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

Few stocks boast a pedigree as impressive as Apple 's (NASDAQ: AAPL) . Not only is the consumer technology giant the first publicly traded outfit to reach a trillion-dollar market cap, it's also often the world's most profitable company. It has earned its status as an investor favorite.

Apple's stock has split several times since its initial public offering back in 1980, of course. It essentially had to, in order to accommodate the organization's incredible growth.

And that raises a curious question: If you bought one share of Apple at its IPO, how many would you own now?

Apple's stock-split history (and IPO price recalculation)

Apple's stock has been split five times since going public in December 1980. The first was 1987's 2-for-1 split, followed by another 2-for-1 split in mid-2000. The next split came in early 2005...another 2-for-1 deal.

Then the party really started. Following the explosive revenue growth driven by 2007's debut of the iPhone, Apple shares saw a 7-for-1 split in mid-2014 and underwent a 4-for-1 split again in mid-2020.

Crunching the numbers, one share of Apple back in 1980 would have become 224 shares today. Adjusting for all of these splits, the stock's IPO price of $22 per share is effectively dialed back to $0.10.

Apple is an exception to the norm, but...

Apple's is an extremely unusual case, of course. Most stocks don't need to be split as much as this one's been.

Nevertheless, not every stock needs to do as well from its inception to make you very, very wealthy. One or two of these mega-winners will do the trick. The challenge is just figuring out which companies have true long-term growth potential and which ones don't. For every winner like Apple, there seems to be a handful of disappointing names like Blue Apron or Groupon . Take your shots, but be discerning and realistic as well.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .