Apple’s market capitalization is in the trillions of dollars. As demand for its shares has increased over the past few decades, the company has chosen to split its shares to make the stock more affordable for many individual investors. Without such stock splits, Apple would have been out of reach for retail investors before the rise of fractional share trading on digital brokerages like Robinhood.
Here’s a history of Apple’s stock splits, and a look at how high its share price would be today had it not divided its shares.
When did Apple conduct its first stock split?
Apple had its first stock split on June 16, 1987 (when the shares first traded on a split-adjusted basis). On that day, Apple divided each share into two, in a 2-for-1 stock split. This 2-for-1 stock split doubled the number of shares outstanding while halving the price of each individual share.
Related: What Are Stock Splits & Reverse Splits? Definition & Examples
How many times has Apple split its stock?
After its first stock split in 1987, the tech giant conducted four additional splits, bringing its total to five in its corporate history as of mid-March 2026:
- On June 21, 2000, Apple conducted a second 2-for-1 stock split.
- Apple conducted its next 2-for-1 stock split on Feb. 28, 2005.
- Apple’s next stock split was also its biggest: 7-for-1 on June 9, 2014.
- The most recent was a 4-for-1 stock split on Aug. 31, 2020.
Related: Who owns Apple? Institutional holdings & executives’ shares
What happens when Apple conducts stock splits?
Dividing shares causes the number of shares outstanding to increase, and the effect lowers the price of the stock on an absolute value basis — all while maintaining Apple’s market capitalization.
Increasing the number of shares makes more of Apple’s stock available for trading. And the boost in shares outstanding also allows Apple to offer shares to employees (such as option plans via offerings of restricted stock units), and repurchase its stock to boost its earnings per share.
The lower price resulting from a stock split allows retail investors to buy more shares than they could if Apple had not split the shares. For example, before its largest stock split in June 2014, the stock traded around $650 a share. By splitting each share into seven, the company lowered its per-share price to around $93, making the stock more accessible to retail investors with limited cash on hand.
Who approves Apple’s stock splits?
Apple’s board of directors typically agrees on a decision to split the stock, and it’s usually done to encourage retail investors to buy the company’s shares at a reduced price. The plan is then put forward to stockholders, usually at the company’s annual meeting, who must vote to approve the increase in authorized shares as outlined in its charter.
More on Apple:
- Where is Apple’s headquarters? A spaceship-like office with thousands of trees
- How many employees does Apple have? A deeper look at the tech giant’s workforce
- Steve Jobs’ net worth: How rich Apple’s founder could have been
What would Apple’s stock price be in 2026 if it hadn’t conducted any stock splits?
Apple’s stock price, had the stock not been split five times, can be calculated by multiplying the current stock price by the the number of shares it split each share into reverse basis:
Current Apple stock price x 4 x 7 x 2 x 2 x 2 = Apple stock price had the stock never been split
Based on the March 12, 2026, closing price, Apple stock would be $57,290.24 per share had it never been split. At that price, buying Apple’s stock would be out of the price range of most retail investors.
If all these stock splits were factored into Apple’s IPO, the IPO price would have been much lower. Apple’s IPO share price was $22 on Dec. 12, 1990, and the company said that, on a split-adjusted basis incorporating its five stock splits, the IPO share price would have been just 10 cents.
Related: Does Apple pay dividends? A history of rewarding shareholders
