Stock market geek question

[propita]

If someone bought 10 shares of Microsoft stock after its IPO in 1986, never bought more and never sold it, what would they be worth today?

I'm not good enough to figure that out, taking into account the splits and all. It would have been about $300 in 1986.

And no, I don't have any. Just wondering how much I blew it, remembering that I knew someone who HAD bought 10 shares back then.

 

[STR]

Just look up the stock price on any chart, they're almost always split-adjusted. I like Google Finance, as they have an easy to read indicator for when a stock has split.

Though, an even better choice would be to forget it. Dwelling will not help you, as one will always see that they could have made a fortune if they timed it perfectly (in this case, buying at the IPO and holding it until December 1999, or even swinging in and out of the stock every other month on the exact right day). Unfortunately, there's no such thing as perfect timing. In fact, that's the #2 rule of trading, #1 being "Never put yourself in a position to lose a lot of money", and #3 being the helpful "Past performance is no guarantee of future returns."

 

[Jadzia]

Approximately 0.10 in 1986.
Approximately 25.00 in 2011.

That's a 250 fold increase. A $1 investment in 1986 would be worth $250 now.

 

[TheBrew]

so 75,000?