What was Alibaba's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2017?

Alibaba's CAGR from 2017 to September 2026 was 2.7% per year. For comparison, the S&P 500 has historically averaged around 10% annually. However, this came with substantially higher volatility and drawdown risk.

How does Alibaba compare to the S&P 500 since 2017?

The same $1,000 invested in an S&P 500 index fund in 2017 would be worth approximately $4,022.42 today. Alibaba underperformed the S&P 500 by $2,728.59.

How much of the Alibaba gain would you keep after taxes?

Sold today, the $293.84 gain would be a long-term capital gain for US federal tax. At the 15% rate most people pay, you'd keep about $1,249.76. At the top rate of 23.8% (20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax) you'd keep about $1,223.90, and lower incomes pay 0%. State tax is extra, and gains inside a Roth IRA aren't taxed.

What is the inflation-adjusted return on $1,000 in Alibaba since 2017?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2017, the real purchasing-power value of the Alibaba position is approximately $972.76 in 2017 dollars. After inflation, the investment has lost purchasing power compared with the original amount.

How did Alibaba perform in 2017?

Alibaba rose 107% during 2017, from $83.38 at the start of the year to $172.82 at the start of 2018.

What If You Invested $1,000 in Alibaba in 2017?

Try your own numbers

If I had putintoat the start of…

it would be worth today

$1,294

+$293.84 profit1.29x2.7% a year

The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $4,022

Its shares paid about $12.59 in dividends over the last 12 months.

Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$1,250

US federal long-term rates: 15% for most people, 0% on lower incomes, 20% + 3.8% on high incomes. No state tax included; none inside a Roth IRA.

Compare with

Growth Over Time

Performance Metrics

Total Invested

$1,000.00

Current Value

$1,293.84

Total Profit

$293.84

Multiplier

1.29x

CAGR

2.7%

Max Drawdown

-79.1%

Inflation-Adjusted

$972.76

Benchmark Comparison

How does $1,000.00 invested in 2017 compare across different asset classes?

Asset	Value Today	Return
Alibaba	$1,293.84	1.29x
S&P 500	$4,022.42	4.02x
Gold	$3,650.04	3.65x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,212.82	1.21x

Dividends

Over the last 12 months, the 11.99 shares you'd own now paid about $12.59 in dividends (about $1.05 a month). That's 1.3% of the $1,000 put in.

Price growth alone turned $1,000 into $1,218; reinvested dividends added the other $76.21, 26% of the gain.

Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.

Back in 2017

In November 2017, Alibaba set another Singles' Day record, selling over $25 billion of goods and handling 1.48 billion transactions in 24 hours. techcrunch.com
In 2017, a gallon of gas averaged $2.42, a movie ticket averaged $8.97 and the new iPhone X started at $999. eia.gov apple.com deadline.com
During 2017 itself, Alibaba rose 107%, #8 of the 87 investments we track. The best was XRP (+36,408%); the worst was AMC Entertainment (−54%). Full 2017 results →

$1,000 in Alibaba, year by year

Of the 87 investments we track that were available at the start of 2017, Alibaba ranks #81 by growth to today, in the bottom quarter — just behind PayPal and ahead of Boeing. See the full 2017 ranking →

Alibaba started 2017 14% below its start-of-2015 high, after rising 16% in 2016. It was worth less than the $1,000 put in at the start of 2024 and 2025, and has been above it since the start of 2026. Its best January was 2021, at $2,572. Today it's 50% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 5 of the 9 full years since. It fell behind the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2022 and hasn't caught up. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Oct 2020 ($3,443) to Oct 2022 ($718.52), a drop of 79%. At its lowest month-end, in Oct 2022, it was worth $718.52.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Start of 2017	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2018	$2,073	+107%	$1,218
Start of 2019	$1,543	−26%	$1,165
Start of 2020	$2,480	+61%	$1,532
Start of 2021	$2,572	+3.7%	$1,814
Start of 2022	$1,359	−47%	$2,334
Start of 2023	$1,038	−24%	$1,911
Start of 2024	$855	−18%	$2,414
Start of 2025	$993	+16%	$3,018
Start of 2026	$1,851	+86%	$3,557
Today	$1,294	−30%	$4,022

Values at the start of each year (first trading day for stocks). The S&P 500 column includes reinvested dividends, like the stock values.

Historical Context

At the start of 2017, Alibaba was priced at $83.38 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 11.99 shares. Alibaba runs China's largest e-commerce platforms. Its US shares listed in September 2014.

Measured from one January to the next, Alibaba's best year since then was 2017 (+107%) and its worst was 2021 (−47%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2021 and the start of 2024, the position fell 67% from its high.

Frequently Asked Questions

A $1,000 investment in Alibaba at the start of 2017 would be worth approximately $1,293.84 today — a 1.29x return ($293.84 profit) over 9.7 years.

Methodology & Sources

Price data: Historical prices are the closing price on the first trading day of each year, adjusted for splits and dividends (so returns assume dividends were reinvested), from Yahoo Finance and MacroTrends. Current prices come from Yahoo Finance and refresh hourly; if that source is unavailable, the last saved price is used.

Calculation: Assumes a single purchase at the start of 2017 (or the first trading day, for companies that listed that year), held until today. No transaction fees, taxes, or slippage are included.

Benchmarks: The S&P 500 comparison uses the S&P 500 Total Return index (dividends reinvested, like an index fund) at the start of2017 and today. Gold uses the price per troy ounce. Savings account assumes a 2% APY compounded annually.

Inflation adjustment: Uses U.S. CPI-U annual averages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 2026 CPI value is estimated.

Educational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Not financial advice.