Blue-Chip Stocks Ranked by Ten-Year Price Return

Blue chip is a description of stability rather than a promise of equal performance, and the gap between the best and worst performer in this group over a decade is far wider than the label suggests. Seeing them ordered makes that point more effectively than any amount of prose about diversification.

How this is ordered. Ordered by price return over the trailing ten years, best first, computed from monthly closing prices.

1. 1

   AAPL · Apple

   Consumer hardware and services

   +1,265%

   Ten-year price return

   Consumer hardware and services. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $136,540 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $136,540 from $10,000 over ten years
2. 2

   MSFT · Microsoft

   Enterprise software and cloud

   +800%

   Ten-year price return

   Enterprise software and cloud. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $89,967 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $89,967 from $10,000 over ten years
3. 3

   JPM · JPMorgan Chase

   Banking

   +499%

   Ten-year price return

   Banking. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $59,871 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $59,871 from $10,000 over ten years
4. 4

   V · Visa

   Payments network

   +397%

   Ten-year price return

   Payments network. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $49,732 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $49,732 from $10,000 over ten years
5. 5

   WMT · Walmart

   Retail

   +384%

   Ten-year price return

   Retail. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $48,440 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $48,440 from $10,000 over ten years
6. 6

   JNJ · Johnson & Johnson

   Healthcare and pharmaceuticals

   +154%

   Ten-year price return

   Healthcare and pharmaceuticals. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $25,429 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $25,429 from $10,000 over ten years
7. 7

   HD · Home Depot

   Home improvement retail

   +146%

   Ten-year price return

   Home improvement retail. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $24,550 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $24,550 from $10,000 over ten years
8. 8

   XOM · ExxonMobil

   Energy

   +113%

   Ten-year price return

   Energy. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $21,322 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $21,322 from $10,000 over ten years
9. 9

   KO · Coca-Cola

   Consumer staples

   +106%

   Ten-year price return

   Consumer staples. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $20,571 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

   $20,571 from $10,000 over ten years
10. 10

    PG · Procter & Gamble

    Household goods

    +78%

    Ten-year price return

    Household goods. Ten thousand dollars invested a decade ago would be worth roughly $17,783 on price alone, before any dividends are counted, which matters more for the staples and healthcare names on this list than for the technology ones.

    $17,783 from $10,000 over ten years

Inclusion here is not a recommendation. The purpose of the list is to show dispersion within a category people treat as uniform.