Apple announced its intention to acquire NeXT and bring back Steve Jobs 27 years ago.
If you had invested $1,000 in the company back then, here's how much your investment would be worth.
Apple is the largest company in the world by market capitalization, but at one point, it was on the brink of bankruptcy. Thankfully for the company and its investors, the tech giant decided to acquire NeXT and bring back its legendary co-founder Steve Jobs in 1996.
Apple Inc. AAPL announced its intention to acquire Jobs' NeXT in a deal that included $429 million cash and 1.5 million shares of the Apple stock.
While Jobs was not appointed as Apple CEO immediately, it was the first time since his ouster in 1985 that one of the most iconic tech titans of the world would return to the management of the iPhone maker.
Apple's intention to acquire NeXT and bring Jobs back to the company he co-founded – he was ousted by John Sculley 11 years ago in 1985. However, Sculley's vision for the company dragged it down and its struggles continued to mount each passing year.
On the other side, Jobs was building NeXT and his Pixar acquisition proved to be another masterstroke. His flair for user-friendly designs and products proved to be exactly what Apple needed.
Months after bringing him back, Apple would appoint Jobs as its CEO and oust Sculley.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Here's a look at how the Apple stock has fared since Apple decided to bring back Jobs on Dec. 20, 1996.
As you can see, Apple's share price, adjusted for rights shares, bonus shares, stock splits, and other corporate actions, was $0.2098 on Dec. 20, 1996.
Apple's stock price today is $195.89, which is nearly 934 times the stock price 27 years ago.
If you had invested $1,000 in Apple stock on Dec. 20, 1996, today, you would have $933,605.
On the other hand, a similar investment in the Nasdaq index would be worth $11,567, and the S&P 500 worth $6,330.
Apple's Vision For The Future
Apple's rise to the top of the world was not an easy task. The company went through some of its darkest years during the 11-year exile of its co-founder Jobs.
One of the reasons for Apple's decline in the Sculley era was the former PepsiCo chief's focus on making money, not great products that consumers want.
"It was great to make a profit, because that was what allowed you to make great products. But the products, not the profits, were the motivation. Sculley flipped these priorities to where the goal was to make money," Jobs is quoted as saying in his biography written by Walter Isaacson.
Jobs' return to Apple saw the company launch some of the most iconic products in the tech industry. From the iPod to a rejuvenated lineup of Macs, the iPhone, iPad and more, Apple delivered one hit after another under Jobs' leadership.
iPhone alone would go onto become one of the most profitable businesses in the world – it redefined the smartphone industry forever and led to the end of industry legends like Nokia and BlackBerry Ltd. BB.
However, the company is not resting on its laurels and it is looking beyond the iPhone for its future. Apple is putting the $3,500 Vision Pro headset and AirPods in the driver's seat in 2024, instead of just the iPhone.
Analysts believe Apple is set for "unprecedented growth" amid market turbulence – Wedbush's Dan Ives believes that the iPhone maker could touch $4 trillion market capitalization by the end of 2024.
Apple Image Via Shutterstock
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