What was Amazon's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2015?

Amazon's CAGR from 2015 to September 2026 was 26.6% per year. For comparison, the S&P 500 has historically averaged around 10% annually. Amazon significantly outperformed traditional equity markets on an annualized basis.

How does Amazon compare to the S&P 500 since 2015?

The same $1,000 invested in an S&P 500 index fund in 2015 would be worth approximately $4,565.82 today. Amazon outperformed the index by $11,449.09 — 3.51x the return of the S&P 500.

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

Sold today, the $15,014.91 gain would be a long-term capital gain for US federal tax. At the 15% rate most people pay, you'd keep about $13,762.67. At the top rate of 23.8% (20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax) you'd keep about $12,441.36, 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 Amazon since 2015?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2015, the real purchasing-power value of the Amazon position is approximately $11,642.74 in 2015 dollars. Even after inflation, this is an extraordinary real return — inflation only marginally reduces gains of this magnitude.

How did Amazon perform in 2015?

Amazon rose 106% during 2015, from $15.43 at the start of the year to $31.85 at the start of 2016.

What If You Invested $1,000 in Amazon in 2015?

Q: Did Amazon pay dividends?

No. Amazon paid no dividends over this period, so the whole return came from its share price.

Try your own numbers

If I had putintoat the start of…

it would be worth today

$16,015

+$15,015 profit16.0x26.6% a year

The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $4,566

Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$13,763

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

$16,014.91

Total Profit

$15,014.91

Multiplier

16.0x

CAGR

26.6%

Max Drawdown

-52.1%

Inflation-Adjusted

$11,642.74

Benchmark Comparison

How does $1,000.00 invested in 2015 compare across different asset classes?

Asset	Value Today	Return
Amazon	$16,014.91	16.0x
S&P 500	$4,565.82	4.57x
Gold	$3,548.31	3.55x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,261.85	1.26x

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 2015

In July 2015, Amazon held its first Prime Day. Members ordered 34.4 million items, about 398 per second, beating Amazon's biggest Black Friday in units sold. press.aboutamazon.com
In 2015, a gallon of gas averaged $2.43, a movie ticket averaged $8.43 and the new iPhone 6s started at $649 without a contract. eia.gov fonearena.com thewrap.com
During 2015 itself, Amazon rose 106%, #2 of the 82 investments we track. The best was Netflix (+121%); the worst was Chipotle (−34%). Full 2015 results →

$1,000 in Amazon, year by year

Of the 82 investments we track that were available at the start of 2015, Amazon ranks #13 by growth to today — just behind ASML and ahead of Netflix. See the full 2015 ranking →

Amazon started 2015 22% below its start-of-2014 high, after falling 22% in 2014. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $16,015 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 10 of the 11 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 ($11,370) to Dec 2022 ($5,447), a drop of 52%.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Start of 2015	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2016	$2,064	+106%	$1,014
Start of 2017	$2,442	+18%	$1,135
Start of 2018	$3,853	+58%	$1,383
Start of 2019	$4,988	+29%	$1,322
Start of 2020	$6,150	+23%	$1,739
Start of 2021	$10,326	+68%	$2,058
Start of 2022	$11,044	+7.0%	$2,649
Start of 2023	$5,562	−50%	$2,170
Start of 2024	$9,717	+75%	$2,740
Start of 2025	$14,272	+47%	$3,425
Start of 2026	$14,679	+2.9%	$4,038
Today	$16,015	+9.1%	$4,566

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 2015, Amazon was priced at $15.43 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 64.81 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 2015 would be worth approximately $16,014.91 today — a 16.0x return ($15,014.91 profit) over 11.7 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 2015 (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 of2015 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.