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

Mastercard's CAGR from 2018 to September 2026 was 16.8% per year. For comparison, the S&P 500 has historically averaged around 10% annually. Mastercard significantly outperformed traditional equity markets on an annualized basis.

How does Mastercard 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 $3,300.00 today. Mastercard outperformed the index by $598.32 — 1.18x the return of the S&P 500.

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

Sold today, the $2,898.32 gain would be a long-term capital gain for US federal tax. At the 15% rate most people pay, you'd keep about $3,463.57. At the top rate of 23.8% (20% plus the 3.8% net investment income tax) you'd keep about $3,208.52, 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 Mastercard since 2018?

Adjusted for cumulative US inflation since 2018, the real purchasing-power value of the Mastercard position is approximately $3,002.66 in 2018 dollars. Inflation shrinks the gain, but the investment still grew faster than prices.

How did Mastercard perform in 2018?

Mastercard rose 26% during 2018, from $144.57 at the start of the year to $181.55 at the start of 2019.

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

Try your own numbers

If I had putintoat the start of…

it would be worth today

$3,898

+$2,898 profit3.90x16.8% a year

The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $3,300

Its shares paid about $23.31 in dividends over the last 12 months.

Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$3,464

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

$3,898.32

Total Profit

$2,898.32

Multiplier

3.90x

CAGR

16.8%

Max Drawdown

-26.2%

Inflation-Adjusted

$3,002.66

Benchmark Comparison

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

Asset	Value Today	Return
Mastercard	$3,898.32	3.90x
S&P 500	$3,300.00	3.30x
Gold	$3,234.15	3.23x
Savings (2% APY)	$1,189.06	1.19x

Dividends

Over the last 12 months, the 6.92 shares you'd own now paid about $23.31 in dividends (about $1.94 a month). That's 2.3% of the $1,000 put in.

Price growth alone turned $1,000 into $3,710; reinvested dividends added the other $188.29, 6.5% of the gain.

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

Back in 2018

In August 2018, Bloomberg reported that Google had paid Mastercard millions of dollars for U.S. purchase data to track whether online ads led to in-store sales. theverge.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, Mastercard rose 26%, #13 of the 94 investments we track. The best was The Trade Desk (+150%); the worst was Cardano (−94%). Full 2018 results →

$1,000 in Mastercard, year by year

Of the 94 investments we track that were available at the start of 2018, Mastercard ranks #31 by growth to today — just behind Meta and ahead of JPMorgan. See the full 2018 ranking →

Mastercard started 2018 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 45% in 2017. It has been worth more than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Today's $3,898 is more than it was worth at any January since. It rose in 7 of the 8 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 Jan 2022 ($2,601) to Sep 2022 ($1,920), a drop of 26%.

When	Worth	Change	S&P 500
Start of 2018	$1,000	—	$1,000
Start of 2019	$1,256	+26%	$956
Start of 2020	$2,019	+61%	$1,257
Start of 2021	$2,352	+16%	$1,489
Start of 2022	$2,494	+6.1%	$1,916
Start of 2023	$2,346	−6.0%	$1,569
Start of 2024	$2,871	+22%	$1,981
Start of 2025	$3,575	+25%	$2,477
Start of 2026	$3,876	+8.4%	$2,920
Today	$3,898	+0.6%	$3,300

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, Mastercard was priced at $144.57 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 6.92 shares. Mastercard runs a global card-payment network.

Measured from one January to the next, Mastercard's best year since then was 2019 (+61%) and its worst was 2022 (−6.0%).

Frequently Asked Questions

A $1,000 investment in Mastercard at the start of 2018 would be worth approximately $3,898.32 today — a 3.90x return ($2,898.32 profit) 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.