Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$12,992
+$11,992 profit13.0x24.4% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $4,566
Its shares paid about $33.12 in dividends over the last 12 months.
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$11,194
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
$12,992.49
Total Profit
$11,992.49
Multiplier
13.0x
CAGR
24.4%
Max Drawdown
-40.2%
Inflation-Adjusted
$9,445.46
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2015 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| $12,992.49 | 13.0x | |
| S&P 500 | $4,565.82 | 4.57x |
| Gold | $3,548.31 | 3.55x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,261.85 | 1.26x |
Dividends
Over the last 12 months, the 38.51 shares you'd own now paid about $33.12 in dividends (about $2.76 a month). That's 3.3% of the $1,000 put in.
Price growth alone turned $1,000 into $12,870; reinvested dividends added the other $122.13, 1% of the gain.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2015
- In August 2015, Google reorganized under a new parent company called Alphabet, with Larry Page as Alphabet's CEO and Sundar Pichai taking over as Google's CEO. techcrunch.com
- In 2015, a gallon of gas averaged $2.43, a movie ticket averaged $8.43 and the new iPhone 6s started at $649 without a contract. eia.govfonearena.comthewrap.com
- During 2015 itself, Google rose 42%, #7 of the 82 investments we track. The best was Netflix (+121%); the worst was Chipotle (−34%). Full 2015 results →
$1,000 in Google, year by year
Of the 82 investments we track that were available at the start of 2015, Google ranks #16 by growth to today — just behind Apple and ahead of Microsoft. See the full 2015 ranking →
Google started 2015 5.6% below its start-of-2014 high, after falling 5.6% in 2014. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $12,992 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 9 of the 11 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 Oct 2021 ($5,654) to Dec 2022 ($3,384), a drop of 40%. At its lowest month-end, in Jun 2015, it was worth $992.47.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2015 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2016 | $1,418 | +42% | $1,014 |
| Start of 2017 | $1,502 | +5.9% | $1,135 |
| Start of 2018 | $2,035 | +35% | $1,383 |
| Start of 2019 | $1,998 | −1.8% | $1,322 |
| Start of 2020 | $2,613 | +31% | $1,739 |
| Start of 2021 | $3,303 | +26% | $2,058 |
| Start of 2022 | $5,544 | +68% | $2,649 |
| Start of 2023 | $3,428 | −38% | $2,170 |
| Start of 2024 | $5,334 | +56% | $2,740 |
| Start of 2025 | $7,312 | +37% | $3,425 |
| Start of 2026 | $12,118 | +66% | $4,038 |
| Today | $12,992 | +7.2% | $4,566 |
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 2015, Google was priced at $25.97 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 38.51 shares. Alphabet is the parent company of Google, YouTube and Google Cloud. This page uses its Class C shares (GOOG).
Measured from one January to the next, Google's best year since then was 2021 (+68%) and its worst was 2022 (−38%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2023, the position fell 38% from its high.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Google at the start of 2015 would be worth approximately $12,992.49 today — a 13.0x return ($11,992.49 profit) over 11.7 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 2015 (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 of2015 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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