Quote of the Day
“By the end of the first day of trading, some 2.5 million shares had changed hands, and the price of Microsoft’s stock stood at $27.75. The opportunity to take a quick profit was too great for many institutional investors to resist. Over the next few weeks they sold off roughly half their shares.” – Fortune on the Microsoft IPO
After making a quick 40%, almost half of the original shares purchased at the IPO were sold. Over the next 30 years Microsoft stock would rise another 75,000%!
This Day in History
1907 – The Panic of 1907 is still a few months away, but cracks are appearing in the confidence investors have in American companies. Stocks break lower, led by the once coveted railroads. The Dow Railroad index falls from 112.53 to 107.52. (Source: It was a very good year
1986 – Microsoft Corp (Ticker: MSFT) goes public with an initial offering price of $21 per share ($0.07 today adjusted for splits and dividends). Every $100 invested at its IPO is worth a little more than $75,000.
Best March 13th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
2003 – Up 3.57% or 269.68 points
Worst March 13th in Dow Jones Industrial Average History
1907 – Down 3.94% or 2.48 points
Best March 13th in S&P 500 History
2003 – Up 3.45%, 27.71 points
Worst March 13th in S&P 500 History
2007 – Down 2.04%
Picture of the Day
Bill Gates was on the cover of Fortune Magazine after the successful IPO of Microsoft. The original article published July 21st 1986 can be found here.
And, the chart of Microsoft’s stock since its IPO:
Today’s Links
- “Oldie but Goodie” – Microsoft’s original prospectus can be read in its entirety here: Microsoft Prospectus
