The Dow Jones Industrial Average began with an initial value of 40.94 in 1896.
Charles Dow first published the modern Dow average on May 26, 1896, using the stock prices of 12 industrial companies. The figure was a simple price average of those constituents, producing the opening historical level of 40.94. The index was designed to provide a compact measure of how a group of leading industrial shares was moving.
The original companies included American Cotton Oil, American Tobacco, Chicago Gas, General Electric, Laclede Gas, National Lead, North American, Tennessee Coal, U.S. Leather, and United States Rubber, along with two rail-related companies. General Electric is the only original member that later returned to the index after interruptions.
The Dow is price-weighted rather than market-capitalization-weighted. That means a stock’s share price, not the company’s total size, influences its movement. Today’s Dow level therefore cannot be compared with 40.94 as though it were a percentage or an unchanged raw average; stock splits, substitutions, and a special divisor preserve continuity over time.