Good morning.
How many times do you hear about investments after the fact, and wish you knew about it at the time?
I find myself doing that more often than I probably should. I love going back in time to apply “what if” scenarios to see how things would have turned out if I’d invested.
What I’ve found is that buying as little as 100 shares of a company, and never buying any more, could have created significant wealth over time!
The reason I selected one hundred shares is that it’s a round number. It’s easy to think in terms of round numbers. You’r more than welcome to buy 102 or 110 shares if you like.
Another reason I chose one hundred shares is that it’s affordable when you’re investing in young companies that have potential and have not exploded in value yet.
I’m going to go back 20 years now, to 1999, and see how we would have made out had we bought 100 shares of various companies…
1. Medivation (MDVN): In 2003, you could have purchased 100 shares of Medivation for $70. For most people, that ain’t even a night out!
Over the next 13 years, that $70 investment would have grown to $32,600. That’s 465 times your investment!
2. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL): In 2001, you could have purchased 100 shares of Apple for $1487. That’s a little more than what an iPhone X costs today, and certainly what a new Mac would run you.
That $1487 investment would be worth roughly $260,400 today – and that does not include dividends!
3. Universal Insurance Holdings (NYSE: UVE): Now this one is crazy…
In 2005, the stock was trading at $.04 per share. If you’d invested $40, you could have purchased 1000 shares, just for the hell of it.
Now I will admit that this situation would have been akin to buying a lottery ticket…but that’s why you do stuff like that. You never know, right?
Guess what? At its height, that measly $40 would have turned into $50,000!
4. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN): It would be impossible to have a list like this and not include Amazon! In 2002, you could have purchased 100 shares of Amazon for $1082.
Today, that investment would be worth $176,400!
5. Regeneron (NASDAQ: REGN): In 2005, you could have purchased 100 shares of Regeneron for $921.
Today, that investment would be worth $40,600.
6. Priceline, now called Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG): In 2004, you could have purchased 100 shares for $1790.
Today, that investment would be worth $176,000.
7. Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX): In 2003, you could have purchased 100 shares of Netflix for $1100.
Today, that investment would be worth…
…are you sitting down?…
$501,340!!!
8. Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN): In 2003, you could have bought 100 shares of Illumina for $337.
Today, that investment would be worth $62,700.
9. Alexion Pharmacuticals (NASDAQ: ALXN): In 2003, you could have bought 100 shares of Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $1400.
Today, that investment would be worth $26,400.
10. NewMarket Corporation (NYSE: NEU): In 2003, you could have bought 100 shares for $649.
Today, that investment would be worth $43,000.
So…as you can see, buying as little as 100 shares can build considerable wealth!
If you can, I recommend starting out with buying 100 shares of a good business, and then taking a “wait and see” approach.
If the stock proves to be a winner – then keep adding to it!
Click the image of the book at left to be taken to its Amazon page. (Disclosure: As a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, I earn a small commission on each sale generated through these links.)