Amazon from $18 to $3,000: the trade almost no one held
The story of the biggest multibagger stock in recent history — and why it was almost impossible to hold
Amazon went from $18 in 1997 to over $3,000 in 2021. Anyone who invested $10,000 in the IPO would have $16 million today. But along the way, the stock lost 95% twice.
The 1997 IPO
Amazon went public on May 15, 1997 at $18 per share. At the time, it was just an online bookstore. Jeff Bezos had an almost sci-fi vision of what the Internet could do for commerce.
The two 95% crashes
Those who bought Amazon in 1999 at $107 during the dot-com bubble saw it crash to $5.97 in 2001: -94%.
Even those who bought in 2007 saw the stock lose 64% in the 2008 crisis.
Holding Amazon in a portfolio for 20+ years required absolute conviction in the business model and an extraordinary tolerance for pain.
The final numbers
$10,000 invested in the 1997 IPO would have become over $16 million in 2021. A 160,000% return.
The psychological lesson
The problem wasn't identifying Amazon as an opportunity — many did. The problem was resisting the temptation to sell during the 95% crashes. Most investors who bought Amazon before 2000 sold it during the dot-com crisis.
Lessons
- Multibaggers require an iron stomach: 90%+ volatility is part of the journey.
- Conviction must be based on fundamentals, not price: if the business is solid, crashes are opportunities.
- Time in the market beats timing the market: almost always.