If You Invested $10,000 in Apple Stock 30 Years Ago, Here's How Much You Would Have Today

All investors dream about finding that one stock that can catapult them into millionaire status. You can never know which stocks are going to be those rare winners, and there's certainly a bit of luck in choosing your portfolio. But some companies stand out for their business model, opportunities, or other factors.

Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) was always a company that caught attention for its innovation and user experience, and it has grown to become the most highly valued company in the world. If you invested $10,000 in Apple 30 years ago, you would have enjoyed a nice part of that story.

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An Apple a day

Apple is one of the most successful tech companies on earth. It has created an ecosystem of products that users love, and once it onboards a new user, it tends to generate loyalty and higher sales. Fans typically shell out to upgrade to the newest version of a product, creating a cycle of what you could almost call recurring revenue.

Just this week, it announced a new, lower-priced iPhone with Apple's first-ever chip built in-house. It's testing it out for use in the upcoming iPhone release later this year. Interestingly, the low-budget iPhones don't sell as well -- Apple users pay up for what they have come to expect as the best in technology.

This model has resulted in soaring sales and profits over decades. If you had invested $10,000 in Apple 30 years ago, envisioning what Apple could become, you would be a millionaire several times over as the following chart shows.

AAPL data by YCharts.

Notice that I included the gain with, and without, dividends reinvested, so you can see the power of reinvesting dividends. By ploughing back dividends into buying more stock, you would have over $1 million more over this period.

Apple is still at the top of its game, launching new products and gaining consumer loyalty. It may not produce $1 million from $10,000 today, but it could still be a valuable addition to an individual portfolio.

Should you invest $1,000 in Apple right now?

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Jennifer Saibil has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.