3 Stocks That Turned $1,000 Into $1 Million (or More)

Every investor dreams about hitting it big with that one stock that goes parabolic. If you have a diversified portfolio and can invest $1,000 in multiple stocks, it only takes one to skyrocket to make your dreams come true. Even if the others fail miserably, you can only lose the amount you put in. But one stock that takes off could gain many thousands of percentages and recoup any losses plus much, much more.

There's one major trick to making it work: holding for the long term. That's not really a trick; it's just responsible investing. But being in the market can induce panic when it looks like stocks are going down. Any stock that has created millionaires has done it over a long period of time, and during that time, it has experienced severe losses of value, probably multiple times. It could take some stamina to stay confident in your investing thesis as your favorite stock plummets. But if you hold on, you're on your way to rich rewards.

What does it look like? Consider Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), and Home Depot (NYSE: HD), all of which have turned $1,000 into more than $1 million over many years.

1. Amazon: $2 million

If you had invested $1,000 in Amazon stock on its first day of trading 27 years ago, you'd be a millionaire twice over today. But you don't have to look too far back to see when it lost a tremendous amount of value; it lost 50% of it in 2022, and if you had sold then, you wouldn't have even been a millionaire.

There aren't too many companies like Amazon, and you would have had to have tremendous foresight and some risk tolerance to invest in Amazon when it first went public. But the seeds were there. Amazon had already made some acquisitions and was growing fast at the time, and it was already profitable. Those are good signs of a great company in the making.

Amazon is still an excellent stock to own today. Incredibly, it's still reporting double-digit growth, building on what's already a huge base. That's not an easy feat. It has a leading position in two of the fastest-growing industries on the planet, and it's investing in its business to keep or even widen its lead. It's so far ahead of any competitor in e-commerce that it's not even close right now, and it has launched a blitz of generative artificial intelligence (AI) services in its cloud computing business that are already at a multibillion-dollar run rate.

So, investing $1,000 today may not turn you into a millionaire, but it can certainly provide value for a healthy portfolio.

2. Apple: $2.3 million

If you would have invested $1,000 in Apple stock on its first day of trading in 1980, you'd have even more -- $2.3 million. Forty-four years is a long time to hold onto a stock, and this is where you can see the benefits of long-term investing. It also includes the reinvestment of the dividend. Without the dividend, you'd have $1.7 million. It's not too shabby, but it's a substantial difference.

In 1980, Apple was a very different company than Apple today. Personal computers were barely available then, and investors couldn't envision what was to come. An investment in Apple back then was more of an investment in Steve Jobs and his vision. And he wasn't even with the company throughout all those years, so you'd have had to be confident in the company even without him or be so much of a long-term investor that you would hold on despite changes. Apple also lost a large portion of its value many times over the past few decades before it got to where it is today.

Apple is one of Warren Buffett's favorite stocks, and one of the reasons is its loyal fans who consistently upgrade to the latest models. Specifically, it has a hold on the smartphone market. It has demonstrated time and time again that it has a creative approach to technology that other companies can't match, and that's not likely to change for the foreseeable future. Like Amazon, investing $1,000 today may not make you a millionaire, but it should reward you down the line.

3. Home Depot: $33 million

Investors might be surprised to learn that out of the three stocks on this list, the one that's not a "Magnificent Seven" stock has gained the most, and by far. If you invested $1,000 in Home Depot stock on its first day of trading in 1981, it would be worth $33 million today. And like Apple, the dividend is a big part of that; without the dividend, you'd have $19 million.

Home Depot is a simple retailer, but it has all the elements of a great company. It was run by its founders for many years, it built up a strong brand and presence by focusing on what its customers need and providing it, and it has grown to become the largest home improvement chain in the world.

It's feeling pressure right now in the inflationary environment, but it has what it takes to rebound as the economy shapes up. It's beefing up its business with new acquisitions that expand its market, and they are also leading to total sales increases, even though comparable sales have been declining.

$1,000 invested today isn't likely to turn you into a millionaire, but you can still benefit from market-beating performance and an attractive dividend.

If you can identify new great stocks like Amazon, Apple, and Home Depot and hold on through ups and downs, you can become a millionaire in a few decades, too.

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*Stock Advisor returns as of November 4, 2024

John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Jennifer Saibil has positions in Apple. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Apple, and Home Depot. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.