Cigarettes, Railroads, and Aerospace Land Among Top-Performing S&P 500 Stocks Since 1925
Does stealth lead to wealth? History suggests it does. Analyzing stocks since Dec. 1925 shows that while the median stock has returned a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of -7.4%, the average return is an astonishing 22,840%. For those who slept through Stats: 101, more than half of stocks delivered negative returns, with a few outperformers driving most of the market’s gains.
- Stocks with the highest cumulative returns: Altria with 265,528,901%, Vulcan Materials at 39,349,084%, Kansas City Southern (acquired) achieving 36,175,578%, General Dynamics reaching 22,084,880%, and Boeing with 21,220,526%.
- Stocks with the highest annualized compound returns: Nvidia leads with 33.4%, followed by Plenum Publishing (acquired) and Netflix, both at 32.1%, Amazon at 31.8%, and Axon Enterprise with 31.1%.
What’s their secret? The most impressive success stories often come from companies initially seen as unattractive or underperforming. Long-term investors who reinvest dividends and hold their shares for extended periods have reaped the benefits of these stellar performances. A prime instance of this phenomenon is the microchip sector, where strategic leadership changes, innovative business models, and timely pivots have dramatically transformed many of these “ugly ducklings” into industry leaders.
