During periods of heightened volatility and uncertainty, it’s not uncommon for professional and retail investors to gravitate to time-tested businesses that have handily outperformed Wall Street’s benchmark index, the S&P 500, over the long run. It’s why the collective FAANG stocks have been so popular over the last decade.
But when the going has gotten tough on Wall Street over the past three years, it’s stocks enacting splits that investors have flocked to.
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More than a half-dozen top-notch businesses became stock-split stocks in 2024
To keep things simple, a “stock split” is an event whereby a publicly traded company alters both its share price and outstanding share count by the same factor. It’s a purely superficial move that has no impact on a company’s market cap or underlying operations.
Stock splits come in two forms: forward and reverse. A forward-stock split’s purpose is to make shares more affordable for retail investors who might not have access to fractional-share purchases with their online broker. By comparison, a reverse-stock split increases a company’s share price, often with the goal of meeting minimum continued listing standards for a major U.S. stock exchange.
Since 2024 began, seven high-flying stocks have announced or completed a forward-stock split:
Retail kingpin Walmart (NYSE: WMT) announced a 3-for-1 stock split on January 30, and completed its first split in 25 years after the market closed on February 23.
The board of fast-casual dining chain Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) approved a 50-for-1 split on March 19, which will take effect after the closing bell on June 25.
Corporate identity uniforms company Cintas (NASDAQ: CTAS) gave the green light for a 4-for-1 stock split on May 2. Shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis after the market close on September 11.
On May 14, the board of Japan-based consumer electronics company Sony Group (NYSE: SONY) Ok’d a 5-for-1 stock split, which goes into effect on October 8 for the company’s American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).
Electronic components juggernaut…
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