Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$17,055
+$16,055 profit17.1x30.2% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $4,503
Its shares paid about $96.31 in dividends over the last 12 months.
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$14,646
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
$17,054.65
Total Profit
$16,054.65
Multiplier
17.1x
CAGR
30.2%
Max Drawdown
-23.1%
Inflation-Adjusted
$12,555.57
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2016 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly | $17,054.65 | 17.1x |
| S&P 500 | $4,503.50 | 4.50x |
| Gold | $3,955.93 | 3.96x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,237.13 | 1.24x |
Dividends
Over the last 12 months, the 14.40 shares you'd own now paid about $96.31 in dividends (about $8.03 a month). That's 9.6% of the $1,000 put in.
Price growth alone turned $1,000 into $14,295; reinvested dividends added the other $2,759, 17% of the gain.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2016
- In July 2016, Lilly CEO John Lechleiter announced his retirement, and the board elected David Ricks to succeed him as chief executive from January 2017. sec.gov
- In 2016, a gallon of gas averaged $2.14, a movie ticket averaged $8.65 and the new iPhone 7 started at $649. eia.govapple.comdeadline.com
- During 2016 itself, Eli Lilly fell 7.6%, #79 of the 85 investments we track. The best was Ethereum (+778%); the worst was Palo Alto Networks (−26%). Full 2016 results →
$1,000 in Eli Lilly, year by year
Of the 85 investments we track that were available at the start of 2016, Eli Lilly ranks #14 by growth to today — just behind Super Micro Computer and ahead of Caterpillar. See the full 2016 ranking →
Eli Lilly started 2016 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 21% in 2015. It was worth less than the $1,000 put in at the start of 2017, and has been above it since the start of 2018. Today's $17,055 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 9 of the 10 full years since. It moved ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2019 and has stayed ahead since. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Aug 2024 ($13,630) to Aug 2025 ($10,480), a drop of 23%. At its lowest month-end, in Nov 2016, it was worth $831.71.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2016 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2017 | $924 | −7.6% | $1,120 |
| Start of 2018 | $1,077 | +16% | $1,364 |
| Start of 2019 | $1,497 | +39% | $1,304 |
| Start of 2020 | $1,762 | +18% | $1,715 |
| Start of 2021 | $2,250 | +28% | $2,030 |
| Start of 2022 | $3,751 | +67% | $2,613 |
| Start of 2023 | $5,107 | +36% | $2,140 |
| Start of 2024 | $8,367 | +64% | $2,702 |
| Start of 2025 | $11,065 | +32% | $3,379 |
| Start of 2026 | $15,479 | +40% | $3,983 |
| Today | $17,055 | +10% | $4,503 |
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 2016, Eli Lilly was priced at $69.46 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 14.40 shares. Eli Lilly makes medicines including diabetes and weight-loss drugs.
Measured from one January to the next, Eli Lilly's best year since then was 2021 (+67%) and its worst was 2016 (−7.6%).
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Eli Lilly at the start of 2016 would be worth approximately $17,054.65 today — a 17.1x return ($16,054.65 profit) over 10.7 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 2016 (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 of2016 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.
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$1,000 in Eli Lilly, by year
$1,000 in Eli Lilly:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago