8 May 1886: The first Coca-Cola is sold in Atlanta
On May 8, 1886 pharmacist John Pemberton's new drink was sold for the first time at Jacobs' Pharmacy in Atlanta, at five cents a glass. Sales in the first year were tiny and Pemberton sold off his rights before he died. Asa Candler and later owners turned it into a global brand. Warren Buffett's huge 1988 purchase of Coca-Cola shares made the drink part of investing folklore too.
The lesson: The inventor rarely captures the most value; patient owners of a great brand often do.
What it meant for investors
$1,000 in Coca-Cola at the start of 1990 → $15,556 today, vs $19,429 in the S&P 500.
We start the clock at the start of 1990, the first year in our price data after the event. That is 15.6 times the money, but $3,873 less than a plain index fund made over the same years.
What Coca-Cola teaches: A wonderful business bought at an extreme valuation can deliver poor returns for a decade; quality does not protect you from overpaying.
| Bought in | Price then | Worth today | S&P 500 would be |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $4.50 | $15,556 | $19,429 |
| 1995 | $12.00 | $5,833 | $14,783 |
| 2000 | $29.00 | $2,414 | $4,626 |
green = beat the S&P 500 · red = lost money
What if you bought Coca-Cola? Every starting year and the full story →
More Coca-Cola history
Could you have called it at the time? The wheel picks the year, you pick the position, ten seconds a pick.
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