Where Are They Now? A Look at Stocks on 10/10/96

The last time the S&P 500 was at its closing level from yesterday, the day was October 10th, 1996 (or 4,528 days ago). We decided to look at the 100 biggest stocks in the index on that date more than 12 years ago to see where they stand now. Of the names in the index, 36 are up, 43 are down, and the rest were either acquired or went bankrupt. As shown, the best stocks include AOL/Time Warner (TWX), Exelon (EXC), Wal-Mart (WMT), EMC, Amgen (AMGN), Exxon Mobil (XOM), and Oracle (ORCL). Intel (INTC) is up just 3.33%, JP Morgan (JPM) is down 27%, GE is down 58%, and Citigroup (C) and Ford (F) are down 90%.

There's no doubt that the S&P 100 will look much different if we fast forward 4,528 days to July 27, 2021, but hopefully the index and most of its members will at least be higher!

click to enlarge

Comments

[James Wilson:]

Forgien Investors are buying like crazy and the Shorts are covering their tracks.

Mar 04 03:54 PM

[ThinkRight:]

T (ATT is acquired by SWBell)...they just kept ATT name (because of brand recognization..T should be compared with (some form of ) SBC+T combination..

Mar 04 06:34 PM

[MN Dabbler:]

It would be interesting to see the same chart including dividend reinvestments.

Mar 04 07:50 PM

[PeteK:]

Some called 1996 the gold old days.
12 years from now, people may say
"2009 was the Best Opportunity Ever !!"
or, "Once in A Life Time Opportunity !!"

Mar 05 02:32 AM

[len811:]

What do you get if you do a simple averge of %change column. More elaborately would be to factor in the stock price for each, but I am curious if one took a simple average.

Mar 05 08:54 AM

[jackooo:]

How do u get an AOL figure with TWX? What is your rational?
You make it look like TWX is the winner of winners when it should be in the minus column big time and the management behind bars for derilection of duty.

Mar 05 11:33 AM

[Marcap:]

You are quite right! Even in the most dire of situations, there is quite often opportunity. What irks me perhaps the most, is that some will often claim: "Everyone is selling!". Really? Because I fail to see how everyone could be selling if others were not buying. Where I went to school, it took at least two in order for a transaction to take place. Some believe that there is indeed opportunity where others do not, and that is the bottom line. Thus we have our current stock market system... One sells, the other buys, and time determines who got the best deal.

On Mar 05 02:32 AM PeteK wrote:

> Some called 1996 the gold old days.
> 12 years from now, people may say
> "2009 was the Best Opportunity Ever !!"
> or, "Once in A Life Time Opportunity !!"

Mar 05 12:53 PM

[Fred Voetsch:]

On Mar 05 02:32 AM PeteK wrote:

> Some called 1996 the gold old days.
> 12 years from now, people may say
> "2009 was the Best Opportunity Ever !!"
> or, "Once in A Life Time Opportunity !!"

Much more likely that the market will just be getting back to these levels in 12 years. Let's meet back here and compare notes, shall we?

Now if you can manage to buy at the low of 3,000 or 2,000 or whatever it may end up being you will be in for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Good luck to you.

Mar 05 01:23 PM

[Marcap:]

Is the glass half empty or half full?

The pessimist will say that it is half empty, whereas the optimist will say that it is half full. Both are right of course. The optimist however will seek and likely find opportunity to fill his glass. The pessimist sadly will not, and eventually will end up with nothing but an empty glass.

Likewise there are those who claim the markets will continue to plunge, while others expect a rebound soon. Of course only the future will prove which group is right. The point is that optimists will continue to find ways to make money within the markets, regardless of the market's direction. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the pessimists, because while they may indeed exit the markets to preserve what cash they may have left, they will lose out on the many opportunities which are only beginning to present themselves.

On Mar 05 01:23 PM freddyv wrote:

> Much more likely that the market will just be getting back to these levels in > 12 years. Let's meet back here and compare notes, shall we?

> Now if you can manage to buy at the low of 3,000 or 2,000 or whatever it
> may end up being you will be in for the opportunity of a lifetime.

Mar 05 04:32 PM

[User 370683:]

Edgar
In 88 I bought 100 shares, it split once and had all dividends invested
on 1o/1/08 it was $ 35'454.68 . Not bad in my opinion


On Mar 04 07:50 PM MN Dabbler wrote:

> It would be interesting to see the same chart including dividend
> reinvestments.

Mar 05 07:46 PM