What would the Dow look like if it included Apple?

Reuters ^ | Mon Mar 2, 2015 10:41am EST | BY RODRIGO CAMPOS AND CHUCK MIKOLAJCZAK

[Swordmaker]

The Apple logo is pictured inside the newly opened Omotesando Apple
store at a shopping district in Tokyo June 26, 2014. Picture taken June
CREDIT: REUTERS/YUYA SHINO

(Reuters) - It may be by far the most valuable American company but Apple Inc still can’t get into at least one exclusive club – the 30-member Dow Jones Industrial Average.

That may not be a problem for the company behind the iPhone and the iPad, after all Apple shares recently hit record highs. It is, though, hurting those who tie their investments to the performance of the venerable Dow, which was first calculated in 1896 and is still probably the best-known stock index in the world.

Since Apple split its shares seven-for-one last June 6, it’s delivered investors a gain of more than 43 percent including dividend payments, and that has contributed almost one third of the Nasdaq 100’s return of 18.6 percent, according to ETF.com. By comparison, the Dow’s total return has been only 8.97 percent over that period, and it has also underperformed the S&P500 – which does include Apple – and has a 9.56 percent return.

[Swordmaker]

There is a great interactive graph link down in the story that allows you to substitute Apple for every company that is one of the DOW companies and see how having Apple as the member of the DOW instead of that company would have affected the DOW average over in the past. Interesting.

[Swordmaker]

What would have the DOW INDUSTRIAL AVERAGES looked like if Apple had been a member of the DOW? — PING!

What if Apple had been in the DOW? Ping!

If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.

[freedumb2003]

It is a conspiracy I tells ya!

The NASDAQ is for bottom-feeders! The DOW is everything!!

Them Apple-haters gotta hate!

[Grampa Dave]

Just another good reason to never invest in the Dow.

It has been that way forever. A collection of old and often liberal run companies by the good old Ivy Leaguers.

No one forces anyone to invest in the DOW.

[SamAdams76]

Whenever I hear about the Dow Jones, I think about these guys for some reason. A throwback to my father's days when the big stocks to own were Bethlehem Steel, Union Carbide, Eastman Kodak, du Pont, Goodyear, Westinghouse and Woolworth's, among others.

If you invested in newfangled companies like Texas Instruments, Intel or Hewlett-Packard in those days, you were considered a real risk-taker and maverick.

[RayChuang88]

If Apple were part of the DJIA right now, the DJIA would be approaching 19,000! :-O

[freedumb2003]

One word: Plastics!

[Feckless]

What would the DOW look like if it didn’t have billions of 0% tax $ pumped into it?

[Sirius Lee]

If frogs had wings, would anybody hear me eating them in the woods?

[DuncanWaring]

Ugly.

[Swordmaker]

What would the DOW look like if it didn’t have billions of 0% tax $ pumped into it?

You got it. . . Quantitative easing. . . pass the KY Tax Payer Jelly.

[BBB333]

This is mental masturbation.

I have lots of Apple products.

It’s mental masturbation, plain and simple.

[Swordmaker]

It’s mental masturbation, plain and simple.

Did you try the interactive graph? I found it interesting that substituting Apple for some stocks had little to no effect at all. . . and which stocks had the most impact.

[IncPen]

It’s mental masturbation, plain and simple.

Stop thinking about it.

[dayglored]

> This is mental masturbation.

Better stop it now -- otherwise you'll find hair growing out your ears.