Are stocks sold in 1926 still worth anything?

Answer 1

This is a more complex question than you think. The short answer is, if the company's still in business and hasn't bought back the shares, the stocks are still good. Where it gets complex is in stock splits and reverse stock splits. For today's example we will say you have a stock certificate for 100 shares of Acme that was issued the first trading day of 1926. The person who bought the shares for $10 per share never sold them and told his descendants never to sell them. On the first trading day of 1928, Acme stock has risen to the price of $40, and it's worrying the directors. They execute a 4 for 1 stock split. Now there are four times as many shares outstanding and each is worth $10. Right now, you own 400 shares of Acme stock. You still have the certificate for 100 shares, but someone in the Acme company has recorded against your ledger that you really own 400 shares. Five years later, Acme is $25 per share. They execute a 5 for 2 stock split--each share becomes 2.5 shares that cost $10 each. Now you have 1000 shares. Ten years later, they do a 3 for 2 split, giving you 1500 shares, followed by some more splits that end you up with 20,000 shares of Acme. They've got all this written down. If you go to Acme's office and tell them you want to know how many shares you really own, they can tell you.