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

Datadog's CAGR from 2019 to September 2026 was 32.3% per year. For comparison, the S&P 500 has historically averaged around 10% annually. Datadog significantly outperformed traditional equity markets on an annualized basis.

How does Datadog 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. Datadog outperformed the index by $3,699.05 — 2.07x the return of the S&P 500.

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

Sold today, the $6,152.06 gain would be a long-term capital gain for US federal tax. At the 15% rate most people pay, you'd keep about $6,229.25. At the top rate of 23.8% (20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax) you'd keep about $5,687.87, 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 Datadog since 2019?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2019, the real purchasing-power value of the Datadog position is approximately $5,609.76 in 2019 dollars. Even after inflation, this is an extraordinary real return — inflation only marginally reduces gains of this magnitude.

How did Datadog perform in 2019?

Datadog fell 2.3% during 2019, from $37.55 on its first trading day to $36.70 at the start of 2020.

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

Q: Did Datadog pay dividends?

No. Datadog 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

$7,152

+$6,152 profit7.15x32.3% a year

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

Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$6,229

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

$7,152.06

Total Profit

$6,152.06

Multiplier

7.15x

CAGR

32.3%

Max Drawdown

-62.2%

Inflation-Adjusted

$5,609.76

Benchmark Comparison

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

Asset	Value Today	Return
Datadog	$7,152.06	7.15x
S&P 500	$3,453.01	3.45x
Gold	$3,277.07	3.28x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,149.38	1.15x

Dividends

Datadog 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 September 2019, Datadog completed its initial public offering, selling 27.6 million shares and listing on the Nasdaq under the symbol DDOG. sec.gov
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, Datadog fell 2.3%, #88 of the 100 investments we track. The best was Chainlink (+511%); the worst was Stellar (−60%). Full 2019 results →

$1,000 in Datadog, year by year

Of the 100 investments we track that were available at the start of 2019, Datadog ranks #23 by growth to today — just behind GameStop and ahead of Google. 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 $7,152 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 4 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 Nov 2021 ($4,747) to Apr 2023 ($1,794), a drop of 62%. At its lowest month-end, in Oct 2019, it was worth $894.37.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Sep 19, 2019	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2020	$977	−2.3%	$1,315
Start of 2021	$2,430	+149%	$1,557
Start of 2022	$4,363	+80%	$2,004
Start of 2023	$1,920	−56%	$1,641
Start of 2024	$3,065	+60%	$2,072
Start of 2025	$3,825	+25%	$2,591
Start of 2026	$3,562	−6.9%	$3,054
Today	$7,152	+101%	$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

Datadog began trading on September 19, 2019 and closed its first day at $37.55 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 26.63 shares. Datadog sells cloud monitoring software. It went public in September 2019.

Measured from one January to the next, Datadog's best year since then was 2020 (+149%) and its worst was 2022 (−56%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, the position fell 56% from its high.

Frequently Asked Questions

A $1,000 investment in Datadog at the close of its first trading day (September 19, 2019) would be worth approximately $7,152.06 today — a 7.15x return ($6,152.06 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.