Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$27,539
+$26,539 profit27.5x23.4% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $8,140
Aftertax on the gain, you’d keep$23,558
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
$27,539.22
Total Profit
$26,539.22
Multiplier
27.5x
CAGR
23.4%
Max Drawdown
-79.9%
Inflation-Adjusted
$18,998.68
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2011 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| Netflix | $27,539.22 | 27.5x |
| S&P 500 | $8,140.12 | 8.14x |
| Gold | $2,956.51 | 2.96x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,365.87 | 1.37x |
Dividends
Netflix paid no dividends over this period, so the whole return came from its share price.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2011
- In September 2011, CEO Reed Hastings announced Netflix would split off its DVD-by-mail service under a new name, Qwikster, keeping the Netflix brand for streaming. techcrunch.com
- In 2011, a gallon of gas averaged $3.52, a movie ticket averaged $7.93 and the new iPhone 4S started at $199 with a two-year contract. eia.govapple.comthewrap.com
- During 2011 itself, Netflix fell 60%, the worst of the 71 investments we track. The best was Bitcoin (+1,657%). Full 2011 results →
$1,000 in Netflix, year by year
Of the 71 investments we track that were available at the start of 2011, Netflix ranks #12 by growth to today — just behind Mastercard and ahead of Amazon. See the full 2011 ranking →
Netflix started 2011 at its highest start-of-year price up to then, after rising 236% in 2010. It was worth less than the $1,000 put in at the start of 2012 and 2013, and has been above it since the start of 2014. Its best January was 2026, at $35,682. Today it's 23% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 12 of the 15 full years since. It moved ahead of the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at the start of 2014 and has stayed ahead since. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from May 2011 ($1,515) to Sep 2012 ($304.62), a drop of 80%. At its lowest month-end, in Sep 2012, it was worth $304.62.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2011 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2012 | $404 | −60% | $1,021 |
| Start of 2013 | $514 | +27% | $1,185 |
| Start of 2014 | $2,031 | +295% | $1,568 |
| Start of 2015 | $1,953 | −3.9% | $1,783 |
| Start of 2016 | $4,314 | +121% | $1,808 |
| Start of 2017 | $5,000 | +16% | $2,024 |
| Start of 2018 | $7,886 | +58% | $2,465 |
| Start of 2019 | $10,498 | +33% | $2,357 |
| Start of 2020 | $12,933 | +23% | $3,100 |
| Start of 2021 | $20,506 | +59% | $3,670 |
| Start of 2022 | $23,427 | +14% | $4,723 |
| Start of 2023 | $11,569 | −51% | $3,868 |
| Start of 2024 | $18,373 | +59% | $4,885 |
| Start of 2025 | $34,773 | +89% | $6,107 |
| Start of 2026 | $35,682 | +2.6% | $7,199 |
| Today | $27,539 | −23% | $8,140 |
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 2011, Netflix was priced at $2.55 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 392 shares. Netflix is a subscription streaming service that started out renting DVDs by mail.
Measured from one January to the next, Netflix's best year since then was 2013 (+295%) and its worst was 2011 (−60%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2011 and the start of 2012, the position fell 60% from its high.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in Netflix at the start of 2011 would be worth approximately $27,539.22 today — a 27.5x return ($26,539.22 profit) over 15.7 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 2011 (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 of2011 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.
Other investments from 2011
Bitcoin · 2011
What If You Invested $1,000 in Bitcoin in 2011?
NVIDIA · 2011
What If You Invested $1,000 in NVIDIA in 2011?
Tesla · 2011
What If You Invested $1,000 in Tesla in 2011?
Apple · 2011
What If You Invested $1,000 in Apple in 2011?
See how every stock and crypto ranked since 2011 →
$1,000 in Netflix, by year
$1,000 in Netflix:1 year ago5 years ago10 years ago
Compare:Netflix vs Amazon