A Wall Street Journal retrospective calculates that Home Depot has produced the highest total return of any U.S. stock over the 45 years since its 1981 IPO, with $1,000 invested at the IPO (dividends reinvested) now worth roughly $16 million, outpacing Apple's $4 million return from its IPO a year earlier. The article examines the company's retail strategy, employee equity model, and how its small IPO valuation contributed to subsequent compounding.
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