Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997 resulted in one of the most remarkable stock growth stories in history.
Apple (AAPL -1.62%) The stock has seen many difficulties since its IPO in 1980. The company stagnated for years after the board fired Steve Jobs in 1985. It suspended its dividend payout in 1996 and was on the verge of bankruptcy when it brought Jobs back in 1997.
Shortly thereafter, Apple shares began to soar, making them one of the most successful stocks in history and demonstrating how innovations can dramatically improve a company’s performance.
Apple’s share price growth since Jobs’ return
If you had bought $1,000 worth of Apple stock when Jobs returned in February 1997 and held it until today, your position would be worth about $1.8 million. That figure assumes that this hypothetical investor would have reinvested his dividend income, which Apple reinstated in 2012.
AAPL total return level data by YCharts.
Jobs’ first big step after his return was to integrate the Mac ecosystem into the broader technology world and convinced Microsoft Invest $150 million in Apple to develop and support a Mac-compatible version of the popular office software.
He also began building an Apple ecosystem, redesigning the Macintosh, launching the iMac in 1998 and following it up with a new MacOS in 2001. The company gained additional ground when it launched the iPod music player in 2001 and opened Apple Stores and the iTunes Store soon after.
The innovation that really changed Apple, however, was the iPhone, which was released in 2007. It pioneered the modern smartphone industry and eliminated the need for many people to own a PC. The iPhone was so successful that it still accounts for the majority of Apple’s revenue today.
Apple’s pace of innovation slowed with the death of Jobs in 2011. Now the company competes more directly with devices and apps that alphabet‘s Android operating system and with most of its mega-tech competitors in the field of artificial intelligence.
Still, its continuous innovations have made the company the world’s largest company by market capitalization at one point, and today it is in the top three. Thanks to products like the iPhone and its extensive ecosystem, Apple’s share price is likely to continue to rise.
Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool’s board of directors. Will Healy does not own any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns and recommends Alphabet, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
