The best investment since 1926? Apple

When analyzing publicly traded stocks that have yielded the highest returns since 1926, research by Professor of Finance Hendrik Bessembinder reveals a corporate giant of today at the forefront.

At the request of The New York Times, Professor of Finance Hendrik Bessembinderrevisited his recent research titled, "Do Stocks Outperform Treasury Bills?" to analyze trends of publicly traded stocks. The results reveal that one company has dominated the stock market since 1926 — Apple Inc. — just ahead of Exxon Mobil Corp.

In this post in The New York Times on Sept. 22, 2017:

“It’s remarkable that Apple has generated so much wealth in such a short period of time,” he [Hendrik Bessembinder] said. “Exxon has had decades to pile up those returns. The problem is, I have no idea which companies will generate the best returns over the next 10 or 20 or 30 years. Probably it will be some companies we’ve never heard of. Maybe it will be companies that don’t even exist now.”