Stock prices move up and down every day, but the very best companies bring value to their shareholders over the long term. Since 2019 is almost over, we wanted to understand the top 10 stocks so far this century. At least some of the companies making the list might surprise you.
- Monster’s stock earns the top spot, where an initial investment of $100 would be worth $62,444 today.
- Netflix ($23,071) and Apple ($7,416), two of the famous FAANG stocks, also make the top ten, but they aren’t nearly as valuable as the energy drink maker.
- Other notable companies like Walmart and Berkshire Hathaway don’t make the top 10.
- There’s a significant diversity of industries represented in the top 10, from consumer products and tech companies to retail and financial services.
Business Insider originally created a list of the top 10 best-performing stocks this century. We looked up the stock prices for each one on Yahoo Finance as of December 31, 1999, or the date the company went public, whichever was later. Imagine you invested $100. Our visual shows how much you’d have as of October 22, 2019.
Total Return (%) on $100 Investment
1. Monster Beverage: 62,444%
2. Netflix: 23,071%
3. Equinix: 12,050%
4. Tractor Supply Company: 10,171%
5. Intuitive Surgical: 9,155%
6. Ansys: 7,856%
7. Apple: 7,416%
8. IDEXX Laboratories: 6,822%
9. Mastercard: 6,279%
10. Ross Stores: 6,003%
Monster Beverage, the maker of the famous energy drink, takes the top spot by a landslide. An initial investment of just $100 on 12/31/1999 would be worth an astounding $62,444 today. That is substantially more than any other company in the top 10, including the tech heavyweights of Netflix ($23,071) and Apple ($7,416). Stock in Equinix and the Tractor Supply Company both returned over 10,000% over the last 20 years, quite an impressive accomplishment, but nowhere near Monster’s performance.
It’s also worth mentioning the significant diversity of companies present in the top 10. There’s no single sector that dominates the ranking. Monster is an energy drink company, Netflix is a streaming service, and Equinix provides data services. The other companies on our list are in things like medical supply, financial services and retail. This is more evidence that you shouldn’t invest your entire portfolio in just one industry.
And there are several notable companies missing from our list too. Where are the rest of the FAANG companies, Facebook, Amazon and Google? And what about other famous companies like Walmart, Exxon or Berkshire Hathaway? To be fair, some of these companies didn’t exist at the start of the century, and so perhaps they haven’t had enough time to rack up returns. It’s also worth noting that our methodology favors companies that started out with low share prices that ended very high. A single share of Berkshire Hathaway, for example, is worth well over $300,000. However, it’s still surprising that Walmart and Exxon are nowhere to be found.
And here’s a final question. Imagine you really did invest $100 in a company like Monster or Netflix all those years ago. Would you hold the investment for another 20 years? Or sell the shares immediately? Let us know in the comments.
Data: Table 1.1