pandemic's boost to e-commerce and cloud services, and it continued to trade at these high levels before a 20-for-1 stock split in June 2022 made shares more accessible.
Investing $1,000 in Coca-Cola (KO) stock 20 years ago (around early 2006) would have grown to roughly $6,000 to $8,000 by late 2025, assuming reinvested dividends, but it significantly underperformed the S&P 500 index, which would have turned $1,000 into about $20,000 over the same period, highlighting that while Coca-Cola offers stability, diversification and broader market index funds often yield better long-term returns.
If You Bought Tesla Stock 10 Years Ago
If you had invested $10,000, you could have bought roughly 693 shares. Currently, shares trade at $429.52, meaning your investment's value could have grown to $297,658 from stock price appreciation. Tesla has never paid dividends.
The conventional story goes like this: Microsoft saved Apple from bankruptcy with a $150 million investment in 1997, proving even bitter rivals can become unlikely saviours. Apple got capital and credibility (a Microsoft investment signalled confidence) without ceding control.
In 1997, its first year as a public company, revenue increased 838% year over year. Twenty-five years ago, Amazon had already made a name for itself, and its stock had gained more than 3,000%. If you had invested $10,000 at that time and held on until today, you'd have $686,000.
If you had invested $1,000 in Amazon stock in 2000, it could be worth around $50,000 today. Amazon's growth from an online bookstore to a global tech powerhouse highlights the transformative potential of early investments in innovative companies.
Amazon went public in mid-1997 for $18 per share. However, the stock has completed four splits since that time. Investors who bought at the IPO are sitting on a 3,400x return.
A $1,000 investment in Amazon at its May 1997 IPO would be worth millions of dollars today, with estimates ranging from around $1.87 million (as of late 2024) to potentially over $2 million or more, depending on the exact purchase price, share splits, and current stock valuation, making it one of the most significant wealth-building investments ever from the tech boom.
Amazon shies off high after hitting $2,000 per share for the first time. It's a major milestone in the stock's climb to match Apple's $1 trillion market valuation. The record high comes a day after Amazon gained 3.2 percent, sparked by a bullish call by Morgan Stanley.
Amazon went public on May 15, 1997, and the IPO price was $18.00, or $0.075 adjusted for the stocks splits that occurred on June 2, 1998 (2-for-1 split), January 5, 1999 (3-for-1 split), and September 1, 1999 (2-for-1 split), and June 3, 2022 (20-for-1 split). What is Amazon's fiscal year?
But if you were smart enough to invest $1,000 in Apple stock at the start of the year 2000, you'd be sitting on a monster gain of 21,230%. This means that modest investment would be worth a whopping $213,000 today (as of July 27).
Investing $1,000 in Nvidia (NVDA) stock 20 years ago (around early 2006) would have yielded a massive return, with estimates placing its value at roughly $900,000 to over $1.2 million by late 2024/early 2025, thanks to significant growth from gaming to AI, despite stock splits and volatility, turning an investor into a near-millionaire.
If one had bought $1,000 in Apple stock when Jobs returned in February 1997 and held on until today, that position would be worth around $1.8 million. That figure assumes this hypothetical investor would have reinvested their income from the dividend, which Apple reinstated in 2012.
Turning $1,000 into $10,000 in one month requires high-risk, high-reward strategies, often involving aggressive business ventures like high-volume flipping (e.g., window washing, retail arbitrage) or online businesses (dropshipping, e-commerce) where you reinvest profits quickly, or trading volatile assets like crypto, but success isn't guaranteed and carries significant risk, so consider diversifying into safer options like starting a service business (lawn mowing) or freelancing high-demand skills.
Which brings us to what $1,000 invested in Amazon stock 20 years ago would be worth today. As you can see in the chart, if you'd invested $1,000 in Amazon stock a couple of decades ago, it would today be worth about $93,000. That's good for an annualized total return of almost 26%.
Amazon have never declared or paid cash dividends on their common stock. They intend to retain all future earnings to finance future growth and, therefore, do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
Amazon's 20-for-1 stock split
Amazon completed a 20-for-1 stock split in June 2022, its first in more than two decades.