What was Amazon's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2018?

Amazon's CAGR from 2018 to September 2026 was 17.7% 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 2018?

The same $1,000 invested in an S&P 500 index fund in 2018 would be worth approximately $3,300.00 today. Amazon outperformed the index by $849.20 — 1.26x the return of the S&P 500.

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

Sold today, the $3,149.20 gain would be a long-term capital gain for US federal tax. At the 15% rate most people pay, you'd keep about $3,676.82. At the top rate of 23.8% (20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax) you'd keep about $3,399.69, 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 2018?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2018, the real purchasing-power value of the Amazon position is approximately $3,195.90 in 2018 dollars. Inflation shrinks the gain, but the investment still grew faster than prices.

How did Amazon perform in 2018?

Amazon rose 29% during 2018, from $59.45 at the start of the year to $76.96 at the start of 2019.

What If You Invested $1,000 in Amazon in 2018?

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

$4,149

+$3,149 profit4.15x17.7% a year

The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $3,300

Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$3,677

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

$4,149.20

Total Profit

$3,149.20

Multiplier

4.15x

CAGR

17.7%

Max Drawdown

-52.1%

Inflation-Adjusted

$3,195.90

Benchmark Comparison

How does $1,000.00 invested in 2018 compare across different asset classes?

Asset	Value Today	Return
Amazon	$4,149.20	4.15x
S&P 500	$3,300.00	3.30x
Gold	$3,234.15	3.23x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,189.06	1.19x

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 2018

In January 2018, Amazon opened its first Amazon Go store to the public in Seattle. Cameras and AI track what shoppers take, so they walk out without a checkout. engadget.com
In 2018, a gallon of gas averaged $2.72, a movie ticket averaged $9.11 and the new iPhone XS started at $999. eia.gov apple.com hollywoodreporter.com
During 2018 itself, Amazon rose 29%, #11 of the 94 investments we track. The best was The Trade Desk (+150%); the worst was Cardano (−94%). Full 2018 results →

$1,000 in Amazon, year by year

Of the 94 investments we track that were available at the start of 2018, Amazon ranks #29 by growth to today — just behind Goldman Sachs and ahead of Meta. See the full 2018 ranking →

Amazon started 2018 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 58% in 2017. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $4,149 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 7 of the 8 full years since. It moved ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2024 and has stayed ahead since. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Nov 2021 ($2,950) to Dec 2022 ($1,413), a drop of 52%.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Start of 2018	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2019	$1,295	+29%	$956
Start of 2020	$1,596	+23%	$1,257
Start of 2021	$2,680	+68%	$1,489
Start of 2022	$2,866	+7.0%	$1,916
Start of 2023	$1,444	−50%	$1,569
Start of 2024	$2,522	+75%	$1,981
Start of 2025	$3,704	+47%	$2,477
Start of 2026	$3,810	+2.9%	$2,920
Today	$4,149	+8.9%	$3,300

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 2018, Amazon was priced at $59.45 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 16.82 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 2023 (+75%) 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 2018 would be worth approximately $4,149.20 today — a 4.15x return ($3,149.20 profit) over 8.7 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 2018 (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 of2018 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.