As we start off the new year, HowMuch.net suggests that we look back to the stock market of the past decade to assess which companies brought the greatest return to long-term investors. In a thought experiment with MSN, they analyzed America's top 15 companies and imagined where an initial investment of $1,000 in 2007 would leave investors in 2017. In the included chart, the blue circle represents that initial investment and the pink circle represents worth today.

Bottoming out the list is General Electric (GE  ), where a $1,000 investment in 2007 would yield only about $858 today. With 2007 shares at $38.87 and 2017 shares at $24.55, it is the only "top" company on the list that yielded a negative return over the past 10 years. Number 14 is biopharmaceutical company Pfizer (PFE  ), which would have brought investors $1,772.35 today based on a 2007 share price of $24.84 and a 2017 share price of $33.92. Next at number 13 comes Coca-Cola (KO  ), with stocks worth $2,095.80 today and an average annualized return at 7.68%, promising evidence of growth for the 125-year-old beverage company.

© badboo / bigstockphoto.com

The world's biggest retailer, Walmart (WMT  ), is the 12th top company, with an average annualized return of 8%. Stocks in 2007 were priced at $43.63, but would cost around $78 today, bringing in $2,158.92 for our imagined $1,000 investment. Shipping giant FedEx (FDX  ) is the 11th company, and its high-priced 2007 shares of $109.68 have nearly doubled today, with a total return of $2,026.78 on that initial investment. 10th is Microsoft (MSFT  ), with its average annualized return of 7.32% over the past 10 years. The investors who betted on this major technology company at the time would earn $2,893.60 today.

Despite a major 2016 hit due to public outrage over the company's steep price hikes for the life-saving allergic reaction treatment EpiPen, number 9, Mylan NV (MYL  ), still makes the list. The company would have returned $2,089.97 on the initial investment, at an average annualized return of 7.65%. Number 8 top company, McDonalds (MCD  ), fared even better, with $3,836 today. In spite of some recent woes, their 2007 share price of $49.25 has jumped to $159.97 today. Similarly, number 7, The Walt Disney Company (DIS  ), the massive media conglomerate, would now yield $3,273.

© lzf / bigstockphoto.com

For the number 6 company, Alphabet (GOOGL  ), best known as the holding company for tech giant Google, $1,000 would have returned $2,940.78. Nike (NKE  ), the sports apparel leader and innovator in the 5th position, would be worth $4,091 today to the 2007 investor. Starbucks (SBUX  ), in fourth place, would have transformed $1,000 into $4,283.83.

The top three companies stand out for their growth in the bull market and expansive offerings in service, content, and consumer products. Apple (AAPL  ), grew up $19.78 a share to $164 a share over the last decade, producing a satisfying return of $8,818.81. In 2007, Amazon (AMZN  ) shares were priced at $79.91 and today are on the market for a whopping $980.60, transforming the initial investment to $12,246.65.

And finally, Netflix (NFLX  ), the crown gem of this list. Netflix exceeded all investor expectations, with whopping average annualized return of 52.90% this decade. If you'd invested $1,000 into the 2007 stock at $2.50 a share, you would be holding onto shares worth $69,835.28 today.