This does not always happen, however, often depending on the underlying fundamentals of the business. Looking at the WFM stock split history from start to finish, an original position size of shares would have turned into today. If the video does not load after a few moments, Upgrade to the Latest Flash Player. Stock Split History. Split history database is not guaranteed to be complete or free of errors. None of the information contained herein constitutes a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.
Video widget and market videos powered by Market News Video. Quote and option data delayed at least 15 minutes; stock quote data powered by Ticker Technologies , and Mergent. Free Dividend Report. WFM Dividend History. Preferred Stock Newsletter. WFM Options Chain. WFM Message Board. Video: What is a Stock Split? About WFM. Whole Foods Market is a natural and organic foods supermarket. When a company splits its stock, it decreases the share price but increases the amount of shares in the market by the same ratio.
Stock splits don't affect a company's valuation at all, as its market cap remains unchanged. And yet, a stock split has sometimes historically catalyzed a stock higher. Why would that be, if the intrinsic value of a company remains unchanged? Well, once the price per share of a stock gets high enough, retail investors without as much investable cash to spare can become priced out. So when a company splits its stock, individual shares become more "affordable" for those without as big a portfolio.
Of course, in recent years, more and more stock brokerages have offered investors the ability to buy fractional shares. That means investors now increasingly have the ability to buy a portion of a share instead of a minimum of one. Still, many still don't have brokerage accounts with this capability, and those with older brokerage accounts may not wish to go through the hassle of transferring their portfolio to one that does.
That means some investors may still be priced out of the stock of Amazon. But could this change in the near future? To be sure, Amazon management has not given any indication whatsoever that they are thinking about splitting its stock. In addition, the company hasn't split its stock for over 20 years. Interestingly, Amazon was an active stock-splitter shortly after it went public in May That was followed by a 3-for-1 split in January , and another 2-for-1 split in September What spurred such a rapid progression of stock splits?
In all likelihood, it was due to Amazon's skyrocketing share price during the dot-com boom of the late s. There were few to no brokerages offering fractional shares back then, and Amazon was not generating profits or much cash flow at that time. Therefore, the stock splits were likely a strategy to keep its shares affordable to retail investors and propel the company's market cap higher.
Back then, Amazon was more likely to use its stock as currency for acquisitions, so keeping its market cap as high as possible was also of strategic importance. However, we all know what happened next.
Amazon hasn't split its stock since. Why, might one wonder? Perhaps founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos was humbled by seeing the company's share price in the single-digits. B A-shares, as opposed to more active traders. As we all know, Jeff Bezos officially retired as full-time CEO this year, even though he will still be on the board and play a key role in high-level decisions.
Taking the helm is former AWS head Andy Jassy, who may seek somewhat of a "reset" as he begins his tenure. Whether that could mean splitting the stock is a measure of conjecture, and Bezos could veto that decision. However, a stock split is more likely than it was with Bezos as CEO. One reason Jassy may wish to split Amazon's stock is that the stock has lagged its big-tech peers for more than a year now.
Could Amazon's huge price per share be the culprit? It's hard to say. In any case, Amazon is among the most competitive companies in the world, and I'm sure management has taken notice of the underperformance despite strong earnings results. Another highflyer, Nvidia , also recently split its stock this year on July 20, and is up a whopping
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