Outside of technology giants like Nvidia and Apple, you may not have heard of many of the top 10 publicly traded companies that delivered the highest 25-year total return to their investors.

Take Decker's Outdoor Corporation, a global footwear, apparel and accessories company. While you may not recognize Decker's by name, you're likely familiar with its portfolio of brands which includes UGG, Hoka and Teva footwear.

The company was founded in 1973 and made its stock market debut 20 years later in October 1993 under the "DECK" ticker symbol priced around $1 per share.

A few years later, on October 22, 1999, its stock price had risen slightly to over $3. If you had invested $10,000 in the company at that time, your investment would be worth nearly $9 million as of October 22, per CNBC's calculations.

Nvidia has experienced meteoric growth in the value of its stock over the past quarter century as well. A $10,000 investment in Nvidia made 25 years ago would be worth a little over $32 million now.

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CNBC calculated how much a $10,000 investment made 25 years ago into the top 10 companies with the highest 25-year total return would be worth now, based on the October 22 closing share price for these companies. Here are the results:

1. Nvidia

• Total as of October 22: $32,003,017

2. Monster Beverage

• Total as of October 22: $11,125,621

3. Decker's Outdoor

• Total as of October 22: $8,962,901

4. Old Dominion Freight Line

• Total as of October 22: $3,893,711

5. Apple

• Total as of October 22: $3,701,395

6. Tractor Supply Co

• Total as of October 22: $2,884,374

7. NVR, Inc.

• Total as of October 22: $2,188,602

8. Fair Isaac Corporation (FICO)

• Total as of October 22: $2,067,319

9. ANSYS, Inc.

• Total as of October 22: $1,467,718

10. Tyler Technologies

• Total as of October 22: $1,378,494

Why it's still not the best idea to pick individual stocks

Regardless of whether you have $100 to invest or $10,000, most financial experts would advise against sinking that money into a single stock you've hand-picked yourself.

That's because the stock market is unpredictable. Any number of circumstances, from natural disasters to E. coli outbreaks, could lead to unexpected drops in a company's stock price. If your portfolio isn't diversified, a downturn in one company or sector risks dragging your overall portfolio performance down with it.

Luckily, a more hands-off approach tends to work well for people. Experts generally advise investing in low-cost index funds: They aim to mimic a market index such as the S&P 500, which tracks the performance of around 500 large publicly traded companies.

With this approach, you spread your money across a wide variety of stocks, including many of the companies mentioned, such as Nvidia, FICO and Monster Beverage.

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