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

Disney's CAGR from 2018 to September 2026 was -0.0% per year. For comparison, the S&P 500 has historically averaged around 10% annually. However, this came with substantially higher volatility and drawdown risk.

How does Disney 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 $3,301.62 today. Disney underperformed the S&P 500 by $2,305.09.

What is the inflation-adjusted return on $1,000 in Disney since 2018?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2018, the real purchasing-power value of the Disney position is approximately $767.58 in 2018 dollars. After inflation, the investment has lost purchasing power compared with the original amount.

How did Disney perform in 2018?

Disney was roughly flat during 2018, from $105.42 at the start of the year to $104.38 at the start of 2019.

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

Try your own numbers

If I had putintoat the start of…

it would be worth today

$996.54

−$3.46 loss1.00x-0.0% a year

The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $3,302

Its shares paid about $14.23 in dividends over the last 12 months.

No tax on a loss. Selling can offset tax on other gains.

Compare with

Growth Over Time

Performance Metrics

Total Invested

$1,000.00

Current Value

$996.54

Total Loss

−$3.46

Multiplier

1.00x

CAGR

-0.0%

Max Drawdown

-57.1%

Inflation-Adjusted

$767.58

Benchmark Comparison

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

Asset	Value Today	Return
Disney	$996.54	1.00x
S&P 500	$3,301.62	3.30x
Gold	$3,224.25	3.22x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,189.06	1.19x

Dividends

Over the last 12 months, the 9.49 shares you'd own now paid about $14.23 in dividends (about $1.19 a month). That's 1.4% of the $1,000 put in.

Without reinvesting dividends, it would be worth $939.64 instead of $996.54.

Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.

Back in 2018

In April 2018, Disney launched ESPN+, a $4.99-a-month sports streaming service and its first streaming launch after taking control of BAMTech. techcrunch.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, Disney fell 1.0%, #38 of the 94 investments we track. The best was The Trade Desk (+150%); the worst was Cardano (−94%). Full 2018 results →

$1,000 in Disney, year by year

Of the 94 investments we track that were available at the start of 2018, Disney ranks #82 by growth to today, in the bottom quarter — just behind Lululemon and ahead of PayPal. See the full 2018 ranking →

Disney started 2018 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 7% in 2017. It's worth less than the $1,000 put in today; the last January it was above that was 2026. Its best January was 2021, at $1,634. Today it's 39% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 5 of the 8 full years since. It fell behind the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2022 and hasn't caught up. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Feb 2021 ($1,733) to Sep 2023 ($742.83), a drop of 57%. At its lowest month-end, in Sep 2023, it was worth $742.83.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Start of 2018	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2019	$990	−1.0%	$956
Start of 2020	$1,363	+38%	$1,257
Start of 2021	$1,634	+20%	$1,489
Start of 2022	$1,442	−12%	$1,916
Start of 2023	$818	−43%	$1,569
Start of 2024	$837	+2.3%	$1,981
Start of 2025	$1,032	+23%	$2,477
Start of 2026	$1,053	+2.1%	$2,920
Today	$997	−5.4%	$3,302

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, Disney was priced at $105.42 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 9.49 shares. Disney owns theme parks, film studios, ESPN and the Disney+ streaming service.

Measured from one January to the next, Disney's best year since then was 2019 (+38%) and its worst was 2022 (−43%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2021 and the start of 2023, the position fell 50% from its high.

Frequently Asked Questions

A $1,000 investment in Disney at the start of 2018 would be worth approximately $996.54 today — a 1.00x return ($3.46 loss) 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.