The 27 best-performing stocks in the last 100 years — delivering eye-watering returns up to 265,528,900%

Nvidia's 332,000% surge since its IPO makes it the best performer of the last 20 years, yet it hasn't cracked the top 100-year stock list.

The 27 best-performing stocks in the last 100 years — delivering eye-watering returns up to 265,528,900%
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How trading looked in the 1990s.
  • Nvidia stock has surged 332,000% since its 1999 IPO, leading the past 20 years.
  • Despite its growth, Nvidia isn't among the top-performing stocks of the last century.
  • Below, we list the 27 best-performing stocks since 1925, according to Hendrik Bessembinder's.

Nvidia stock has soared almost 332,000% since the company went public in 1999. As of December 2023, it's been the best-performing stock of the last 20 years with a 33.38% average annual return, according to Hendrik Bessembinder, a professor at Arizona State University.

Yet, data in a recent paper published by Bessembinder shows it still has a ways to go to sit among the top-performing stocks of the last 100 years.

In the paper, Bessembinder looked at over 29,000 US stocks and compiled a list of the 30 stocks with the highest cumulative returns over the last century, assuming a buy-and-hold strategy and the dividends reinvested.

Interestingly, negative returns were a more common outcome than gains, with 51.6% of stocks being in the red. The median return was -7.41%, but with some stocks having incredible upside, the mean return was 22,840%.

Below, we've listed 27 of those 30 top stocks that are still trading today, along with their total cumulative returns, annual compound returns, years since their first return in the study's timeframe (December 1925-December 2023), and how much each dollar originally invested is worth today, per the data in Bessembinder's paper. Data is pulled from the Center for Research in Security Prices, he said.

It should be noted that Bessembinder isn't recommending these stocks as investments. The adage that prior performance does not guarantee future results applies.

Altria Group
mo

Cumulative compound return: 265,528,900.62%

Annualized Compound Return: 16.29%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $2,655,290

Vulcan Materials
vulcan materials

Cumulative compound return: 39,349,084.13%

Annualized Compound Return: 14.05%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $393,492

General Dynamics
gd

Cumulative compound return: 22,084,880.36%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.39%

Years since first return: 97.92

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $220,850

Boeing
ba

Cumulative compound return: 21,220,526.33%

Annualized Compound Return: 14.72%

Years since first return: 89.32

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $212,206

IBM
ibm

Cumulative compound return: 17,543,644.18%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.11%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $175,437

Eaton
etn

Cumulative compound return: 15,117,167.57%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.94%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $151,173

S&P Global
s&P global

Cumulative compound return: 12,878,643.34%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.20%

Years since first return: 94.87

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $128,787

Coca-Cola
ko

Cumulative compound return: 12,372,265.06%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.71%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $123,724

Pepsico
pep

Cumulative compound return: 8,635,937.80%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.30%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $86,360

Abbot Laboratories
abt

Cumulative compound return: 7,803,730.36%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.85%

Years since first return: 83.83

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $78,038

Universal
uvv

Cumulative compound return: 7,031,700.72%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.31

Years since first return: 96.13

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $70,318

Deere & Co.
de

Cumulative compound return: 6,988,538.63%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.12

Years since first return: 90.5

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $69,886

Hershey
hsy

Cumulative compound return: 6,909,822.15%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.30%

Years since first return: 96.08

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $69,099

Johnson & Johnson
jnj

Cumulative compound return: 5,427,968.94%

Annualized Compound Return: 14.75%

Years since first return: 79.26

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $54,281

Archer Daniels Midland
adm

Cumulative compound return: 5,181,049.17%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.71%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $51,811

CVS
cvs

Cumulative compound return: 4,693,845.60%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.95%

Years since first return: 95.26

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $46,939

Exxon Mobil
xom

Cumulative compound return: 4,027,183.13%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.43%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $40,273

Northrup Grumman
noc

Cumulative compound return: 3,949,426.66%

Annualized Compound Return: 15.82%

Years since first return: 72.05

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $39,495

Trane Technologies
tt

Cumulative compound return: 3,923,693.49%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.4%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $39,238

FMC
fmc

Cumulative compound return: 3699995.48%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.02%

Years since first return: 92.69

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $37,001

Caterpillar
cat

Cumulative compound return: 3,690,210.17%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.83

Years since first return: 94.08

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $36,903

Bristol-Myers Squibb
bmy

Cumulative compound return: 3,486,607.85%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.28%

Years since first return: 90.31

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $34,867

Tootsie Roll
tr

Cumulative compound return: 3,440,011.10%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.25%

Years since first return: 98

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $34,401

Pfizer
pfe

Cumulative compound return: 2,898,900.69%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.71%

Years since first return: 79.95

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $28,990

Kroger
kr

Cumulative compound return: 2,834,362.61%

Annualized Compound Return: 11.28%

Years since first return: 95.93

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $28,345

Walgreens Boots Alliance
wba

Cumulative compound return: 2,705,196.76%

Annualized Compound Return: 12.03%

Years since first return: 89.87

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $27,053

Emerson Electric
emr

Cumulative compound return: 2,409,682.63%

Annualized Compound Return: 13.57%

Years since first return: 79.32

How much each dollar originally invested is worth today: $24,098

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