When Coca-Cola announced a two-for-one stock split a year ago, the company disclosed this information:
“The Coca-Cola Company’s common stock began trading in 1919. Since its original listing, the stock has split 10 times – first in 1927 and most recently in 1996. With all dividends reinvested annually, one share of common stock purchased for $40 in 1919 would be worth approximately $9.8 million today.”
As a mental note, the single share of $40 would have been the equivalent of shelling out $500-$600 today. Of course, most of us aren’t going to make an investment that sits undisturbed for 91+ years to grow quietly, and ninety years of dividend taxes would have also taken a not-so-friendly bite out of the total returns that you experiences. But the overarching theme is true: there are very few things in life where you can set aside $500, do absolutely nothing thereafter, and … Read the rest of this article!