Fastest Growing Brands Over the Last Year

Not always at the top of the market in sales in their respective industries, however they have experienced the highest growth over the last year. Let’s take a look at some of the top performing stocks from 2017 to 2018 that have been great investments and where they came from and where these companies are going!

Adobe

NASDAQ: ADBE

One year ago Adobe’s stock was valued at $151.80 and today it is $254.68.

Adobe is a software company was founded in 1982. Adobe’s IPO, Initial Public Offering was in August of 1986. Many people would consider a business that has been around for over 30 years to have a stable stock price and not expect it to skyrocket like it has over the last year. This goes to prove that with our ever-changing technology that even an old name like Adobe can still have an impact on your portfolio. If an investor purchased one thousand shares of stock at $151.80 given a total value of $151,800, now they have $254,680 – a profit of over $100,000 in passive income! Something to teach new investors and old ones as well, that even a company that has been around for decades can make a portfolio jump.

TESLA

NASDAQ: TSLA

One year ago Tesla’s stock was valued at $352.72, there was a massive drop in price at the end of March and the price was $258.97 and the stock has since recovered to $352 again.

Tesla was founded in 2003 by Elon Musk, now Tesla’s CEO, Martin Eberhard, Marc Tarpenning, Ian Wright and J.B. Straubel. On June 29, 2010 Tesla had their IPO, and they opened with stock prices at $17 per share, 13.3 million shares available. Tesla is known for their technology and most recently their self-driving cars. Back at the end of 2016 the stock was only $189.44 and while it has had some ups and downs, it goes to show that even when stock sinks in the market it can bounce back. The initial drop in stock at the end of March was short lived as the stock recovered within a week and was back up to over $300 per share. This is a lesson for investors, just because stock drops it does not mean that you should panic and sell while the price is dropping out of fear of losing more. With a company like Tesla they will be reinventing themselves for years to come and they are still a solid investment for potential buyers. If an investor purchased before 2017 and sold their stock at Tesla’s peak stock price they more than doubled their initial investment! That’s quite an ROI for the little time it took!

Netflix

NASDAQ: NFLX

One year ago Netflix stock was $167.44 and today stock is $334.13.

Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph founded Netflix in 1997. Originally the company started as an entertainment by mail service, where you could rent a DVD and return it by mail. It saved you the trouble of going to a video store to rent your video. Some argue that Netflix put retailers like Blockbuster Video out of business, but those who know better realize that Blockbuster put themselves out of business with poor customer service and not keeping up with their competition. Netflix is a perfect example of reinventing a business model that simply isn’t working for today’s consumers. Netflix’s IPO was in May 2002 with shares selling at $15.

As another seemingly household name to most, investors might think that they missed the boat on an opportunity to invest in a company, but Netflix and proven the contrary with its continued growth.

Alilbaba

NASDAQ: BABA

One year ago Alilbaba’s stock was $168 per share and it was recently over $208 per share.

While not a house name like some of the others on this list, they are no less note worthy. Jack Ma and Peng Lei founded Alilbaba in 1999. Their IPO was in September of 2014 and pricing was $60-66 per share. Alilbaba is an online marketplace for purchases: they handle consumer-to-consumer, business to consumer and business-to-business.  Alilbaba’s worldwide sales have surpassed Wal-Mart and Amazon. This company was founded in China and still headquartered there in Hangzhou. While some people might shy away from investing in foreign markets, Alilbaba is proof that investing internationally can be a great thing! If an investor bought in at $60 a share and they are now at $208, tripling your investment!

Amazon

NASDAQ: AMZN

One year ago Amazon’s stock was $947.39 per share and today it is $1,883.42 nearly double what it was a year ago.

Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994, with what was an online bookstore and expanded over the next couple of decades to the largest Internet retailer in the world. The IPO was in May 1997 selling stock for $18. While the stock has definitely increased in its initial value from 1997 to 2018, if you would have been so bold as to invest in Amazon at $18 a share your investment would have made you a millionaire! Lessons to be learned… Never be afraid to invest in a start up! Doubling your money in less than a year is not bad either!

Mastercard

NASDAQ: MA

One year ago Mastercard’s stock was $132.66 and today it is $202.97.

Mastercard was founded in 1966 it was initially called Interbank Card Association, then MasterCard, and now since 2016 Mastercard. Mastercard had its IPO in May of 2006 selling 95.5 million shares of stock at $39 each. Mastercard is a conglomerate of financial intermediary between banks and merchants. This long time corporation that recently went public has shown that it has exponential growth opportunities with payment processes changing worldwide. If an investor bought during the IPO and sold recently their investment more than quadrupled! The finance industry is on the brink of a lot of changes and could still be a good investment!

Recap

What these companies have taught investors and potential investors is that you should never discount an organization. Whether they have been around for decades or are a new start-up, making the right investments can create passive income for years to come. All of these stock prices started at reasonable prices for anyone to purchase, while now a few of them might be a little too expensive for some investors they aren’t be completely out of reach. The low end of these stock prices is Mastercard at $202 and the highest is Amazon at $1883. These companies have had ups and downs in the market and more ups than downs, so the next time you see a dip in their stock you should consider snagging some for your portfolio!