If you somehow managed to invent a time machine… out of a Delorean… what's the first thing you would do? Sure, you could go back and witness some extremely important historical event, like the birth of Christ, or the signing of the declaration of independence, or the assassination of JFK. But let's be honest. The biggest advantage of having a time machine would be so you could make your future-self insanely rich. Just ask the founder of Loogle.com, or Hill Valley's wealthiest resident, Biff Tannen. One super easy way to make your future-self really, really rich, would be to play the stock market. So let's say you traveled back in time to the day Coca-Cola went public in 1919. If you bought 100 shares of co*ke, what would they be worth today?
Coca-Cola was founded in 1886 by a pharmacist named John Pemberton. Unfortunately, within two years John was bankrupt, thanks largely to a terrible morphine addiction. John managed to hold on to a small stake in co*ke, which he left to his son upon his death in 1888. His short-sighted son wanted cash. The son ended up selling the remaining stake in the patented formula to businessman Asa Candler in 1888 for $2,300. Over the next 30 years, Asa Candler became one of the wealthiest men in America thanks to the exploding popularity of co*ke. Asa sold the rights to the company to a consortium of businessmen led by a man named Ernest Woodruff in 1919 for $25 million. That's equal to $340 million today. Woodruff re-incorporated Coca-Cola in Delaware and took the company public later that same year.
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On the first day of trading, one share of Coca-Cola common stock cost $40, a single share of preferred stock cost $100. The original ticker symbol was CCO. The ticker symbol was changed to KO in 1923. After the first day of trading was done, co*ke had a market cap of $30 million, roughly $405 million today.
Contrary to what you might think, co*ke's foray as a public company wasn't very successful at first. One year after the IPO, that same $40 share was selling for $19. A more than 50% drop. And this was still years away from the Great Depression.
100 Shares Today
100 shares of common stock on the day of the IPO would have cost you $4,000. That's about the same as $54,000 today. No small sum. Let's also assume that over the last 96 years, every time you got a dividend, you used it to buy more shares of co*ke. How rich would you be today?
According to Coca Cola's 2012 proxy statement, if you followed the scenario we just described, a single $40, 1919 share with dividends reinvested would be worth $9.8 million. So if you managed to buy 100 shares, today you would be sitting on a $980 million fortune. Just $20 million shy of billionaire status,thanks to a $4,000 investment made 96 years ago.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to keep working on my Flux Capacitor.
FAQs
Splits and stock gains
How much is a share of Coca-Cola in 1919 worth today? ›
In 1919, Coca-Cola made its debut on the public market. Those fortunate enough to purchase a share at its initial price of $40 and continuously reinvest its dividends would be looking at a value of over $10 million today.
What was Coca-Cola stock in 1919? ›
In 1919, a group of businessmen led by Ernest Woodruff purchased The Coca-Cola Company from Candler for $25 million. Later that year, Coca-Cola made its initial public offering (IPO) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for $40 per share.
How much was co*ke sold for in 1919? ›
In 1919, a team of businessmen led by Ernest Woodruff purchased Coca-Cola for $25 million. Later that year, Coca-Cola went public at a price of $40 per share.
How much is one original share of Coca-Cola worth today? ›
Coca-Cola went public 100 years ago today, according to the Atlanta History Center, and if you were around to snag a share at $40 (and held onto it to keep reinvesting dividends), it would be worth about $10 million today.
What would happen if I invested $1000 in co*ke 10 years ago? ›
If you invested in the company 10 years ago, that decision could have paid off. According to CNBC calculations, a $1,000 investment in Coca-Cola in 2009 would be worth more than $2,800 as of Feb. 15, 2019.
How much is 400 million shares of Coca-Cola worth? ›
Owning 400 million Coca-Cola shares, Warren Buffett is estimated to be worth approximately $23.5 billion.
At what price did Warren Buffett buy Coca-Cola shares? ›
Buffett first began buying more than 23 million shares of Coca-Cola in 1988 at $2.73 per share (split-adjusted price). The stock split 2-to-1 four times after that; he increased his 6.3% stake to 7.8% by 1994 and more than 9% today.
Who bought Coca-Cola 1919? ›
Capitalized at $100,000 in 1892 upon incorporation, the Coca-Cola Company was sold in 1919 for $25 million to a group of investors led by Atlanta businessman Ernest Woodruff. Robert Winship Woodruff, Ernest's son, guided the company as president and chair for more than three decades (1923–55).
How many shares of Coca-Cola stock does Warren Buffett own? ›
Long-Term Coca-Cola Stock Price Predictions
| Year | Prediction | Change |
|---|
| 2025 | $ 62.39 | 3.68% |
| 2026 | $ 64.69 | 7.49% |
| 2027 | $ 67.07 | 11.45% |
| 2028 | $ 69.53 | 15.55% |
2 more rowsAnd yet: In 1886, a bottle of co*ke cost a nickel. It was also a nickel in 1900, 1915 and 1930. In fact, 70 years after the first co*ke was sold, you could still buy a bottle for a nickel. Three wars, the Great Depression, hundreds of competitors — none of it made any difference for the price of co*ke.
How much did Coca-Cola stock cost in the 1920s? ›
Before the bull market took off, Coca-Cola shares were sitting at $19 a piece in 1921. Adjusted for splits over time, that is reduced to $0.23. That made for a 1921 market cap of just under $10 million, yet the company saw earnings of more than $5 million in 1922.
What is the dividend yield of 100 shares of Coca-Cola? ›
Dividend Data
The Coca-Cola Company's ( KO ) dividend yield is 3.22%, which means that for every $100 invested in the company's stock, investors would receive $3.22 in dividends per year. The Coca-Cola Company's payout ratio is 74.22% which means that 74.22% of the company's earnings are paid out as dividends.
Who owns the biggest share of Coca-Cola? ›
What percentage of Coca-Cola (KO) stock is held by retail investors? According to the latest TipRanks data, approximately 57.70% of Coca-Cola (KO) stock is held by retail investors. Warren Buffett owns the most shares of Coca-Cola (KO).
Who owns a lot of co*ke stock? ›
Largest shareholders include Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Vanguard Group Inc, BlackRock Inc., State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, VFINX - Vanguard 500 Index Fund Investor Shares, Jpmorgan Chase & Co, Geode Capital Management, Llc, Fmr Llc, and Morgan Stanley .
How much did Coca-Cola cost in 1920? ›
1920 - a nickel, 1930 - a nickel, 1940 - a nickel, 1950 - a nickel. As late as 1959, you could buy a 6-and-a-half-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola for one nickel.
What was the price of Coca-Cola in 1900? ›
Prices change; that's fundamental to how economies work. And yet: In 1886, a bottle of co*ke cost a nickel. It was also a nickel in 1900, 1915 and 1930.
How much was Coca-Cola stock in 1985? ›
The closing price for Coca-Cola (KO) in 1985 was $0.71, on December 31, 1985.
