You'll Never Guess the Top-Performing Stock of the 21st Century

When asked about stocks with the top returns this century, most people probably first think about technology companies. And it's true that shares of Apple returned 28,200% while putting iPhones in over a billion people's hands, while Amazon returned 6,200% from its leadership in e-commerce and its head start on the cloud computing revolution through Amazon Web Services.

Shares of Alphabet trade up 13,400% since its 2005 IPO, thanks largely to Google's spot as the dominant search engine, while shares of Nvidia returned 136,300% as the company formed the backbone of the $15.7 trillion artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.

But surprisingly, the biggest winner since Jan. 1, 2000, isn't in the tech sector. It's a beverage company, and not a famous name like Coca-Cola or PepsiCo. Here's the story behind its rise.

Image source: Getty Images.

Monster Beverage's path to 179,800% gains

In July 2025, Kiplinger's published its list of the top 10 performing stocks of this century. It had some names you would expect, like Apple and Nvidia, detailing their 91,686% and 126,100% respective returns.

But topping the list was Monster Beverage (NASDAQ: MNST), an energy drink company that would have turned every $1,000 invested at the dawn of this century into $1,551,030. And since the list came out last July, it's continued to outperform the two runner-ups, Nvidia and Apple.

Data by YCharts.

Since last Friday's close, it's now returned 197,800% this century. How does an energy drink company do that?

There are multiple catalysts behind this run. In 2015, for instance, Monster Beverage inked a deal in which Coca-Cola lent its unrivaled global distribution power and sold off a few of its energy drink product lines in return for a 16.7% stake in Monster Beverage.

It also doesn't hurt that the company's products can be addictive (in addition to alcoholic beverages, energy drinks can lead to dependence over time, because of caffeine and other stimulants).

Not coincidentally, the tobacco company Phillip Morris (later rebranded as Altria) was the top stock of the prior century, turning a single dollar into $2.65 million with dividends reinvested.

But Monster Beverage has one key advantage over the tech giants it's outperformed.

Monster Beverage has a shoestring budget compared to big tech

In the 2025 fiscal year, Nvidia spent $16.7 billion on research and development, while Apple spent a whopping $34 billion. Monster Beverage, by contrast, spent nothing on research and development last year. In 2024, it spent $195 million on R&D, and even that was a record.

Not having to spend tens of billions of dollars each year in a never-ending battle for market share is a huge advantage. It frees up enormous capital for rewarding shareholders through share buybacks, or for savvy mergers and acquisitions. Over the last 26 years, this edge has compounded each year to help give Monster Beverage its unique place in market history.

William Dahl has positions in Apple and Coca-Cola. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Monster Beverage, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.