SteveR Loc: Michigan

I was very tempted. I could have kicked myself when it went over 2000. But its return per share was $5, so it didn't make sense. Now it's returned to earth and is trading at 97. Now I feel much smarter. Even better.

ricardo00

When Amazon shares hit 2,000, in Aug. 2018, it hadn't split yet. They split 20:1 in June, 2022. So the 97 dollars a share they are currently trading is still almost $2,000 (actually 1,940) for the old share value. So if you bought them at $850, you would be up over $1,000 per share of the old shares. They are down about 40% from their highs.

dpullum Loc: Tampa Florida

I sat and watched the progress of Gigatexas Tesla plant... entertaining swamp land... why did I not even look at the stock price?? Now have 245 Average $309 shares but still underwater.... but hopeful.... I regret all these years of allowing stockbrokers to lose my money.... I was smarter than they were... Why did I take some advanced chemistry course giving knowledge that was never used... I could have studied economics and worked Saturdays at a local broker to learn....

And Microsoft... Windows 1.1 was junk crashing ... but it was surely getting better... did I think about stock NO!!! We stand on the train station watching trains go and never get on board!!! and we go nowhere.

GeneinChi Loc: Chicago, IL

Alfred Sloan asked my grandfather if he wanted to invest in a new company he was starting called United Motors which became part of General Motors around 1916. My grandfather said nothing will replace the horse. If only. We all have our stories!!

Ava'sPapa Loc: Cheshire, Ct.

Don't feel bad Steve, I think we've all had woulda, shoulda, coulda moments with stocks. And to make us all feel better about the bad ones...does the name Ronald Wayne ring a bell? He was one of three co-founders of Apple which they founded on April 1, 1976. Well, he was in his 40s and Jobs and Wozniak were in their 20s and he was afraid of having to pay off any debts they might incur. They were carefree and he did have responsibilities so he sold his share for $800 12 days later. Fast forward to today and he would be worth...are you ready for this....$300 BILLION. Even the original contract that he had, he sold for $500. In 2011 It sold at Sotheby's for $1.6 million. I don't know if he's still alive, but he was living off his social security and money he made from his hobby of buying/selling coins in Las Vegas.

Tom Bar

My fiance and I had never been to Hilton Head. I was a junior in med school and didn't have a proverbial pot. We went to HH with some friends from Beaufort, SC and had a "you bring the peanut butter, I'll bring the jelly and we will stop and get a loaf of bread" picnic on a beach front lot with a sign nailed to a pine tree that said,"For sale by owner for $7,500. That was just as out of reach as 75 million is today. At least I still have the same fiance/wife, and we will celebrate 57 years in April. I got the better deal by a long shot.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Thanks, Ricard. That explains that. Now I wish I HAD bought a $850. Still, for a stock that only had a return of $5 for each share, what must the return be after it split 20 times? Even for those relying on the growth of Amazon based on earnings being poured back into the company, that's not much of an earning per share.

ricardo00

Not sure what you mean by a "return"? It's PE is about 40, which means it currently earns over $2 a share. For companies like this (high volume), the amount they earn is a function of how "competitive" they want to be, to keep market share (ie. by offering free shipping, the amount they charge for Prime membership, etc). There revenue is over half a trillion dollars and grew 8%. If you are looking for high earnings (low PE), then you have not bought in the tech sector and would have missed tremendous growth opportunities over the last 10 plus years. (Luckily I bought AMZN etc about 10 years ago.) Unfortunately no one can tell you whether it is a good buy today.

jonyrot

I am sticking to the things that will always be needed, like water and electricity.

SteveR Loc: Michigan

When I researched it through Mornningstar when it was at 850, it indicated that it earned $5/share.