It should go without saying that 2004 will forever be remembered as the year Google went public, but it wasn’t the only debut worth noting. That year also brought Salesforce, Baidu, and Green Dot to the public markets, alongside niche plays in retail and energy. It was a pivotal moment when internet search, cloud software, and China tech were just starting to scale.
| Company (Ticker) | Offer Price | Current Price | Total Return |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google / Alphabet (GOOGL) | $85.00 | $4,422.20 | +5,103% |
| Baidu (BIDU) | $27.00 | $2,008.60 | +7,335% |
| Salesforce (CRM) | $11.00 | $276.84 | +2,417% |
| Green Dot (GDOT) | $35.00 | $112.76 | +222% |
| Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) | $14.00 | $566.54 | +3,947% |
| Morningstar (MORN) | $18.50 | $376.44 | +1,935% |
| MarineMax (HZO) | $15.00 | $41.97 | +180% |
| Blackboard (acquired) | $14.00 | $45.00 (buyout) | +221% |
| Apollo Education (APOL) | $29.00 | $11.00 | –62% |
| Smart & Final (SFS) | $12.00 | $5.00 | –58% |
For investors, the Class of 2004 turned into a fascinating mix. Some stocks became once-in-a-generation compounders, especially when you consider that Google alone is up more than 5,000% since its IPO. In contrast, others delivered more modest results or faded into obscurity. The decade-plus of history since then makes it easier to see which traits created durable winners.
Below, we look at 10 notable IPOs from 2004, ranked by total return from their offer price to today (September 12, 2025). Then, just like before, you’ll find conversational snapshots of each company’s business, a key success, and how the stock has performed since going public.
1. Google/Alphabet (GOOGL)
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Google priced its IPO at $85 in August 2004, raising $1.9 billion. Shares (split-adjusted) are now worth about $4,422, a +5,103% return. Advertising revenue exploded from $3.2 billion in 2004 to more than $300 billion today, making it one of the greatest IPO investments of all time.
2. Baidu (BIDU)
China’s search leader IPO’d at $27 in 2004, raising $109 million. Shares are now about $2,009, up +7,335%, making it the top performer of the class. While competition and regulation have created volatility, Baidu became a dominant force in China’s internet economy, with billions in annual revenue.
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3. Salesforce (CRM)
Salesforce went public at $11 in June 2004, one of the first big bets on SaaS. Shares today trade at $277, a +2,417% return. Revenue grew from just $176 million in 2004 to over $35 billion today, proving that subscription software could scale into the mainstream.
4. Domino’s Pizza (DPZ)
Domino’s IPO’d at $14 in 2004. Shares are now $567, for a +3,947% return. The company reinvented its menu and embraced delivery technology, expanding from ~8,000 stores at IPO to over 20,000 worldwide. It became one of the best-performing consumer stocks of the century.
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5. Morningstar (MORN)
Investment research firm Morningstar was priced at $18.50 in 2004. Shares now trade at ~$376, a +1,935% gain. The company expanded from data services into software, index creation, and retirement products, turning steady growth into nearly 20× returns for shareholders.
6. Green Dot (GDOT)
Prepaid card provider Green Dot IPO’d at $35. Shares now sit at $113, a +222% return. While growth has slowed, Green Dot benefited from early demand for prepaid cards and partnerships with major retailers, though fintech disruption has capped further gains.
7. MarineMax (HZO)
MarineMax, a boat and yacht retailer, priced at $15. Shares are now $42, a +180% return. Boating remains cyclical, but MarineMax expanded into services and luxury segments, helping the stock deliver steady gains over time.
8. Blackboard (acquired)
Blackboard went public at $14 in 2004, focusing on education software. The company was acquired by Providence Equity Partners for about $45 per share in 2011, giving early investors a +221% return. While it didn’t scale into a giant, it provided a solid exit.
9. Apollo Education (acquired)
The University of Phoenix parent priced its IPO at $29. Shares now hover near $11, a –62% return. Regulatory challenges and falling enrollment weighed heavily, turning it into one of the class’s losers.
10. Smart & Final (acquired)
Grocery retailer Smart & Final IPO’d at $12 but later declined to around $5, a –58% return. Competition and thin margins made it difficult to thrive as a public company, leading to weak long-term results, which in turn led to an acquisition by US Foods Holding Corp.
What the 2004 IPO Winners Have in Common
The big winners from 2004 shared a mix of platform economics, scalable models, and reinvention. Google, Baidu, and Salesforce rode secular shifts in internet adoption and cloud computing, while Domino’s proved that even pizza delivery can reinvent itself with the right tech and strategy.
On the other hand, education and low-margin retail IPOs struggled. Companies without scale, pricing power, or clear competitive moats couldn’t sustain their valuations. The lesson from 2004 is timeless: the biggest returns come from scalable models in massive markets, not from narrow or cyclical businesses.
The Class of 2004 also shows the power of being early in transformative industries. A $1,000 investment in Google’s IPO would be worth more than $50,000 today, while a stake in Domino’s would be close behind. Baidu rewarded investors with eye-popping gains during China’s internet boom, and Salesforce validated the SaaS model long before it was mainstream.
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Disclaimer:
Please note that the articles on TIKR are not intended to serve as investment or financial advice from TIKR or our content team, nor are they recommendations to buy or sell any stocks. We create our content based on TIKR Terminal’s investment data and analysts’ estimates. Our analysis might not include recent company news or important updates. TIKR has no position in any stocks mentioned. Thank you for reading, and happy investing!
