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Years of
Investor's Business Daily
Here’s a look back at IBD’s last four decades of helping individual investors make more money in the stock market.
The Founder:
William J. O’Neil
The story of IBD starts with William J. O’Neil, a man from humble beginnings with a true entrepreneurial spirit.
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O’Neil’s intrigue with the world of business and stocks set him on his path to becoming a stockbroker.
As a young and curious broker, he asked himself, “Who’s really doing great in this field?” Through his research, O’Neil established how important it is for investors to incorporate both fundamental and technical analysis when evaluating stocks.
A data-driven mindset and natural knack for finding top stocks made O’Neil hugely successful early in his career. In just over a year, he managed to turn $5,000 worth of investments into over $200,000 of profits (that’s over $2 million in today’s dollars).
1960s
Sharing His Knowledge and The IBD Methodology
O’Neil didn’t want to keep his unique approach to stock analysis a secret—he wanted to share with others.
In the early 1960s, O’Neil continued to explore what made stocks successful and landed on a combination of technical and fundamental factors. He found that the best-performing stocks of all time shared seven traits. Today, those seven traits form the foundation of The IBD Methodology—a method that provides investors a blueprint for identifying the best stocks to buy and watch.
"The first product I created was a chart that not only has all the price and volume, but it has all the fundamentals, the sales, their earnings, the return on equity…I put it all in one place where you could look at one and see all these variables. And nobody else had done it that way."
– Bill O’Neil
The Beginning of IBD
1980s
In the early 1980s, O’Neil found most financial newspapers and magazines forced readers to sift through pages of irrelevant information without zeroing in on the strongest stocks. With a giant database of stock market data and a time-tested system for selecting stocks, O’Neil set out to create a publication by investors and for investors.
“You don’t need a lot of money to get started—just get in and get your feet wet and make some decisions.”
– Bill O’Neil
1984
In 1984, he founded Investor's Business Daily (originally named Investor's Daily) with a simple mission: to help investors of all experience levels make more money in the market.
2000
To keep up with the digital age and provide subscribers with the most up-to-the-minute data possible, IBD launched investors.com in 2000. Since then, the site has become a place for investors to find exclusive stock lists and ratings, keep up with the latest market news and further their knowledge with a wealth of educational resources.
The Evolution of IBD
Over the last decade, Investor's Business Daily has undergone a massive digital transformation, creating a full suite of products made for every type of investor.
IBD Products Over the Years
Click arrows to learn more
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IBD Weekly (2016)
In 2016, IBD's transformation continued as we shifted our daily print newspaper production to a weekly schedule in order to focus more resources on digital products.
MarketSurge (2024)
This year, MarketSmith surged into a new era with a new name—MarketSurge. With its updated infrastructure, the platform is now better than ever before. We also added powerful upgrades and features, including David Ryan’s Ants Indicator and the Earnings Line.
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IBD Live (2019)
IBD took another step toward Bill O’Neil’s goal of helping investors everywhere find success in the market with the launch of IBD Live in 2019. This interactive broadcast is perfect for investors who want real-time stock analysis and actionable trade ideas straight from IBD’s team of experts.
MarketDiem (2022)
In 2022, IBD launched a daily newsletter to help retail investors seize opportunities in the market. This newsletter distinguishes itself with its blend of high-quality trade ideas for stocks and options, all packaged into a digestible 5-minute read. Beyond that, MarketDiem is designed to educate, aligning with IBD’s mission to give investors a competitive edge in the market.
SwingTrader (2016)
IBD started looking for a way to help traders capture gains in spite of the volatile market conditions of the time.
Rooted in the principles of the CAN SLIM Investing System, SwingTrader leverages IBD’s experts to help traders take advantage of short-term price movements.
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MarketSmith (acquired in 2016)
MarketSmith was the premier charting platform for investors looking to level up their trading. This pro-grade interactive stock research platform, which was acquired in 2016, was the tool of choice for top traders like Mark Minervini and David Ryan.
Leaderboard (2011)
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Leaderboard was engineered to significantly shorten the learning curve by providing busy investors with everything they need to trade like experts.
What sets Leaderboard apart is its team of expert analysts who do the stock research for you, providing subscribers with stock picks and full trading plans.
Leaderboard
(2011)
SwingTrader
(2016)
MarketSmith
(acquired in 2016)
IBD Weekly
(2016)
IBD Live
(2019)
MarketDiem
(2022)
MarketSurge
(2024)
All of IBD’s products aim to fulfill the mission outlined by William O’Neil when he started IBD: giving investors everywhere access to the resources they need to achieve success in the stock market.
As part of that mission, IBD provides an array of educational content and resources designed to enhance your trading skills. These include:
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Interactive webinars covering a range of timely investing topics, from market analysis to deep dives into specific investing strategies
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Live and virtual events featuring IBD’s experts and special guest speakers from the world of trading
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Complimentary product coaching to help our members get the most out of their subscriptions
Joining the Dow Jones Family
2021
In May of 2021 IBD entered an exciting chapter in its history when it officially joined the News Corp and Dow Jones family of companies alongside brands like The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch.
Throughout years of transformation, Bill O’Neil’s vision for the company remains our north star: To democratize investing and help individual investors along the path to financial freedom through trusted research and education.