October 21st 2015 is an important day in time travel history. It marks the exact date that the time travelers of Back to the Future II went to in order to prevent a disaster for Marty McFly’s future family. It also gives us a nice time capsule of what people in the late 80s thought ‘the future’ (present day) would be like.
Much has been made of the many predictions that the move made about what is now present day. Some things were spot on like hands-free videogames or news drones, though others, like 80s cafés (does anyone talk about the 80s at all these days?) and more importantly, hoverboards, are strangely absent.
But the real focus of the movie was when Biff steals the sports Almanac and then goes back in time to give a younger version of himself the booklet. By doing this, he knows which teams will win all the big games to close out the century, making it pretty easy to become very rich on gambling.
Stocks Instead?
But what if instead of focusing on sports, Biff took some knowledge of today’s stock market and brought it back to just 1985 instead of 1955 like in the movie? This would have also been a great route to wealth and in honor of the movie, and to show how profitable long term investing can be, we decided to take a look at some of the best performing stocks from late October 1985 to today.
We should also point out that if you had gone back and simply bought the S&P 500 at the end of October, you would have returned nearly 900%. But any of the five stocks below thoroughly crushed that figure. In fact, if you had invested $1,000 in any of these securities 30 years ago, you would have netted a pretty penny with gains of over $350,000 for any on the list, a return of over 35,000%!
And with just a measly $1,000 investment, the slow build over time, and the lack of publicity that would have come from these gains, you have to think this personal wealth increase wouldn’t have had such a catastrophic impact on the community like what we saw with Biff and his casino. But much like what Biff probably thought for a few of the winners in the almanac, some of the top performers over the last 30 years may be a surprise to you as well:
Altria (MO): $1,000 investment would be $352,941 today.
Knowing what we do now about tobacco stocks and the rough period they went through, you might not think that many of them would be on the top list of anything. However, strong dividends and an addictive product has a way of helping you through the rough times.
At a split and dividend adjusted price, Altria was trading at just 17 cents a share back in late 1985 and with a current price at about $60/share it has been an incredible performer. Plus, the stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Nike (NKE): $1,000 investment would be $401,606 today.
Nike was featured in Back to the Future II in the late 80s, and I hope that people who worked on the movie then bought some shares in the company. NKE has since risen to the top of the sports apparel world with one of the most recognizable brands in the world, making it a top stock in the process.
Split and dividend adjusted, shares of NKE were trading around 33 cents per share back in 1985, a small price to pay for a company that is now worth roughly $132.5/share, another 40,000% gain. And like its counterparts so far on the list, this stock is also a Zacks Rank #2 (buy ) right now as well.
Apple (AAPL): $1,000 investment would be $409,714 today.
Another company that went through a rough patch but has been incredibly solid since then is Apple. However, investors are unlikely to be too surprised by this company’s massive gain as the iPhone has proven to be a truly transformative product that has propelled AAPL to the apex of the technology world.
Split and dividend adjusted, AAPL was trading at just under 30 cents a share back in 1985, while it is currently trading around $114.50, a gain of over 40,000 percent. AAPL also has a Zacks Rank #2 (buy) suggesting it could still have a bit more room to run as well.
Amgen (AMGN): $1,000 investment would be $718,911 today.
One of the main changes in health care over the past 30 years has been the rise of biotechnology so it shouldn’t be too surprising to note that a biotech leader is also on this list. Amgen is actually the world’s largest independent biotech company and it has a lineup of drugs which has carried it to incredible levels of success over the past few decades.
Shares of AMGN were actually trading at a split and dividend adjusted price of a measly 21 cents per share back in late 1985 and they are currently at $150 today, marking a gain of over 70,000% in the time frame. The stock has faced some volatility as of late thanks to the biotech slump, but it is still a star with a top Zacks Rank as well.
Home Depot (HD): $1,000 investment would be $723,529 today.
In what is one of the more personally surprising entries on the list, HD has been a truly amazing investment as the home improvement sector boomed and Home Depot grew to take a huge share of this market and a Dow component in the process.
Shares of HD were trading for a split and dividend adjusted price of an absurd 17 cents per share back in 1985, a gain approaching 70,000% percent. And like the others on the list, it too has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), though it is hard to imagine it adding another 70,000 percent over the following 30 years.
Bottom Line
The list of top performing stocks over the past 30 years is a pretty interesting mix. We have a few tech and biotech giants, but most are industrial and consumer-focused names. Clearly, while you can hit it big in the tech world, few of these companies can stand the test of time.
So when you are looking at picks for the next 30 years, make sure to keep this in mind and remember that over decades it can be hard to beat the ‘boring’ companies which can sometimes fly under the radar for huge gains. And also note that all of the stocks on this list are currently ranked #2 or better meaning that you can still probably squeeze some gains out of these top performers, though some of our other top ranked stocks which are small or mid caps might be better choices for big gains in the long run.
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(all prices were using split and dividend adjusted figures)
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
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