Try your own numbers
The calculator buys at the start of a year, so its answer differs from the exact-date result above.
it would be worth today
$2,312
+$1,312 profit2.31x15.7% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $2,217
Its shares paid about $52.65 in dividends over the last 12 months.
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$2,115
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
$2,316.55
Total Profit
$1,316.55
Multiplier
2.32x
CAGR
18.3%
Max Drawdown
-40.0%
Inflation-Adjusted
$1,925.01
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested 5 years ago compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Merck | $2,316.55 | 2.32x |
| S&P 500 | $1,889.80 | 1.89x |
| Gold | $2,446.46 | 2.45x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,104.12 | 1.10x |
Dividends
Over the last 12 months, the 15.52 shares you'd own now paid about $52.76 in dividends (about $4.40 a month). That's 5.3% of the $1,000 put in.
Price growth alone turned $1,000 into $1,988; reinvested dividends added the other $328.54, 25% of the gain.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Historical Context
Merck is a pharmaceutical company whose products include the cancer drug Keytruda.
This page always measures from exactly 5 years before today, using that day's closing price (adjusted for later splits and dividends). The start date moves forward one day at a time, so the result updates daily.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Merck 5 years ago (on September 29, 2021) would be worth approximately $2,316.55 today — a 2.32x return ($1,316.55 profit) over 5.0 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 closing price exactly 5 years before today (the next trading day if markets were closed), held until today. The start date moves forward daily. No fees or taxes 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 of2021 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.
$1,000 in Merck, by year
$1,000 in Merck:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago