What if you had bought AAPL stock instead of Apple products?

Since 2003, the rise of Apple's stock has been stratospheric. Currently AAPL sits at US$346, but many analysts expect it to be at $450 or higher in the next 12 months. The growth of the stock over the years is attributed to Apple's bottom line, its creative and business teams, the fact that it has zero debt, tens of billions of dollars in the bank, and of course, the fact that it sells the hottest consumer electronics on the planet. But what if instead of buying Apple's products, like a PowerBook or original iPod, those who are most responsible for the stock's increase -- you, the consumer -- bought AAPL stock?

Software engineer Kyle Conroy has compiled a list of how much money you would have today if, for example, instead of spending $5700 on a Apple PowerBook G3 250 when it was released on November 10, 1997 you'd spent that same amount on AAPL stock. The answer? Instead owning of a laptop that's probably worth all of twenty bucks today, you'd own $330,563 of AAPL stock. Makes you cringe, doesn't it?

For those of you who bought an original 5 GB iPod for $399 on October 23, 2001, your money, had you purchased AAPL stock, today would be worth $11,914. Spending $1599 on Apple's original iBook G3 on July 21, 1999 would net you $32,031 in AAPL stock today. The list goes on and on.

The good news is that Apple is one of the strongest, healthiest companies on the planet, which controls many emerging markets that still have a decade or more of growth (smartphones, tablets, etc.). In three years today's closing price of $346 is going to make AAPL stock look cheap.

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Source: http://www.kyleconroy.com/apple-stock.php

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Apple

Since 2003, the rise of Apple's stock has been stratospheric. Currently AAPL sits at US$346, but many analysts expect it to be at $450...

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mordicai

So-- if instead of buying a computer, a useful thing, you gambled in the stock market & won...you'd have $300,000? Well, if you took every dollar of that $5700 investment & bought 5700 lotto tickets & won you'd be a billionaire!

You can't use posterior probability like that!

March 13 2011 at 9:21 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Dave

I know iPhones are popular, but Apple controls the smartphone market? Apparently I haven't been staying on top of my news. o_O

And yeah, the prognostication on their share price might be a little unsafe. There were plenty of opportunities for people to lose money on AAPL over the last few decades too.

March 11 2011 at 10:11 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Gabe

And if everyone just only bought the Apple stock, the stock would be worth crap.

March 11 2011 at 4:31 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

kaslings

When I graduated Highschool, I bought 27 shares of apple stock at a split adjusted price of $21.

Since that time, I've bought 1 new mac, and 2 used macs. I've also sold some of that stock and used it as a downpayment on our house, and paid off college loans.

March 11 2011 at 9:56 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Bogdan

"In three years today's closing price of $346 is going to make AAPL stock look cheap."

Let's hope people don't take their financial advice from idiot bloggers, or their kids' chances at a college education just plummeted.

March 11 2011 at 8:44 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

treelo

Whilst I would be richer if I had brought AAPL stock instead of buying the products, I doubt my computing and portable audio experiences would have been as fufilling, gratifying and all-round awesome.

March 11 2011 at 4:51 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

James

Sadly, the CEO is not the strongest, healthiest CEO on the planet, but here's hoping.

March 11 2011 at 3:54 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

djhworld

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

March 11 2011 at 3:52 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Luke

This is a 11 month old news, the chart was real with April 2010 AAPL prices.

March 11 2011 at 2:53 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Markus

Well, macorstock.com has been up for quite some time.