Analysis Finds Home Depot Outperformed Apple in Historical Stock Returns

A review published in insidermonkey.com noted that The Home Depot, Inc. was the highest-returning U.S. stock of the past 45 years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The review found that a $1,000 investment in Home Depot could have grown to approximately $16 million by 2026, achieving a 24% compound annual return. This return rate edged out Apple Inc.'s average annual return of roughly 20% over a similar time span.

The analysis highlights the power of aggressive buyback programs and company scale in driving per-share returns. The findings provide a historical benchmark against which companies like Apple Inc. are measured regarding long-term shareholder value creation.