Neil Patel, The Motley Fool

Sat, Jun 14, 2025, 1:14 AM5 min read

• Stock splits might drive a lot of attention from investors, but they don't change anything fundamentally about a business.

• There's a thriving niche retailer that just implemented a massive stock split, which could continue its impressive historical share price gains.

• Instead of buying $10,000 worth of stock at once, dollar-cost averaging might be a better idea.

• 10 stocks we like better than O'Reilly Automotive ›

It's not a surprise that investors want to own companies whose stocks soar. However, an issue can arise when a business has done so well over a long period of time that its share price becomes nominally high. This makes it extremely difficult for investors with small sums of capital to buy whole shares.

Here's where a stock split comes into play (more on this below). Investors looking to put money to work in the market appreciate these rare opportunities because it could lead to strong portfolio gains. There's greater excitement surrounding a particular company.

There's one dominant retail stock that has climbed 509% just in the past decade, crushing the S&P 500 index. And it's up 14% in 2025 (as of June 10). Plus, it just put in place a massive stock split. Should you buy the business with $10,000 right now?

It's important that investors first develop a basic understanding of how exactly a stock split works. Boards of directors and executive teams want shares of their companies to be accessible to the most investors, as this can grow demand. A stock split is conducted to artificially lower the stock price. On the flip side, there is a proportionate increase in the number of outstanding shares.

On March 13, O'Reilly Automotive's (NASDAQ: ORLY) board of directors voted to approve a 15-for-1 stock split. Shareholders also approved this decision, and the stock split was implemented on June 10. O'Reilly's share price went from about $1,350 to $90 overnight. O'Reilly's outstanding share count expanded by a factor of 15, while the stock price was divided by 15.

While a stock split gets a lot of attention from investors, it's worth pointing out that nothing changes with the company on a fundamental or operational basis. Undergoing a stock split won't change O'Reilly's corporate strategy, revenue, profits, or market cap. This fact can get lost in all the noise.

Shares of O'Reilly have significantly outperformed the broader index in the past decade. If we zoom out further, the numbers are even more impressive. Since the company's initial public offering in April 1993, the stock has skyrocketed 56,350%. This must be a wonderful business if it has taken care of its shareholders like that.