Top Stocks by Max Return
We rank stocks by historical max profit: the single best buy date and sell date in our price series, expressed as total return with perfect hindsight. It is a theoretical upper bound for comparing how far a price has run between a trough and a peak—not a return you could plan to capture in advance.
Unlike return since IPO (buy at listing, hold to today), max profit can start after the IPO and uses whichever dates maximize the gain. Useful for seeing how volatile a name has been; not a realistic investing outcome.
Computed from each instrument's full daily price history through .
Stocks ranked by maximum historical return
| # | Stock | Sector | Max return | Best buy | Best sell |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NIKE (NKE) | Consumer Cyclical | +4,953,534% 49,536× invested | ||
| 2 | Walmart (WMT) | Consumer Defensive | +4,805,939% 48,060× invested | ||
| 3 | NVR (NVR) | Consumer Cyclical | +3,969,660% 39,697× invested | ||
| 4 | Polaris (PII) | Consumer Cyclical | +2,619,488% 26,195× invested | ||
| 5 | Badger Meter (BMI) | Technology | +2,486,277% 24,863× invested | ||
| 6 | Home Depot (HD) | Consumer Cyclical | +2,130,067% 21,301× invested | ||
| 7 | Altria Group (MO) | Consumer Defensive | +1,836,460% 18,365× invested | ||
| 8 | Hasbro (HAS) | Consumer Cyclical | +1,807,557% 18,076× invested | ||
| 9 | Apartment Investment and Management (AIV) | Real Estate | +1,607,177% 16,072× invested | ||
| 10 | Progressive (PGR) | Financial Services | +1,433,775% 14,338× invested | ||
| 11 | Monster Beverage (MNST) | Consumer Defensive | +1,375,476% 13,755× invested | ||
| 12 | Johnson Controls (JCI) | Industrials | +1,131,639% 11,317× invested | ||
| 13 | Microsoft (MSFT) | Technology | +982,443% 9,825× invested | ||
| 14 | Oracle (ORCL) | Technology | +971,881% 9,719× invested | ||
| 15 | UnitedHealth Group (UNH) | Healthcare | +916,325% 9,164× invested | ||
| 16 | Apple (AAPL) | Technology | +838,192% 8,382× invested | ||
| 17 | Jack Henry & Associates (JKHY) | Technology | +822,943% 8,230× invested | ||
| 18 | Enbridge (ENB) | Energy | +807,323% 8,074× invested | ||
| 19 | Danaher (DHR) | Healthcare | +786,819% 7,869× invested | ||
| 20 | Applied Materials (AMAT) | Technology | +771,177% 7,712× invested | ||
| 21 | NVIDIA (NVDA) | Technology | +758,487% 7,585× invested | ||
| 22 | Amgen (AMGN) | Healthcare | +734,289% 7,343× invested | ||
| 23 | KLA (KLAC) | Technology | +671,536% 6,716× invested | ||
| 24 | Stryker (SYK) | Healthcare | +608,458% 6,085× invested | ||
| 25 | Lam Research (LRCX) | Technology | +603,715% 6,038× invested | ||
| 26 | McDonald's (MCD) | Consumer Cyclical | +592,576% 5,926× invested | ||
| 27 | Walt Disney (DIS) | Communication Services | +568,481% 5,685× invested | ||
| 28 | Church & Dwight Co. (CHD) | Consumer Defensive | +497,434% 4,975× invested | ||
| 29 | Fair Isaac (FICO) | Technology | +485,757% 4,858× invested | ||
| 30 | Rockwell Automation (ROK) | Industrials | +480,115% 4,802× invested | ||
| 31 | MSA Safety (MSA) | Industrials | +425,604% 4,257× invested | ||
| 32 | Coherent (COHR) | Technology | +414,316% 4,144× invested | ||
| 33 | Target (TGT) | Consumer Defensive | +405,044% 4,051× invested | ||
| 34 | Amazon (AMZN) | Consumer Cyclical | +393,914% 3,940× invested | ||
| 35 | Jacobs Solutions (J) | Industrials | +392,120% 3,922× invested | ||
| 36 | Boeing (BA) | Industrials | +361,406% 3,615× invested | ||
| 37 | W. R. Berkley (WRB) | Financial Services | +360,586% 3,606× invested | ||
| 38 | Netflix (NFLX) | Communication Services | +359,046% 3,591× invested | ||
| 39 | Adobe (ADBE) | Technology | +354,018% 3,541× invested | ||
| 40 | Sysco (SYY) | Consumer Defensive | +352,180% 3,522× invested | ||
| 41 | Rollins (ROL) | Consumer Cyclical | +325,441% 3,255× invested | ||
| 42 | Micron Technology (MU) | Technology | +321,095% 3,211× invested | ||
| 43 | Sherwin-Williams (SHW) | Basic Materials | +313,307% 3,134× invested | ||
| 44 | Axon Enterprise (AXON) | Industrials | +310,041% 3,101× invested | ||
| 45 | Fastenal (FAST) | Industrials | +302,291% 3,023× invested | ||
| 46 | Eaton Corporation (ETN) | Industrials | +301,565% 3,016× invested | ||
| 47 | Franklin Resources (BEN) | Financial Services | +298,860% 2,989× invested | ||
| 48 | Lowe's Companies (LOW) | Consumer Cyclical | +295,221% 2,953× invested | ||
| 49 | Deckers Outdoor (DECK) | Consumer Cyclical | +291,973% 2,920× invested | ||
| 50 | Equifax (EFX) | Industrials | +286,743% 2,868× invested |
Other rankings
- All rankings
- Statement metric rankings
- Top Companies by CapEx
- Top Companies by Revenue
- Top Companies by Earnings
- Top Companies by Market Cap
- Trillion Dollar Club Companies
- Largest US Oil & Gas Companies by Market Cap
- Largest US Restaurant Chains by Market Cap
- Largest Pharmaceutical Companies by Market Cap
- Largest Semiconductor Companies by Market Cap
- Largest US Airlines by Market Cap
- Best Performing Stocks Since IPO
- Largest Cumulative Stock Split Multipliers
- Countries by GDP
Frequently asked questions
Which stock had the highest max profit ever?
The ranking shows the top performers by maximum possible return. These are theoretical best-case scenarios using the historically optimal buy and sell dates for each stock.
What does 'max profit' mean for a stock?
Max profit is the highest return you could have earned by buying at the best possible date and selling at the best possible date in a stock's history. It represents the theoretical maximum gain with perfect timing.
Is max profit a realistic return I could have earned?
No. Max profit assumes perfect hindsight -- knowing the exact best buy and sell dates in advance. In practice, no investor can consistently time the market this way. It serves as a theoretical upper bound for comparison purposes.
What is the difference between max profit and return since IPO?
Return since IPO measures the gain from holding since the IPO date to today. Max profit finds the optimal buy/sell date pair anywhere in the stock's history. Max profit is always greater than or equal to return since IPO, because it can pick a better entry point than the IPO date.
Can max profit be negative?
In theory, no -- you can always "buy and sell on the same date" for zero return. In practice, all stocks in this ranking have positive max profit because they had at least one period of price increase in their history.
Data & methodology
How is max profit calculated?
We scan each stock's entire price history to find the pair of dates (buy date before sell date) that maximizes the percentage return. This is computed using an efficient algorithm over dividend-adjusted closing prices.
Where does the data come from?
Historical prices are sourced from financial data providers. All prices are end-of-day (EOD) closing prices adjusted for dividends and stock splits, ensuring accurate total return calculations.
How often is this data updated?
Rankings are updated daily. As new closing prices become available, the max profit calculation is refreshed to include the latest data.