From its 1980 IPO to last week's iPad 2 event: The history of Apple and its stock [Infographic]

The Globe and Mail recently unveiled an infographic that tracks Apple's stock price over the past 31 years alongside its major product launches and news surrounding Steve Jobs.

In December of 1980, Apple launched its IPO. And so AAPL was born, readily available for $3.59 per share.

In 1984, Apple launched the all-in-one PC, the Macintosh. The next year, Steve Jobs leaves the company after being forced out by the  board of directors. This hardly dents the stock price.

In 1989, the Macintosh Portable launches, and in 1991, the Powerbook launches alongside the Mac OS 7. By now, the stock has gained only modest growth—certainly nothing to write home about.

Three years later, the first iMac comes to life. Then Steve Jobs returns to Apple in 1997, but the stock is actually lower than a couple year's prior. A spike does occur soon after, share price flirting with the 30s and 40s, in 1999—but this is only because of the dot-com bubble. In wake of its crash, Apple's stock plummets back to the teens. Even the 2001 launch of the iPod fails to impress investors, though perhaps at that point they were still licking their wounds.

In 2003, iTunes goes live. Following this, the stock starts to climb, and climb fast. By the time Apple's brand new Macbook Pro and iMac lines launch with Intel chips in 2006, the stock price has more than quadrupled. After a brief drop, the sock regained its momentum thanks to the iPhone, skyrocketing to an incredible $200. Of course, the global recession dragged the stock down to just $78 in January of 2008, scaring many investors: but that was actually an amazing time to buy, as Apple slickly recovered. Its iPhone and then, its iPad, drove the stock up staggeringly fast all through 2010. 

Three decades later, that $3.59 AAPL stock is worth exactly 100 times as much.

Image credit: The Globe and Mail