Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$36,816
+$35,816 profit36.8x24.0% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $9,362
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$31,444
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.
Growth Over Time
Performance Metrics
Total Invested
$1,000.00
Current Value
$36,816.42
Total Profit
$35,816.42
Multiplier
36.8x
CAGR
24.0%
Max Drawdown
-52.1%
Inflation-Adjusted
$24,630.86
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2010 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon | $36,816.42 | 36.8x |
| S&P 500 | $9,361.70 | 9.36x |
| Gold | $3,845.80 | 3.85x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,393.18 | 1.39x |
Dividends
Amazon paid no dividends over this period, so the whole return came from its share price.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2010
- In July 2010, Amazon said it was now selling more Kindle e-books than hardcover books: 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardcovers over the previous three months. press.aboutamazon.com
- In 2010, a gallon of gas averaged $2.78, a movie ticket averaged $7.89 and the new iPhone 4 started at $199 with a two-year contract. eia.govapple.comthewrap.com
- During 2010 itself, Amazon rose 37%, #13 of the 69 investments we track. The best was Netflix (+236%); the worst was Visa (−19%). Full 2010 results →
$1,000 in Amazon, year by year
Of the 69 investments we track that were available at the start of 2010, Amazon ranks #10 by growth to today — just behind Eli Lilly and ahead of Super Micro Computer. See the full 2010 ranking →
Amazon started 2010 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 146% in 2009. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $36,816 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 13 of the 16 full years since. It has been ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at every January since, and still is. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Nov 2021 ($26,172) to Dec 2022 ($12,537), a drop of 52%. At its lowest month-end, in Jun 2010, it was worth $815.37.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2010 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2011 | $1,375 | +37% | $1,151 |
| Start of 2012 | $1,336 | −2.8% | $1,175 |
| Start of 2013 | $1,921 | +44% | $1,363 |
| Start of 2014 | $2,970 | +55% | $1,804 |
| Start of 2015 | $2,303 | −22% | $2,051 |
| Start of 2016 | $4,754 | +106% | $2,080 |
| Start of 2017 | $5,624 | +18% | $2,329 |
| Start of 2018 | $8,873 | +58% | $2,837 |
| Start of 2019 | $11,487 | +29% | $2,713 |
| Start of 2020 | $14,164 | +23% | $3,567 |
| Start of 2021 | $23,781 | +68% | $4,223 |
| Start of 2022 | $25,434 | +7.0% | $5,435 |
| Start of 2023 | $12,809 | −50% | $4,451 |
| Start of 2024 | $22,378 | +75% | $5,621 |
| Start of 2025 | $32,869 | +47% | $7,027 |
| Start of 2026 | $33,806 | +2.9% | $8,283 |
| Today | $36,816 | +8.9% | $9,362 |
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 2010, Amazon was priced at $6.70 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 149 shares. Amazon runs the world's largest online store and Amazon Web Services (AWS), its cloud-computing business.
Measured from one January to the next, Amazon's best year since then was 2015 (+106%) and its worst was 2022 (−50%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, the position fell 50% from its high.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Amazon at the start of 2010 would be worth approximately $36,816.42 today — a 36.8x return ($35,816.42 profit) over 16.7 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 2010 (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 of2010 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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What If You Invested $1,000 in Tesla in 2010?
Apple · 2010
What If You Invested $1,000 in Apple in 2010?
Google · 2010
What If You Invested $1,000 in Google in 2010?
See how every stock and crypto ranked since 2010 →
$1,000 in Amazon, by year
$1,000 in Amazon:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago
Compare:Amazon vs GoogleNetflix vs AmazonAmazon vs S&P 500
Instead of…first Kindle (2007)