In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500, then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today.
Source: The Motley Fool
If you love money, this will blow your mind.
In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500 (^GSPC 1.20%), then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today.
That equates to a total return of 120,936%.
The stock? None other than Gap (GPS 0.77%).
You read that right. According to an analysis of the "entire universe of U.S. based stocks publicly traded since 1980," M&T Bank found that the multi-branded retailer scored the top spot among all of the stocks that are currently on the S&P 500.
What's perhaps more interesting is that Gap was in exceptionally good company, as four of the top five S&P 500 components on the list were all retailers.
You can see evidence in the following graphic, which charts how much a $1,000 investment in 1980 would be worth with respect to each of these stocks today.
Coming in second is L Brands (BBWI 2.71%), the retail concern behind Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, among others, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.9%. Third is TJX (TJX 0.45%), the "off-price apparel and home fashions retailer" behind T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, among others, with a CAGR of 22.8%. And in fourth place is Wal-Mart (WMT -1.75%), the world's largest retailer, with a CAGR of 21.9%.
It's also worth pointing out that all of these are, to varying extents, discount retailers that were positioned perfectly to take advantage of the Great Bull Market that got under way in 1982. And all of them have since grown alongside the American consumer. Their total returns (rounded to the nearest 1,000%) come out to be 90,000%, 88,000%, and 69,000%, respectively.
The lesson here is simple. The opportunity to invest in great companies coupled with the magical power of compounding returns can make prescient and patient investors very rich.
FAQs
The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Chewy, Fiverr International, Fortinet, Nvidia, PayPal, Salesforce, and Uber Technologies.
What is the S&P 500 performance since 1980? ›
S&P 500: $100 in 1980 → $12,097.47 in 2023
This is a return on investment of 11,997.47%, or 11.61% per year. This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 3,171.49% cumulatively, or 8.32% per year.
What is the best performing stock in the S&P 500? ›
Best S&P 500 stocks as of April 2024
| Company and ticker symbol | Performance in 2024 |
|---|
| Super Micro Computer (SMCI) | 255.3% |
| NVIDIA (NVDA) | 82.5% |
| Constellation Energy (CEG) | 58.1% |
| Deckers Outdoor (DECK) | 40.8% |
7 more rowsThe average yearly return of the S&P 500 is 11.3% over the last 50 years, as of the end of February 2024.
What is Motley Fool's all in buy stock? ›
We regularly see similar ads from the Motley Fool about “all in” buy alerts, sometimes also called “double down” or “five star” buys, and they're generally just the type of steady teaser pitch that they can send out all year, over and over with no updates, to recruit subscribers for their flagship Motley Fool Stock ...
What stock will boom in 2024? ›
*Based on current CFRA 12-month target prices.
- Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) ...
- Alphabet Inc. (GOOG, GOOGL) ...
- Meta Platforms Inc. (META) ...
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) ...
- Tesla Inc. (TSLA) ...
- Mastercard Inc. (MA) ...
- Salesforce Inc. (CRM) ...
- Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD)
In 1980, had you invested a mere $1,000 in what went on to become the top-performing stock of S&P 500, then you would be sitting on a cool $1.2 million today.
What is the 10 year return on the S&P 500? ›
Basic Info. S&P 500 10 Year Return is at 180.6%, compared to 174.1% last month and 161.9% last year. This is higher than the long term average of 114.4%.
What is the 20 year return of the S&P 500? ›
Average returns
| Period | Average annualised return | Total return |
|---|
| Last year | 30.7% | 30.7% |
| Last 5 years | 15.9% | 109.5% |
| Last 10 years | 15.7% | 331.4% |
| Last 20 years | 10.8% | 682.2% |
The Best Performing Stocks in History
- Coca-Cola. (NASDAQ: KO) ...
- Altria. (NASDAQ: MO) ...
- Amazon.com. (NASDAQ: AMZN) ...
- Celgene. (NASDAQ: CELG) ...
- Apple. (NASDAQ: AAPL) ...
- Alphabet. (NASDAQ:GOOG) ...
- Gilead Sciences. (NASDAQ: GILD) ...
- Microsoft. (NASDAQ: MSFT)
Best performing stocks in the S&P 500 over the last 20 years
| Total 20-year return | Annualized return |
|---|
| Monster BeverageMNST | 82,942% | 39% |
| AppleAAPL | 51,052% | 37% |
| NvidiaNVDA | 32,830% | 33% |
| Intuitive SurgicalISRG | 16,569% | 29% |
7 more rowsNov 8, 2023
2 Stocks That Can Double Again in 2024
- SoundHound AI and Sweetgreen are up 174% and 116% so far in 2024.
- SoundHouse AI is seeing its platform for conversational intelligence explode in popularity.
- Sweetgreen has quadrupled over the past year, but it's still a broken IPO with potential to harvest.
40 Years (1982 – 2022): 11.6% annual return. 30 Years (1992 – 2022): 9.64% annual return. 20 Years (2002 – 2022): 8.14% annual return. 10 Years (2012 – 2022): 12.74% annual return.
What is the average return of the S&P 500 last 30 years? ›
Average Market Return for the Last 30 Years
Looking at the S&P 500 for the years 1993 to mid-2023, the average stock market return for the last 30 years is 9.90% (7.22% when adjusted for inflation).
What is the average return of the S&P 500 last 60 years? ›
Stock market returns between 1960 and 2023
This is a return on investment of 47,073.47%, or 10.15% per year.
What are Barron's 10 stocks for 2024? ›
Our list for 2024 includes a diversified mix of familiar stocks and some surprises, once again leaning toward, but not exclusively to, the value camp: Alibaba Group Holding, Alphabet, Barrick Gold, Berkshire Hathaway, BioNTech, Chevron, Hertz Global Holdings, Madison Square Garden Sports, PepsiCo, and U-Haul Holding.
What are the top 10 stocks to buy right now? ›
Sign up for Kiplinger's Free E-Newsletters
| Company (ticker) | Analysts' consensus recommendation score | Analysts' consensus recommendation |
|---|
| Amazon.com (AMZN) | 1.30 | Strong Buy |
| Microsoft (MSFT) | 1.32 | Strong Buy |
| Delta Air Lines (DAL) | 1.35 | Strong Buy |
| Nvidia (NVDA) | 1.38 | Strong Buy |
15 more rows- Vodafone Idea FPO allotment.
- F&O Stock Strategy.
- Tata Consumer share Price.
- Railway Stocks.
- GSPL Share Price.
- Mahindra Finance Q4 results.
- Reliance Share Price.
- JNK India IPO.
10 of the Best Stocks to Buy for 2024
- Alphabet Inc. (ticker: GOOGL)
- Discover Financial Services (DFS)
- Walt Disney Co. (DIS)
- PDD Holdings Inc. (PDD)
- Occidental Petroleum Corp. (OXY)
- Match Group Inc. (MTCH)
- Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste SAB de CV (ASR)
- Target Corp. (TGT)
