What was Cloudflare's compound annual growth rate (CAGR) since 2019?

Cloudflare's CAGR from 2019 to September 2026 was 52.5% per year. For comparison, the S&P 500 has historically averaged around 10% annually. Cloudflare significantly outperformed traditional equity markets on an annualized basis.

How does Cloudflare compare to the S&P 500 since 2019?

The same $1,000 invested in an S&P 500 index fund in 2019 would be worth approximately $3,453.01 today. Cloudflare outperformed the index by $16,115.88 — 5.67x the return of the S&P 500.

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

Sold today, the $18,568.89 gain would be a long-term capital gain for US federal tax. At the 15% rate most people pay, you'd keep about $16,783.56. At the top rate of 23.8% (20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax) you'd keep about $15,149.49, 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 Cloudflare since 2019?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2019, the real purchasing-power value of the Cloudflare position is approximately $15,348.97 in 2019 dollars. Even after inflation, this is an extraordinary real return — inflation only marginally reduces gains of this magnitude.

How did Cloudflare perform in 2019?

Cloudflare fell 5.4% during 2019, from $18.00 on its first trading day to $17.03 at the start of 2020.

What If You Invested $1,000 in Cloudflare in 2019?

Q: Did Cloudflare pay dividends?

No. Cloudflare 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

$19,569

+$18,569 profit19.6x52.5% a year

The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $3,453

Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$16,784

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

$19,568.89

Total Profit

$18,568.89

Multiplier

19.6x

CAGR

52.5%

Max Drawdown

-77.5%

Inflation-Adjusted

$15,348.97

Benchmark Comparison

How does $1,000.00 invested in 2019 compare across different asset classes?

Asset	Value Today	Return
Cloudflare	$19,568.89	19.6x
S&P 500	$3,453.01	3.45x
Gold	$3,277.07	3.28x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,149.75	1.15x

Dividends

Cloudflare 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 2019

In August 2019, Cloudflare cut off service to the message board 8chan. techcrunch.com
In 2019, a gallon of gas averaged $2.60, a movie ticket averaged $9.16 and the new iPhone 11 Pro started at $999. eia.gov apple.com hollywoodreporter.com
From its first trading day to the end of 2019, Cloudflare fell 5.4%, #89 of the 100 investments we track. The best was Chainlink (+511%); the worst was Stellar (−60%). Full 2019 results →

$1,000 in Cloudflare, year by year

Of the 100 investments we track that were available at the start of 2019, Cloudflare ranks #9 by growth to today, near the top — just behind Ethereum and ahead of CrowdStrike. See the full 2019 ranking →

It was worth less than the $1,000 put in at the start of 2020, and has been above it since the start of 2021. Today's $19,569 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 5 of the 7 full years since. It moved ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2021 and has stayed ahead since. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Oct 2021 ($10,817) to Jun 2022 ($2,430), a drop of 78%. At its lowest month-end, in Oct 2019, it was worth $935.45.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Sep 13, 2019	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2020	$946	−5.4%	$1,315
Start of 2021	$4,144	+338%	$1,557
Start of 2022	$7,009	+69%	$2,004
Start of 2023	$2,390	−66%	$1,641
Start of 2024	$4,408	+84%	$2,072
Start of 2025	$6,252	+42%	$2,591
Start of 2026	$10,890	+74%	$3,054
Today	$19,569	+80%	$3,453

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

Cloudflare began trading on September 13, 2019 and closed its first day at $18.00 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 55.56 shares. Cloudflare runs a network that speeds up and protects websites. It went public in September 2019.

Measured from one January to the next, Cloudflare's best year since then was 2020 (+338%) and its worst was 2022 (−66%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, the position fell 66% from its high.

Frequently Asked Questions

A $1,000 investment in Cloudflare at the close of its first trading day (September 13, 2019) would be worth approximately $19,568.89 today — a 19.6x return ($18,568.89 profit) over 7.0 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 2019 (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 of2019 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.