Crown Holding (CCK) traded below a dollar in December 2001 for a few days and is now at $26. I thought about buying 500 shares then…

What you are asking is a bit disingenuous.

Forget the PPS.

Look to the market caps of HD Intel MSFT in their early years.

Some of them had penny stock market caps during their formative years.
Many of these penny stock market cap companies which later became Dow components had zero earnings, and minimal revenue- during their formative years.
But they were able to sell stock a decent valuation in order to grow.

It isn’t the pps it is the market cap- reverse split almost any penny stock and it could trade for dollars per share- but brutal naked short selling of penny stocks doesn’t let these companies sell stock at a decent valuation (as their forebears) were able to do- so it has become that much harder for the penny stock market cap companies of today to reach the next step in their evolution.

Well, Zapata Corp was founded by our current president, so almost by definition it’s an important company (of course, it is STILL a penny stock).

Mr. Norris as I said earlier.

Price per share doesn’t matter- what does matter is that Intel, Home Depot and a whole slew of other companies had penny stock market caps during their most formative years.

How did the unprofitable intel startup grow from a penny stock market cap company into one of the largest market caps on earth?

Would they have been able to accomplish that feat today?
With massive naked short selling of virtually all unprofitable (penny stock) market caps companies in today’s day in age- I would say Intel HD and MSFT would never have made it if they launched today.

Learn this- understand it.

Years ago small public companies became large public companies because naked short selling hedge funds did not target them for destruction- in today’s market place most small maket cap companies are not given the chance to see their potential through.

Although not an American Company and may not fit your request exactly, the transformation of Hurricane Hydrocarbons is a good story. They were listed on the Toronto NASDAQ in the late 1980s under the symbol HHLF with very little in the way of assets and production. With the break up of the Soviet Union, the company went to Kazakhstan to seek out exploration and development opportunities. Unfortunately, by 1999 they had to seek bankruptcy court protection. Bernard Isautier took over management of the company and made some strategic moves such as renegotiating contracts with the Kazakh Government. The price of crude increased over this period which benefited the company as well. In 2003 the company was renamed Petrokazakhstan (NYSE ADR: PKZ), and was ultimately sold to China National Petroleum for US$4.14 billion in 2005. (I think share price went from $0.27 to $55.00 - bankruptcy to buyout).

telefono de mexico was a Penny Stock also Home depo.Many Companies at one time were a Penny Stock

Floyd Norris replies: My question referred to United States companies, so I did not look up the Mexican phone company. But Home Depot never was a penny stock. Historic stock charts make it look that way because of all the subsequent splits. I am still waiting for a real American company that became large and successful after being a penny stock.

K-mart

K-mart was a pennt stock around 3-4 years ago. They were eventually bought out and later became a fifteen dollar stock.