StockSplit

Brookfield Corporation (BN -4.28%) completed a three-for-two stock split earlier this week. The global investment firm split its shares to make them more accessible to individual investors and to enhance the trading liquidity of its stock.

Over the past 30 years, the company has completed several stock splits as a result of delivering a total return exceeding 27,000%. Brookfield has consistently outperformed the broader market, with a 19% annualized total return over the last three decades compared to 11% for the S&P 500. Looking forward, Brookfield expects to continue delivering strong growth, which could triple the value of its shares by 2030

Image source: Getty Images.

Brookfield: The wealth-creating machine

Despite its impressive returns, many investors aren’t too familiar with Brookfield. The Canadian company is a leading global investment manager with three businesses:

• Asset management: The company owns a 73% interest in Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative investment manager with over $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM).
• Wealth solutions: Brookfield Wealth Solutions is an investment-led insurance company that offers annuities, as well as property, casualty, and life insurance.
• Operating businesses: It owns interests in four global operating platforms focused on infrastructure (Brookfield Infrastructure), renewable energy (Brookfield Renewable), private equity (Brookfield Business), and real estate (Brookfield Property).

These businesses generate significant and rapidly growing operating cash flows, enabling Brookfield to return capital to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases, while also allocating funds to enhance shareholder value.

Over the last five years, Brookfield has grown its distributable earnings at a 22% compound annual rate, raising them from $2 billion in 2020 to an expected $5.3 billion this year. This growth puts the company’s intrinsic value at $102 per share (pre-split), well above the recent pre-split stock price of less than $70 a share. Over the past year, Brookfield has returned $1.5 billion to investors ($1 billion for share repurchases and $500 million in dividends), while retaining the remaining capital for reinvestment.

The plan leading to 2030

Brookfield expects to continue growing rapidly over the next five years. The company aims to deliver annualized total distributable earnings-per-share growth of 25% during this period. Within this, its core businesses should generate 20% annualized growth, with an additional 5% growth anticipated from capital allocation activities. As a result, Brookfield estimates its share value could increase at an annual rate of 16%, potentially rising to $210 (pre-split) by 2030 — a projected increase of over 200% from current levels.

The investment firm anticipates that its wealth solutions business will be a significant growth driver through 2030, accounting for over one-third of its anticipated total growth. Management’s goal is to grow its insurance assets from $135 billion currently to $350 billion by 2030, which it expects would more than double the platform’s earnings in the next five years. Brookfield has been expanding this platform through acquisitions, most recently announcing an agreement to acquire Just Group for $3.2 billion, expanding its reach to the UK pension risk market.

Brookfield also sees robust future growth for its asset management business. The company anticipates capitalizing on growing investor demand for alternative investments, which typically offer higher returns and lower volatility compared to traditional asset classes. Many individual investors have relatively low exposure to alternatives, representing a major market opportunity given that they hold $40 trillion in wealth.

Finally, Brookfield generates significant free cash flow, providing capital to grow shareholder value. The company estimates that by 2030, it will produce $25 billion in cumulative surplus free cash flow after dividend payments and current capital commitments, which it can allocate to acquisitions, fund investments, and other opportunities.

A top stock-split stock to buy now and hold for the next five years

Brookfield Corporation has consistently demonstrated a remarkable ability to grow shareholder value over the years. As a result, it has had to split its stock several times, including earlier this week. More stock splits seem likely, given the company’s robust growth profile. That makes it a great stock to buy post-split, as shares could triple in value from here by 2030.

Though artificial intelligence has been the hottest trend on Wall Street, it’s far from the only catalyst responsible for sending the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC -0.13%) to new heights. Investor excitement surrounding stock splits in high-profile businesses has played a close second fiddle.

A stock split allows a publicly traded company to cosmetically adjust its share price and outstanding share count by the same factor. These changes are “cosmetic” in the sense that they don’t impact a company’s market cap or its operating performance.

Image source: Getty Images.

Typically, investors keep their distance from businesses enacting reverse splits and gravitate to those announcing and completing forward splits. The latter is designed to lower a company’s share price to make it more nominally affordable for retail investors who can’t buy fractional shares through their broker. Companies that complete forward splits are usually out-innovating and out-executing their competition.

As of the closing bell on Sept. 12, three magnificent businesses had announced and completed forward splits this year. Whereas the benchmark S&P 500 has risen by roughly 12% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, Wall Street’s trio of stock-split stocks has crushed it!

O’Reilly Automotive: up 36% YTD

Though it wasn’t the first to complete its split, auto parts supplier O’Reilly Automotive (ORLY -0.85%) kicked off stock-split euphoria in 2025 by announcing its intent to conduct a 15-for-1 forward split in mid-March. O’Reilly sought shareholder approval for its largest-ever stock split and was granted it, which paved the way for its split taking effect before the opening bell on June 10.

While shares of the company have jumped 36% on a year-to-date basis, they’re up closer to 67,000% since its initial public offering (IPO) in 1993.

O’Reilly Automotive has a few important tailwinds working in its favor. On a macro basis, S&P Global Mobility recently reported that the average age of vehicles on U.S. roadways jumped to 12.8 years in 2025. For context, this is up from an average of 11.1 years in 2012. With consumers hanging onto their cars and light trucks longer than ever before, they and their mechanics will be turning to auto parts retailers like O’Reilly to keep these vehicles in tip-top shape.

Additionally, O’Reilly has reworked its distribution system to ensure that drivers and mechanics have access to the parts they need. O’Reilly entered the year with 31 distribution centers and close to 400 hub stores. These hub stores feed from the distribution centers and ensure that outlying retail locations have access to more than 153,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) delivered same-day or on an overnight basis.

From an investment standpoint, O’Reilly’s greatest gift might just be its stellar capital-return program. Since initiating a share repurchase program in January 2011, O’Reilly has spent $26.6 billion to buy back almost 60% of its outstanding shares. For companies with steady or growing net income, buybacks can provide a big boost to earnings per share (EPS).

Image source: Getty Images.

Fastenal: up 32% YTD

A second stock-split stock that’s come close to tripling the year-to-date return of the broad-based S&P 500 is wholesale industrial and construction supplies company Fastenal (FAST -1.07%). Shares are up 32% YTD, but more than 150,000% since its August 1987 IPO.

Stock splits might as well be part of Fastenal’s corporate culture. The 2-for-1 split that was announced in April and effected prior to the start of trading on May 22 marked the ninth time in 37 years Fastenal had completed a split.

Fastenal is a company that benefits immensely from the disproportionate nature of economic cycles. This is to say that while economic downturns are normal, healthy, and inevitable, they tend to be short-lived. The average economic expansion since the end of World War II has stuck around five years, which is fantastic news for a company whose growth tends to ebb-and-flow with the health of the U.S. economy and cyclical industries.

Fastenal’s ongoing success is also reflective of its closeknit ties to its most-promising clients. During the second quarter, more than 73% of its net revenue traced back to contract sales, which are multisite, local, regional, and government customers that offer significant revenue potential. Being able to place its inventory solutions on-site helps integrate Fastenal’s products into the supply chains of its most important customers.

Lastly, innovation has been key to Fastenal’s six-digit percentage rally since its debut. The company’s managed inventory solutions, such as its internet-connected wireless vending machines and inventory tracking bins, help its clients save money and ensures that Fastenal has a good bead on the supply chain needs of its customers.

Interactive Brokers Group: up 44% YTD

However, the top-performer among stock-split stocks in 2025 is automated electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR 0.45%), which has rallied 44% YTD and 438% over the trailing half-decade.

Unlike O’Reilly Automotive and Fastenal, Interactive Brokers made history when it completed a 4-for-1 forward split before the opening bell on June 18. This marked its first split since becoming a public company in May 2007.

One of the top tailwinds for Interactive Brokers Group is the stock market being in an uptrend. When the S&P 500 is hitting new highs, investors have a tendency to want in on the action. This typically means trading more, adding more money to the platform, and potentially using margin. Bull markets for the S&P 500 often create an excellent operating environment for Interactive Brokers.

Another factor fueling this outperformance is the company’s investments in technology and automation. Though these investments came at a cost, they’re allowing Interactive Brokers to offer higher interest rates to customers on cash kept in their accounts, as well as lower borrowing rates for margin. These are attractive perks that are clearly resonating with investors.

The final piece of the puzzle is that every meaningful key performance indicator for Interactive Brokers is pointing significantly higher. During the June-ended quarter, customer accounts and customer equity on the platform jumped 32% and 34%, respectively, with daily active revenue trades (a measure of trading activity on the platform) climbing 49%! It’s not hard to see why Interactive Brokers Group is leading the way in 2025.

For much of the last 30 years, investors have had a next-big-thing innovation to captivate their attention. But in rare instances, two or more hyped trends can coexist. Though the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is the primary headline-grabber at the moment, investor euphoria surrounding stock splits in high-profile companies comes in a close second.

A stock split is an event that allows a publicly traded company to cosmetically adjust its share price and outstanding share count by the same factor. The “cosmetic” aspect of these changes has to do with stock splits having no effect on a company’s market cap or its underlying operations.

But although these changes are superficial, they’re often viewed very differently by investors on Wall Street. Reverse splits, which are designed to increase a company’s share price, are typically viewed as a situation to avoid by investors. Businesses that need to increase their share price are often doing so to avoid delisting from a major stock exchange and may be operating from a position of weakness.

Image source: Getty Images.

In comparison, investors almost always gravitate to companies announcing and completing forward splits. This type of split reduces the share price (and correspondingly increases the share count) to make it more nominally affordable for retail investors who can’t purchase fractional shares with their broker. Generally, if a business needs to reduce its share price to make it more “affordable” for everyday investors, it must be doing something right from an operating standpoint.

To date, three prominent companies have announced and completed a forward stock split in 2025. One of these high-flying stocks — which has gained just shy of 300% over the trailing-three-year period — is becoming the newest member of the benchmark S&P 500 (^GSPC 0.24%), effective as of the start of trading today, Aug. 28.

The newest member of the benchmark S&P 500 completed its first-ever stock split this year

The phenomenal business that’s forever changing the broad-based S&P 500 is automated electronic brokerage firm Interactive Brokers Group (IBKR -2.37%).

Unlike auto parts chain O’Reilly Automotive, which completed a 15-for-1 split in June, and Fastenal, which effected its ninth forward split in May since going public in 1987, Interactive Brokers had never completed a split. That changed when its 4-for-1 split was completed in mid-June.

The S&P 500, which consists of 500 of the largest (and generally profitable) public companies, tends to change a bit each year. Because of mergers and acquisitions, as well as poor stock performance, not all of the 500 components in the benchmark index stick around.

For instance, pharmacy chain Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA 0.55%) is being acquired by private equity firm Sycamore Partners in an all-cash deal, with a potential divested asset proceed right to come for remaining shareholders. While there’s no set closing date for the Walgreens deal, it’s expected to wrap up before the end of the year. This means it’s only a matter of time before the S&P 500 needs a new member.

Interactive Brokers Group checked all the right boxes to become the S&P 500’s newest entrant and replace Walgreens Boots Alliance. It handily surpasses the minimum market cap requirement of $22.7 billion, as of July 1, 2025, more than meets than minimum monthly trading volume requirements, and has been profitable over the trailing four quarters.

Entering the S&P 500 means index funds that attempt to mirror the performance of this broad-based index will be buying up shares of Interactive Brokers Group stock.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investing aggressively in automation has given Interactive Brokers an edge

However, entering the S&P 500 today represents just a short-term milestone for a company that’s been firing on all cylinders.

Without question, Interactive Brokers is a business that thrives off of the nonlinearity of stock market cycles. Though stock market corrections and bear markets are normal, healthy, and inevitable events on Wall Street, they’re historically short-lived.

Based on an analysis from Bespoke Investment Group that was published on X (formerly Twitter) in June 2023, the average S&P 500 bear market since the start of the Great Depression in September 1929 lasted only 286 calendar days, or less than 10 months.

On the other end of the spectrum, the typical S&P 500 bull market has endured 1,011 calendar days, or roughly 3.5 times longer. Bull markets tend to encourage investors to trade and put more money to work in the stock market, which is good news for online brokers.

But what’s really helped Interactive Brokers Group stand out is its investments in technology and automation, which have been targeted at retail investors.

Aggressively investing in its platform and emphasizing automation has lowered its operating expenses and allowed the company to be more competitive in other areas where it can lure/retain retail investors. For example, Interactive Brokers offers a higher interest rate on cash held in customer accounts than its competitors provide, and its margin loan rates are notably lower than its peers. It’s able to maintain these dangling carrots thanks to its prudent investments in automation.

Every key performance indicator (KPI) for Interactive Brokers is currently growing by a double-digit percentage from the prior-year period. As of the end of June, total customer accounts jumped 32% to 3.87 million from the comparable period last year, with customer equity rising 34% to nearly $665 billion. Perhaps most importantly, daily average revenue trades rose 49% to 3.55 million, which signals that its clients are trading more than ever before.

While a nearly 300% move higher for Interactive Brokers Group stock may merit a short breather at some point, the company’s KPIs point to additional long-term upside.