You've probably looked at a chart of Apple lately and seen those beautiful, upward-sloping green lines. It feels like a sure bet. But if you were holding a brokerage account back at the turn of the millennium, things felt a lot more like a horror movie. Honestly, the apple stock price in 2000 is one of those cautionary tales that veteran traders still whisper about when the market gets too "frothy."
It was a year of two halves. The first half was pure, unadulterated euphoria. Steve Jobs had recently returned, the iMac G3 was a bona fide hit with its translucent plastic, and the "iBook" was making portables cool. By March 2000, the Nasdaq hit a peak that people thought would never end.
Then the bubble popped.
The Day the Earth Stood Still for AAPL
Most people forget that Apple didn't just drift lower; it fell off a cliff. The most brutal moment came on September 29, 2000.
Imagine waking up and seeing your investment cut in half. Literally. In a single trading session, Apple stock plummeted by about 51.89%.
Why? Basically, Apple issued a "pre-announcement" after the bell on September 28. They warned that their fourth-quarter earnings were going to be a disaster compared to what analysts expected. They blamed "disappointing sales" during the back-to-school season and a slowing economy in Europe.
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The market, which was already nervous about the dot-com bubble bursting, didn't just sell. It panicked.
The price dropped from $26.75 to just under $13 in one day. If you look at those numbers now, they seem tiny because of all the stock splits that happened later, but at the time, it was a wipeout of billions in market value.
Understanding the 2000 Stock Split
Right in the middle of this chaotic year, Apple actually executed a stock split. On June 21, 2000, the company did a 2-for-1 split.
If you owned 100 shares on June 20, you suddenly had 200 shares on June 21. Of course, the price per share was halved too. This is a classic move to make the stock look "cheaper" and more accessible to regular retail investors. In hindsight, the timing was almost poetic—it happened just as the peak was starting to crumble.
When you look at historical data today, you'll see "split-adjusted" prices. These aren't the actual dollars people paid in 2000. They are recalculated to account for the 2000 split, plus the ones in 2005, 2014, and 2020.
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- Actual price in early 2000: Often hovered over $100 (pre-split).
- Price after the Sept crash: Roughly $13.
- The "low" for the year: Hit around $7 (adjusted) by December.
Why the Apple Stock Price in 2000 Fell So Hard
It wasn't just one thing. It was a "perfect storm."
First, the Dot-Com Bubble. The entire Nasdaq was built on a foundation of companies that didn't actually make money. Apple was different—it had hardware and real revenue—but it got dragged down by the "guilt by association" of being a tech stock.
Second, the Power Mac G4 Cube. It was a beautiful machine. It was also a commercial flop. Steve Jobs loved the design, but the market didn't love the price tag or the fact that the casing sometimes developed "mold lines" (cracks).
Third, the "Wealth Effect" was reversing. When people's portfolios started shrinking in early 2000, they stopped buying $2,000 computers.
A Quick Reality Check on the Numbers
To give you an idea of the volatility, here is how the year looked if you were tracking the daily close:
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- January 2000: The year started with optimism. Shares were trading strongly.
- March 2000: The peak. The Nasdaq hits 5,048. Apple is riding high.
- June 2000: The 2-for-1 split occurs.
- September 2000: The "Black Friday" for Apple. The 51% drop.
- December 2000: The stock ends the year in the gutter, down over 70% from its highs.
It’s wild to think about now, but analysts at firms like Merrill Lynch were downgrading the stock to "Neutral" or even "Sell," saying the problems were "just the beginning." They weren't entirely wrong in the short term. The stock stayed relatively flat and depressing for a couple of years.
Lessons for Today's Investors
The apple stock price in 2000 teaches us that even the best companies in the world can be "bad stocks" if the valuation is disconnected from reality.
If you had bought $10,000 worth of Apple at its peak in early 2000, you would have watched it turn into about $2,500 by Christmas. You would have had to wait until roughly 2004 or 2005 just to get back to "even."
But—and this is a big "but"—those who held on (or were brave enough to buy the dip when everyone else was screaming "fire") eventually saw life-changing gains. The launch of the iPod in 2001 and the iTunes Store in 2003 eventually provided the fuel for the recovery, but in the year 2000, nobody saw that coming. They just saw a computer company losing its grip.
Next Steps for You:
- Review your "Split-Adjusted" Data: If you are looking at historical charts, always check if they are "dividend adjusted" or "split adjusted" to ensure you're seeing the real percentage moves.
- Evaluate Your Portfolio Risk: Look at your current tech holdings. If a 50% drop happened tomorrow (like it did to Apple in September 2000), would you be forced to sell, or could you hold for 5 years?
- Check the P/E Ratio: Compare Apple's current valuation to its 2000 peak to see how much "hype" is baked in versus actual earnings growth.