If You Bought 1 Share of Coca-Cola at Its IPO, Here's How Many Shares You Would Own Now

Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) went public in 1919, and since that time, the stock has split quite a few times. So, let's take a look at the history and what it would mean for an original Coca-Cola shareholder.

Before we can determine how many shares you'd have if you had bought one share at Coca-Cola's initial public offering (IPO), we need to take a look at its stock split history. There has been a total of 11 stock splits throughout the company's 105-year publicly traded history.

Data source: Coca-Cola.

As you can see, this split history would have led to a massive number of shares over time. One share of Coca-Cola purchased at the time of the 1919 IPO would have multiplied to a staggering 9,216 shares today.

When Coca-Cola went public in 1919, its shares were initially priced at $40. As of this writing, one share of Coca-Cola trades for about $69. But you'd own 9,216 of them. That initial $40 investment would be worth $635,904 today. Not only that, but you'd be bringing in almost $17,900 in dividend income every year .

A great example of long-term compounding

Of course, it's fairly certain that nobody who is reading this actually bought a share of Coca-Cola in 1919 (although some people may have inherited shares that were purchased then). But this is a great example of the long-term power of compound returns. Imagine being able to spend $40 today that will eventually turn into a massive nest egg and $18,000 annual income stream for your children or grandchildren.

Matt Frankel has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .