Athletic apparel and shoe giant Nike (NYSE: NKE) has been around for a while. The company was founded 60 years ago, and Nike's stock entered the public markets in December 1980.

The stock has also experienced seven 2-for-1 stock splits over the years. If you had bought a single Nike stub in 1980 and held on to it until October 2024, you'd have 128 shares in your pocket.

The stock price was about $23 per share on Nike's first market day. That works out to $0.18 per share on a split-adjusted basis. That single share of 1980 Nike stock is now worth about $17,300, assuming you reinvested Nike's dividends in more stock along the way:

Simply holding on to Nike's stock for 44 years would give you 128 stubs today. But with reinvested dividends, you'd have more than 456 Nike shares. Those handy-dandy dividend reinvestment plans (DRIPs) can make a big difference in the long run.

Will Nike split its stock again?

Nike's latest stock split was performed just before the holidays of 2015. The stock has underperformed the S&P 500 market index since then, making Nike an unlikely candidate for more stock splits anytime soon.

The company is attempting a turnaround, driven by a back-to-basics approach under former Air Jordan CEO Elliott Hill. Nike might split its stock again if Hill's management style turns out to be just what the company needed. But he has been on the job for less than a month, so the jury is still out on that idea.

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Anders Bylund has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nike. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

If You Bought 1 Share of Nike at Its IPO, Here's How Many Shares You Would Own Now was originally published by The Motley Fool