AAPL was at $667 in August 2012 - just over twice today's close.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/AAPL/apple/stock-splits
Invalid comparison.
The $667 close on 27 August 2012 was for
one 2012 share, the equivalent of
seven (7) post-split shares. The equivalent split-adjusted price was $96.53.
That's why financial sites post split-adjusted prices. Some include adjusted values that also include dividends.
Oh yeah, and tax agencies don't look at the absolute price either. If you buy one share of Company X at $100, it undergoes a 2-for-1 split and you sell at $60/share, you did not have a capital loss of $40. No sir, the IRS, FTB, etc. can do the math to figure out you actually had a capital gain of 20% per share.
Not taking into account stock splits is completely naïve.
Accounting for dividends is a bit more challenged for the feeble minded. If someone buys a share of stock at $100, holds it for eight years and gets $15 in dividend payments, the net out-of-pocket expense is $85 (ignoring taxes which are different for everyone). This is the basic explanation why Yahoo Finance's historic closing prices are adjusted for splits and there's a separate column for adjusted pricing accommodating splits
AND dividend payouts.
Either you know nothing about investing or you know nothing about taxes. Maybe both. Or maybe you're one of those technologists living in some imaginary bubble world.