Changed common stock par value from $.50 per share to $.25 per share. Historians have called this "the most devastating day in the history of markets." Historical daily share price chart and data for Coca-Cola since 1962 adjusted for splits. And secondly, it assumes that you made a lump sum investment at the exact worst moment in the first half of the 20th century. Coke the company hadnt changed at all; Coke the stock had changed a lot. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). Standard Oil of New Jersey (later becoming Exxon Mobil) went from a closing price of $73 per shareon the Wednesday, to a low of $61 per share on the Thursday, and then back up to $68 per share by that days closing bell. The best defense against stock market misery is paying a rational price for your securities. This gives me a rough indication as to what kind of content is popular. Of course, none of that shows up in most historical records. In September 1929, AT&T traded at $304 per share. Somewhere along the line growing up, most of us have encountered the story behind "Black Tuesday" and "The Stock Market Crash of 1929." 3. When you look at the window from 1927 to 1929, it can be helpful to keep in mind that it is not the transition from fair valuation to undervaluation that necessarily causes the extreme downward fluctuations, but rather, it is the transition from overvaluation to undervaluation that makes the declines so pronounced. If you do include them,it would have taken you only sevenyears. Even more so considering you put your money in during the 1929 peak. A couple of things might strike you as counter intuitive about investing in the stock market. These were some of the stronger performers too. The difference between those two investments, July versus October, is huge in terms of returns. To report a factual error in this article. Thank you for reading! For instance, Coca-Cola stock traded between 13x and 19x annual profit in the year of the crash. Follow The Conservative Income Investor and get email alerts. That day, however, the stock exchange was as dour as a funeral parlor. 1. Thirty years of doing that from the market top in 1929 would have delivered returns of about 7.5% per annum up to 1960. But I would like to add some context to the traditional understanding of this terrible stock market decline so that it may help you make more informed decisions about your own portfolio strategy. No matter how bad things get, taking the long approach hasnearly always made it salvageable. 4. By the end of 1930, the DJIA was down nearly60% from itsprior-year peak.