when did apple split its stock

This article answers the question when did apple split its stock, listing all five Apple stock splits (1987, 2000, 2005, 2014, 2020), explains what a split does, shows the cumulative effect (one 19...

2025-11-17 16:00:00

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Apple Inc. — Stock Split History

This page answers the question "when did apple split its stock" and provides a full, beginner-friendly review of Apple’s split history, rationale, market effects, technical mechanics, and the cumulative impact for long-term shareholders. Read on to see the five dates and ratios, how splits work, what they meant for Apple investors at those times, and where to find authoritative data.

Brief answer: when did apple split its stock?

when did apple split its stock — Apple has split its common shares five times since its 1980 initial public offering. The five splits and ratios are:

16 June 1987 — 2-for-1
21 June 2000 — 2-for-1
28 February 2005 — 2-for-1
9 June 2014 — 7-for-1
31 August 2020 — 4-for-1

Cumulative effect: 2 × 2 × 2 × 7 × 4 = 224. That means one 1980 IPO share would have become 224 shares after all five splits.

Overview of stock splits

A stock split is a corporate action that increases the number of outstanding shares by issuing more shares to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings, while reducing the nominal price per share by the same factor.

Share count and price: After a split, shareholder ownership percentage stays the same; total market capitalization does not change immediately. For example, in a 2-for-1 split, each share becomes two, and the price per share halves.
Why companies split: Firms typically split stock to make individual shares more affordable for retail investors, to boost liquidity and tradability, and to ensure share prices fit investor and market conventions (for example, to keep prices within a range favored by options exchanges or preferred by brokers). Companies sometimes choose larger ratios when share prices become very high.

Sources for this overview include investor education materials and Apple’s own investor relations guidance.

Timeline of Apple’s stock splits

Apple has split its stock five times since the company’s 1980 IPO. Below are each split’s date, ratio, effective mechanics, and the contemporaneous business context.

16 June 1987 — 2-for-1 split

Split ratio and effective date: 2-for-1; effective trading typically adjusted on or just after 16 June 1987 (record and pay/issue mechanics determined by transfer agent and exchanges).
Context: In the mid-1980s Apple was an established PC hardware and software company riding early personal-computer adoption. By 1987, Apple’s share price had risen sufficiently that management and the board approved a 2-for-1 split to increase accessibility for individual investors.
Investor reaction: The split reflected Apple’s growth trajectory and was generally received as a positive liquidity-enhancing move. As is common, prices ran up into the split and adjusted downward on the effective trading date, leaving market capitalization roughly unchanged.

21 June 2000 — 2-for-1 split

Split ratio and effective date: 2-for-1 split effective 21 June 2000.
Context: This split occurred at the height of the dot-com era and followed a multi-year run for technology stocks. Apple’s market environment in 2000 included high retail and institutional interest in tech names.
Market behavior: During the dot-com bubble, many tech companies saw sharp price increases and subsequent volatility. Apple’s split followed the pattern of pre-split run-ups and an immediate mechanical price adjustment on the effective date; medium-term returns varied because the split did not change fundamentals.

28 February 2005 — 2-for-1 split

Split ratio and effective date: 2-for-1 split effective 28 February 2005.
Context: By 2005 Apple had stabilized and began to show strong product-level momentum coming from iPod success and early platform improvements. Management used a modest 2-for-1 split to keep individual share pricing in a range attractive to retail investors.
Post-split trends: After the split, Apple continued to invest in product development and brand expansion; share performance over subsequent years reflected company fundamentals rather than the split itself.

9 June 2014 — 7-for-1 split

Split ratio and effective date: 7-for-1 split effective 9 June 2014.
Why a larger ratio: By 2014 Apple’s share price had grown substantially, making a larger ratio practical to reduce trading price per share to a level more affordable to a broad base of retail investors.
Practical effects: The 7-for-1 split lowered the per-share trading price, and Apple adjusted dividend amounts and historical per-share data accordingly so that yield calculations and historical charts remained consistent on a split-adjusted basis. News coverage at the time noted Apple’s explicit aim to make shares more accessible to a wider investor base.

31 August 2020 — 4-for-1 split

Announcement and effective dates: Apple announced this split on 30 July 2020 and set the stock split to be effective for trading on 31 August 2020. Record and implementation mechanics followed usual corporate procedures (record date, issuance of additional shares to holders of record).
Stated rationale: Apple said the split was intended to make the company’s stock more accessible to a broader base of investors.
Market reaction: The split prompted renewed retail interest and a surge in trading activity in the weeks leading up to the effective date. Coverage from business media highlighted increased brokerage order flow and retail participation. Research and reporting at the time showed a common pattern: pre-split buying pressure followed by an immediate mechanical price adjustment on the ex-split trading day.
Sources for 2020 details include Apple Investor Relations statements and contemporaneous coverage in mainstream business press.

Cumulative impact for long-term shareholders

Apple’s five splits multiply together: 2 × 2 × 2 × 7 × 4 = 224. That means each common share bought at the IPO (per share basis) became 224 shares after all splits.

Example calculation: One 1980 IPO share × 224 = 224 shares today (post-2020 split).
Split-adjusted IPO price: Apple’s 1980 IPO price was $22.00 per share. Dividing $22.00 by 224 gives a split-adjusted IPO price of approximately $0.0982 per share. That split-adjusted number is useful when comparing long-run returns on a per-original-share basis, before factoring dividends and other corporate actions.
Theoretical value illustration: To illustrate how splits change share count but not immediate value: if an investor held one original IPO share, after splits they would hold 224 shares. If each resulting share were trading at $150 (example), the original share’s position would be worth 224 × $150 = $33,600 (this is an illustrative arithmetic example, not a price forecast or investment advice).
Data sources: Historical prices and split records are available through company filings and financial data services that provide split-adjusted time series (for example, widely used financial databases and Apple Investor Relations historical data).

Motives and corporate rationale

Apple’s public rationale and market commentary around the splits point to several typical motives:

Affordability and accessibility: Management has repeatedly said splitting shares is intended to make them more accessible to a larger number of investors.
Liquidity and tradability: Splits can increase the number of tradable shares and reduce bid-ask spreads by placing more shares within common retail-order price bands.
Options market and indices: Very high share prices can affect option contract pricing and index inclusion nuances. Companies sometimes split to keep share prices at levels preferred by certain investor segments and index mechanics.
Communication: A split signals confidence in the company’s future to some investors, though it does not change fundamentals.

Apple’s investor relations commentary for the 2014 and 2020 splits explicitly mentioned accessibility and a desire to broaden the company’s investor base as reasons for the action.

Market and investor effects following splits

Empirical observations and reporting on Apple’s splits show several recurring patterns:

Pre-split run-ups: Shares often show a price run-up ahead of the effective split date as traders anticipate increased retail demand.
Mechanical adjustment: On the effective (ex-split) trading day, the per-share price is reduced proportionally; total market capitalization is unchanged by the split itself.
Post-split returns: Studies and market coverage point to mixed medium-term returns after splits. Some splits are followed by continued gains driven by company fundamentals; others see consolidation. The split itself is not a performance driver.
Liquidity and retail interest: Splits tend to increase retail trading interest and volume in the short term. Media coverage of Apple’s 2014 and 2020 splits highlighted increased retail participation and heightened order flow.
Academic and professional analysis: Investor-education outlets and market researchers note that psychological and microstructure effects — not value creation — are the dominant drivers of any short-term price moves.

Sources for these points include investor-education sites and exchange commentary.

Technical and accounting details

How splits are carried out and how they appear in investor statements matters for practical record-keeping and historical analysis.

Mechanics: A typical split process includes a board resolution, an announcement, a record date (date on which existing shareholders of record are identified), and an effective ex-split trading date when the market adjusts the per-share price and the new share count is reflected in investor accounts.
Dividends and historical price series: Companies report dividends and historical prices on a split-adjusted basis so yield calculations and charts remain comparable over time. After a split, per-share dividend amounts are adjusted proportionally.
Broker and transfer agent records: Brokers and custodians adjust client positions automatically; shareholders don’t need to take action beyond receiving a notice. Fractional-share handling varies by broker: some issues may be handled by cash-in-lieu or fractional credit depending on account type and brokerage policy.
Options and corporate actions: Option contracts and exchange notices reflect split ratios so that contracts remain economically equivalent after the split.

Apple’s investor relations materials and historical corporate filings describe the precise mechanics used in each split.

Comparisons with peers and industry practice

Frequency and ratios: Apple’s five splits across four decades are comparable in frequency to several large-cap technology names that have used occasional splits. Microsoft, for example, executed multiple splits historically; other companies like Amazon and Alphabet used large fractional or non-traditional approaches (including late-stage splits) to bring per-share prices into preferred ranges.
Fractional shares and changing context: The increasing availability of fractional-share trading through many brokers reduces the practical necessity of splits to improve affordability. However, many large-cap firms still choose splits for liquidity and signaling reasons.
Industry trend: Tech leaders often weigh the trade-off between split-driven liquidity and administrative complexity. Apple’s choice of a 7-for-1 split in 2014 and a 4-for-1 split in 2020 reflected both high absolute share prices and the company’s desire to keep trading price ranges accessible to retail investors.

Controversies and considerations

Stock splits are broadly neutral from an accounting perspective, but several controversies and misconceptions surround them:

Value creation myth: A common misconception is that splits create value. In reality, splits rearrange share counts and prices but do not change a company’s fundamentals or market capitalization.
Short-term psychology: Critics say splits exploit retail investor psychology; supporters argue they democratize access. Empirical evidence shows short-term volume and price effects, but no consistent long-term value creation solely attributable to splits.
Fractional-share trading: As fractional-share trading becomes more widespread, some argue splits are less necessary for accessibility. Brokerages offering fractional shares can allow investors to buy exposure to high-priced names without a split.
Broader investor-rights context: Corporate actions and capital events can carry real consequences for minority shareholders. For example, restructuring regimes in other jurisdictions may leave retail investors disadvantaged in certain insolvency or debt-restructuring scenarios. As of January 15, 2026, Bloomberg reported significant retail investor frustration in Germany after several restructurings under a law known as StaRUG, where minority shareholders were often left out of capital-raising or recovery opportunities. That reporting underscores the fact that while splits are mechanical and neutral, other corporate actions can materially affect shareholder outcomes and investor rights.

References

Sources used to compile dates, mechanics, and analysis include Apple Investor Relations materials (split and dividend history), investor-education and market commentary from reputable outlets, and historical price databases. Key references for readers to consult:

Apple Investor Relations — official split and dividend history and press releases.
Motley Fool — historical explanations and split context.
IG — investor-education articles on how splits affect share counts and prices.
Nasdaq and exchange notices — corporate action mechanics.
Yahoo Finance and Macrotrends — split-adjusted historical price series.
CompaniesMarketCap — historical market cap and split summaries.
Forbes and Business Insider — contemporary coverage of the 2014 and 2020 splits.
Bloomberg — coverage of shareholder issues and broader investor-rights context (see reporting as of January 15, 2026).

All date- and ratio-specific statements in this article are derived from Apple’s public filings and widely reported contemporaneous coverage.

Practical next steps and further reading

If you want to examine Apple’s split-adjusted price history or compare long-term returns, consult split-adjusted charts from reliable financial data services or Apple’s investor relations page. For those tracking corporate actions, bookmark the company’s investor relations announcements and review transfer-agent notices when a split is announced.

Explore Apple stock data and trading tools on Bitget if you want integrated charting and fraction-friendly order types (note: this mention is informational; it is not investment advice). For wallet needs or Web3 custody, Bitget Wallet is recommended in this context when interacting with crypto-side features associated with equities marketplaces that provide tokenized equivalents.

Further questions about when did apple split its stock or how splits affect your brokerage records? Review your broker’s corporate action notices and consult the company’s investor relations resources for official dates and mechanics.

Thank you for reading. To learn more about splits, historical returns, or corporate-action mechanics, explore the referenced investor-education sources and Apple’s official filings. Discover Bitget’s educational content for practical guides and tools that help track corporate events and split-adjusted performance.

The content above has been sourced from the internet and generated using AI. For high-quality content, please visit Bitget Academy.