Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$51,449
+$50,449 profit51.4x26.5% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $9,366
Its shares paid about $165.11 in dividends over the last 12 months.
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$43,881
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
$51,448.60
Total Profit
$50,448.60
Multiplier
51.4x
CAGR
26.5%
Max Drawdown
-39.5%
Inflation-Adjusted
$34,420.06
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2010 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | $51,448.60 | 51.4x |
| S&P 500 | $9,366.30 | 9.37x |
| Gold | $3,833.21 | 3.83x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,393.17 | 1.39x |
Dividends
Over the last 12 months, the 156 shares you'd own now paid about $165.11 in dividends (about $13.76 a month). That's 17% of the $1,000 put in.
Price growth alone turned $1,000 into $43,088; reinvested dividends added the other $8,360, 17% of the gain.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2010
- In April 2010, the iPad went on sale and Apple sold more than 300,000 in the U.S. on its first day, while buyers downloaded over one million apps. apple.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, Apple rose 54%, #9 of the 69 investments we track. The best was Netflix (+236%); the worst was Visa (−19%). Full 2010 results →
$1,000 in Apple, year by year
Of the 69 investments we track that were available at the start of 2010, Apple ranks #8 by growth to today — just behind ASML and ahead of Eli Lilly. See the full 2010 ranking →
Apple started 2010 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 136% in 2009. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $51,449 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 Sep 2012 ($3,130) to Jun 2013 ($1,892), a drop of 40%. At its lowest month-end, in Feb 2010, it was worth $955.89.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2010 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2011 | $1,539 | +54% | $1,151 |
| Start of 2012 | $1,921 | +25% | $1,175 |
| Start of 2013 | $2,587 | +35% | $1,363 |
| Start of 2014 | $2,673 | +3.3% | $1,804 |
| Start of 2015 | $3,776 | +41% | $2,051 |
| Start of 2016 | $3,699 | −2.0% | $2,080 |
| Start of 2017 | $4,170 | +13% | $2,329 |
| Start of 2018 | $6,283 | +51% | $2,837 |
| Start of 2019 | $5,847 | −6.9% | $2,713 |
| Start of 2020 | $11,288 | +93% | $3,567 |
| Start of 2021 | $19,623 | +74% | $4,223 |
| Start of 2022 | $27,768 | +42% | $5,435 |
| Start of 2023 | $19,192 | −31% | $4,451 |
| Start of 2024 | $28,645 | +49% | $5,621 |
| Start of 2025 | $37,812 | +32% | $7,027 |
| Start of 2026 | $42,098 | +11% | $8,283 |
| Today | $51,449 | +22% | $9,366 |
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, Apple was priced at $6.42 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 156 shares. Apple makes the iPhone, Mac and iPad and sells services such as the App Store, iCloud and Apple Music.
Measured from one January to the next, Apple's best year since then was 2019 (+93%) and its worst was 2022 (−31%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, the position fell 31% from its high.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Apple at the start of 2010 would be worth approximately $51,448.60 today — a 51.4x return ($50,448.60 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.
Other investments from 2010
NVIDIA · 2010
What If You Invested $1,000 in NVIDIA in 2010?
Tesla · 2010
What If You Invested $1,000 in Tesla in 2010?
Amazon · 2010
What If You Invested $1,000 in Amazon 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 Apple, by year
$1,000 in Apple:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago
Compare:Bitcoin vs AppleTesla vs AppleNVIDIA vs AppleApple vs MicrosoftApple vs S&P 500
Instead of…first iPhone (2007)iPhone 4 (2010)first iPad (2010)Apple Watch (2015)AirPods (2016)