Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$503.12
−$496.88 loss0.50x-11.3% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $2,218
Its shares paid about $4.90 in dividends over the last 12 months.
No tax on a loss. Selling can offset tax on other gains.
Growth Over Time
Performance Metrics
Total Invested
$1,000.00
Current Value
$503.12
Total Loss
−$496.88
Multiplier
0.50x
CAGR
-11.3%
Max Drawdown
-73.3%
Inflation-Adjusted
$418.09
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2021 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Alibaba | $503.12 | 0.50x |
| S&P 500 | $2,218.04 | 2.22x |
| Gold | $2,213.49 | 2.21x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,120.46 | 1.12x |
Dividends
Over the last 12 months, the 4.66 shares you'd own now paid about $4.90 in dividends. That's 0.5% of the $1,000 put in.
Without reinvesting dividends, it would be worth $473.49 instead of $503.12.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2021
- In April 2021, Chinese regulators fined Alibaba a record 18 billion yuan, about $2.75 billion, for violating anti-monopoly rules. techcrunch.com
- In 2021, a gallon of gas averaged $3.01 and the new iPhone 13 Pro started at $999. eia.govapple.com
- During 2021 itself, Alibaba fell 47%, #110 of the 111 investments we track. The best was Solana (+11,084%); the worst was Zoom (−49%). Full 2021 results →
$1,000 in Alibaba, year by year
Of the 111 investments we track that were available at the start of 2021, Alibaba ranks #99 by growth to today, in the bottom quarter — just behind Litecoin and ahead of Adobe. See the full 2021 ranking →
Alibaba started 2021 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 3.7% in 2020. It has been worth less than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Its best January was 2026, at $719.71. Today it's 30% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 2 of the 5 full years since. It has trailed the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at every January since, and still does. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Feb 2021 ($1,045) to Oct 2022 ($279.40), a drop of 73%. At its lowest month-end, in Oct 2022, it was worth $279.40.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2021 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2022 | $528 | −47% | $1,287 |
| Start of 2023 | $404 | −24% | $1,054 |
| Start of 2024 | $333 | −18% | $1,331 |
| Start of 2025 | $386 | +16% | $1,664 |
| Start of 2026 | $720 | +86% | $1,962 |
| Today | $503 | −30% | $2,218 |
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 2021, Alibaba was priced at $214.42 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 4.66 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 2025 (+86%) 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 2021 would be worth approximately $503.12 today — a 0.50x return ($496.88 loss) over 5.7 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 2021 (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 of2021 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.
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$1,000 in Alibaba, by year
$1,000 in Alibaba:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago