The Largest Single-Day Stock Gain Ever Recorded (And What Happened Next)

Huge single-day stock gains are rare and thrilling. It’s not unusual for stock traders to fantasize about participating in lightning-fast profits, and moonshot lore never ceases to fascinate investors.

On the other hand, stocks can go down just as fast as they went up and moonshot tales don’t always have happy endings. Still, it’s fun to think about gigantic one-day stock runners and in the end, there may be some important lessons to consider.

With all of that in mind, today I’m bringing you the largest single-day stock gain ever recorded (as far as I can tell, at least). For this discussion, I avoided penny stocks and focused on a recognizable company with longevity so we can find out what happened to the stock after the big rally.

An Unusual Time for a Melt-Up

Imagine, if you will, that it’s October of 2008 again. Stock markets in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere are melting down, not up.

Could the biggest single-day stock rally occur during this time? It is possible, under a specific set of circumstances. After all, when stocks get volatile, big swings can happen in both directions.

Amid the fear and chaos of October 2008, plenty of short sellers were betting against a famous German automaker. At the time, it surely seemed like a failsafe trade to short-sell shares of Volkswagen (OTC:VWAGY) as the global automotive industry struggled to find its footing.

In hindsight, it’s obvious that if traders are overwhelmingly positioned short on Volkswagen shares, they’re exposed to a potential short squeeze. Evidently, some of them were caught on the wrong side of the trade on one record-breaking day in 2008.

The Big Trigger

So, here’s what triggered the massive short squeeze. Porsche, another German automaker, disclosed plans to increase its stake in Volkswagen to 75%. Porsche had been accumulating Volkswagen shares since 2005 and had previously brought its stake up to 35%.

It was certainly a major vote of confidence as well as a source of capitalization from Porsche to Volkswagen at that time. While this didn’t guarantee that Volkswagen would recover, it was a step in the right direction.

And again, when stocks are extremely volatile, there can be supersized upswings even if the overall trend is to the downside. Most of all, a preponderance of short sellers can provide a setup for a breathtaking snap-back effect; this is especially true with single stocks, as opposed to entire indexes.

Short Sellers Run for the Exits

Thus, for a single day, the stars aligned for what today’s trades might call the “mother of all short squeezes.” Triggered by Porsche’s surprise announcement, Volkswagen stock short sellers ran for the exits and scrambled to cover their short positions.

The upshot was a mind-blowing rally in the Volkswagen share price. On October 28, 2008, Volkswagen’s European shares rallied as much as 93% or 485.01 euros to a previously unimaginable 1,005.01 euros.

The equivalent U.S. stock chart shows the rapid rise of VWAGY shares on that same day. For a hot minute, VWAGY stock peeked its head above $100, if you can believe it.

The chart doesn’t really do it justice, though. It was a “you had to be there” kind of experience as Volkswagen’s downtrodden shareholders seemed to get their long-awaited revenge against the naysayers and short sellers. This, then, must have been the glorious finale to the story of Volkswagen stock — right?

What Happened Next

Since we all have the benefit of hindsight in 2026, it’s not difficult to figure out what happened next. After the precipitous ascent, Volkswagen shares soon peaked and then plummeted.

The fall-off didn’t take long as Volkswagen’s share price was down 58% from the pinnacle in four days and 70% in a month. For U.S.-based investors, VGAWY stock topped out above $100 in October 2008 but currently trades near $12.

The losses may never be recovered, but hopefully some lessons can be learned. For one thing, there’s at least one notable precedent for the rise and fall of meme stocks like GameStop (NYSE:GME) and AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC).

Additionally, one-day stock-price melt-ups are practically impossible to anticipate. The Volkswagen example is instructive, as Porsche’s announcement came as a surprise.

Finally, a single day’s price movement doesn’t assure follow-through for the long term, or even the short term for that matter. It may be enjoyable to dream of quick gains similar to what happened with Volkswagen stock, but reality may have other, less appealing outcomes in store.