Until recently, it was the ASX's largest company. Its shares traded for as much as $110.19 at its all-time high in November 2021 and it still boasts a market capitalisation of more than $180 billion. But the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price wasn't always sky high.
In fact, when it first listed, Australians could buy a share in CBA for around the cost of a large cup of coffee today.
At the time of writing, the CBA share price is $107.63, having gained 0.26% this morning.
For context, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up 0.43% today.
However, for simplicity's sake, this exercise will refer to CBA's previous closing price – $107.35.
Let's take a look at how much CBA's shares have grown over the years.
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1991: CBA stock offered for today's pocket change
Hold onto your hats! For many market watchers, it might be mind-boggling to learn that the first public shares in CBA were sold for just $5.40 apiece.
That's right – CBA's stock has gained a whopping 1887.96% since its initial public offering (IPO). And that value-add doesn't include the dividends investors have received from the iconic bank over the years.
Also worth noting, all dividends ever paid by CBA have been fully franked. Thus, they may have provided value to CBA shareholders beyond their cash worth.
Interested readers can find a breakdown of all dividends ever paid out by the bank here.
CBA's IPO came on 12 September 1991 – 80 years after it was established as a government-owned retail bank.
It saw investors purchasing 30% of the bank's stock. The sale of the shares, offered in parcels of at least 400, raised $1.3 billion.
Upon floating, the CBA share price's first close was $6.46 – a 19.62% gain on the bank's IPO price.
In 1993, a second share offer, this time of 178 million shares, reduced the government's holding in CBA to 50.4%.
Finally, in 1996, the bank became the fully public monolith the ASX knows and loves in a third share offering.
CBA share price snapshot
The CBA share price's historic gains have continued recently.
Over the last 12 months, it has gained 24%. It is also up year to date, having gained almost 5% through 2022 so far.
