If You'd Put $1,000 Into Coca-Cola Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for NYCWFF)

Few companies have Coca-Cola's (KO) track record when it comes to returning cash to shareholders, but as a defensive dividend machine, KO stock hasn't been able to keep up with the broader market over the past couple of decades.

The Buy-rated Dow Jones stock remains one of Wall Street's favorite names in the consumer staples sector, but truly long-term shareholders would have been better off putting their cash in an S&P 500 index fund.