Nike Went Public 45 Years Ago. If You'd Put $100 Into Its IPO, Here's How Much You'd Have Today.

Decades ago, the mainstream media wondered how much longer Nike's party could last.When Nike (NKE +0.02%) went public on Dec. 2, 1980, the athletic footwear and sports apparel company was already white-hot. In 1972, its sales were less than $2 million, but over the next nine years, they surged by an average of 85% annually. Its net income grew even faster, averaging almost 100% per year, leading management to crow in its 1981 annual report that Nike had "raced ahead of its competitors and attained its premi ...