If you bought a share of Intel stock at the IPO, here’s how many shares you’d own now

Intel (INTC -0.04%) fought in recent years as Nvidia and longtime rival Advanced microdevices began to surpass him technically. So far, efforts to catch up have fallen short, pushing the stock to multi-year lows.

Its recent performance may make investors forget that it developed the first commercially produced microprocessor and was the world’s largest semiconductor company for most of its history. Since its initial public offering (IPO), the stock has provided massive returns for its investors and a critical lesson for those around it to benefit from.

Growth and lessons from Intel

When Intel launched its IPO on October 13, 1971, it listed the stock at a pre-split price of $23.50 per share. Since then, the stock has risen and led to several stock splits that would have turned that single $23.50 share into 1,215 shares valued at $0.02 each. Doing some math, if you had bought a single share on IPO day, that investment would be worth $28,990 today, not including dividends.

Unfortunately for its long-term shareholders, all of Intel’s earnings occurred between 1971 and 2000, the period in which all 13 of Intel’s stock splits occurred.

If measured against the record closing price of $74.88 per share in August 2000, the IPO stock would have risen to a value of nearly $91,000. The dot-com decline, the shift to smartphones and ultimately the loss of its technical leader undermined Intel in the 21st century, and many wonder what form it will take in today’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology landscape.

Of course, this history makes the timing of selling Intel extremely difficult for even the most seasoned of investors. Some stocks recovered from more significant declines, while others later faced bankruptcy and liquidation.

However, Intel’s stock story speaks to the growth potential that comes with leading and leading an industry for decades. Ultimately, even if Intel isn’t destined to make a comeback, investors can learn from its story and look for companies that are leading the industries of the future.