Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) stock has climbed roughly 21% across 2024’s trading. With a recent market capitalization of roughly $3.55 trillion, the tech giant stands as the world’s most valuable company — ahead of both Nvidia and Microsoft.

Apple has been one of the stock market’s biggest success stories, and its iPhone has played a key role in the company’s incredible returns. But investors wouldn’t have had to invest in the company at the time of the first iPhone launch in 2007 in order to score market-crushing gains.

A decade ago, the mobile hardware revolution was already a well-known phenomenon in the investing world — and Apple was already the clear-cut leader in the space. If you decided to invest $1,000 in the company 10 years ago and held on to your position, your holdings would now be worth many times more than your initial investment.

Apple has been a profit-generating machine

Thanks largely to its dominance in the mobile hardware market and opportunities created in providing associated software and services, Apple has frequently ranked as the world’s most profitable business over the last decade. In turn, that’s helped power big growth for the company’s stock. The tech giant’s share price has risen roughly 775% over the last decade. But that hasn’t been the only source of gains for shareholders.

Apple investors have also enjoyed the benefit of dividends over the last 10 years. Thanks to the combination of capital appreciation for the stock and cash returned directly to shareholders through dividend payments, Apple has delivered a total return of 885% over the last decade. That means that a $1,000 investment in the tech giant in late 2014 would now be worth almost $10,000.

What’s the key takeaway? Using a buy-and-hold investing strategy with established category leaders can be a path to explosive returns. And while investing in little-known businesses can sometimes produce even bigger returns, there’s more risk. Even though Apple was already a well-known company 10 years ago, its stock has outperformed most other investments you could have made at the time.

Don’t miss this second chance at a potentially lucrative opportunity

Ever feel like you missed the boat in buying the most successful stocks? Then you’ll want to hear this.

On rare occasions, our expert team of analysts issues a “Double Down” stock recommendation for companies that they think are about to pop. If you’re worried you’ve already missed your chance to invest, now is the best time to buy before it’s too late. And the numbers speak for themselves:

• Amazon: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2010, you’d have $20,993!*
• Apple: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2008, you’d have $42,736!*
• Netflix: if you invested $1,000 when we doubled down in 2004, you’d have $407,720!*

Right now, we’re issuing “Double Down” alerts for three incredible companies, and there may not be another chance like this anytime soon.

See 3 “Double Down” stocks »

*Stock Advisor returns as of October 28, 2024

Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.