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 0.12%), 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 -0.73%).
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 2.47%), 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 1.39%), 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 1.00%), 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.
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Mark Roussin, CPA has positions in AbbVie, Alphabet, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Prologis, and Visa. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Chevron, Home Depot, Microsoft, NextEra Energy, Prologis, and Visa.
What was the best performing stock of 1980? ›
Hasbro (HAS) had the highest return in the 1980s by a US stock, returning 32,901.2%.
ASSET | DECADE | % RETURN |
---|
Nike (NKE) | 1980s | 24,068.18% |
Gap (GPS) | 1980s | 10,438.71% |
Hormel Foods (HRL) | 1980s | 10,374.75% |
Home Depot (HD) | 1980s | 5,940.57% |
21 more rows
What is the return of the S&P 500 since 1980? ›
Stock market returns since 1980
This is a return on investment of 14,212.86%, or 11.82% per year. This lump-sum investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 3,655.16% cumulatively, or 8.51% per year.
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How much is $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1980? ›
Craziest thing I learned recently: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 1980 would be worth over $1M today.
Choosing your investments
Investing in an S&P 500 fund can instantly diversify your portfolio and is generally considered less risky. S&P 500 index funds or ETFs will track the performance of the S&P 500, which means when the S&P 500 does well, your investment will, too. (The opposite is also true, of course.)
What is the 20 year return of the S&P 500? ›
Average returns
Period | Average annualised return | Total return |
---|
Last year | 26.2% | 26.2% |
Last 5 years | 16.4% | 114.0% |
Last 10 years | 15.3% | 314.1% |
Last 20 years | 10.8% | 684.6% |
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If you're looking for stock picks, choose The Motley Fool. I cover its flagship service in detail in this Motley Fool Stock Advisor Review. If you're looking for objective analysis and ratings on ETFs and mutual funds, choose Morningstar.
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Keithen Drury has positions in Alphabet, Meta Platforms, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Advanced Micro Devices, Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Nvidia, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
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1 more row6 days ago
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