If Only You Had Invested in These Stocks 20 Years Ago

What if you could go back in time and make just a few smart money moves? The financial experts at Kiplinger often explore this question in their “what-if” series, showing how small investments made 20 years ago could have grown into massive sums today. The results can be surprising—and even a little painful if you missed out.

Let’s imagine that two decades ago, in 2005, you had $5,000 and a knack for picking future tech giants. You decided to split that money evenly across five companies—Amazon, Netflix, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia—putting $1,000 into each.

Here’s how those picks would have played out:

Amazon: If you had invested $1,000 in Amazon 20 years ago, that single move would have turned into about $105,000 by 2025. According to Kiplinger, that’s an annualized total return of 26.2 percent. Amazon’s success was driven by its rise as an online shopping giant, cloud services leader, and delivery powerhouse.

Netflix: This one might be the biggest surprise. Your $1,000 investment would now be worth around $583,000, with a 34 percent annualized return. Back in 2005, Netflix was still mailing DVDs to customers. Today, it’s one of the world’s leading streaming services, with global subscribers and award-winning content.

Apple: A company once seen as the underdog in the computer world, Apple has grown into one of the most valuable firms on the planet. That $1,000 would now be worth $185,000, thanks to an annualized return of 29.8 percent. Much of Apple’s success came from the launch of the iPhone in 2007 and its growing ecosystem of products and services.

Microsoft: This steady tech giant gave investors solid returns—though not as flashy as some others on the list. Your $1,000 would now be worth about $21,000, with an annual return of 16.6 percent. That’s still a strong result and beats the market average. It’s also much higher than what you would have earned by investing in the S&P 500 index, which returned 10.1 percent annually, or about $6,800 on a $1,000 investment.

Nvidia: Here’s the real jackpot. Known today as a leader in graphics and AI chip technology, Nvidia has become one of the hottest stocks on the market. Your $1,000 investment would now be worth a staggering $650,000. That makes Nvidia the biggest winner in this lineup.

So, what’s the grand total? If you had put $1,000 into each of these five companies—just $5,000 total—you’d now be sitting on more than $1.5 million.

The key lesson here isn’t just about picking winners. It’s also about patience. If you had panicked and sold during the market crashes of 2008 or during the COVID-19 drop in 2020, you might have missed out on the biggest gains. Long-term investing often rewards those who can stay the course.

While no one can predict the future, this exercise shows how investing in companies with strong ideas and steady growth can lead to incredible results over time. Of course, past performance doesn’t guarantee future success—but it does make for some serious what-if thinking.