If you bought Amazon stock at the IPO, here’s how many shares you’d own now

You already know that Amazon (AMZN -0.30%) it is one of the most rewarding of scholarship in this century. Although the stock stumbled a bit during the dot-com bust following its initial public offering (IPO) in 1997, it is now up more than 220,000% from its IPO price.

But how many shares would you own today if you had bought just one share then? After all, it has been split several times since the company’s May 1997 public offering.

History of Amazon stock splits (and price increases).

Amazon stock has undergone four stock splits since its IPO, for the record. The first of these was a 2-for-1 split in June 1998. The next — a 3-for-1 split — took shape less than a year later. The stock split again on a 2-for-1 basis in the second half of 1999.

The company then held off on the stock split for a while, choosing to let the stock appreciate in step with Amazon’s growth.

However, once its price moved and remained well above $3,000 as of late 2020, the company could no longer hold on. In an effort to make it more accessible to more investors, Amazon stock underwent a 20-for-1 split in June 2022.

In total, one share of Amazon purchased right at the IPO would be 240 shares today. On a split-adjusted basis, its IPO price of $18.00 per share was reduced to just $0.075. As of the most recent look, the stock is still trading above $166 per share, for perspective.

Other young companies will do the same

Of course, few investors were smart enough to step into this then risky e-commerce outfit right at the IPO and then stick with it all this time.

A few people they have he did, however, testifying to the power of being patient with a position in a young company with a lot of potential. There will be other Amazon-like growth companies in the future. You just have to identify them as early as possible.