Try your own numbers
it would be worth today
$279.50
−$720.50 loss0.28x-23.6% a year
The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund: $1,723
Its shares paid about $2.90 in dividends over the last 12 months.
No tax on a loss. Selling can offset tax on other gains.
Growth Over Time
Performance Metrics
Total Invested
$1,000.00
Current Value
$279.50
Total Loss
−$720.50
Multiplier
0.28x
CAGR
-23.6%
Max Drawdown
-77.4%
Inflation-Adjusted
$250.95
Benchmark Comparison
How does $1,000.00 invested in 2022 compare across different asset classes?
| Asset | Value Today | Return |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal | $279.50 | 0.28x |
| S&P 500 | $1,723.35 | 1.72x |
| Gold | $2,296.99 | 2.30x |
| Savings (2% APY) | $1,098.50 | 1.10x |
Dividends
Over the last 12 months, the 5.19 shares you'd own now paid about $2.90 in dividends. That's 0.3% of the $1,000 put in.
Without reinvesting dividends, it would be worth $276.43 instead of $279.50.
Dividends from Yahoo Finance. Shares today assume every dividend was reinvested.
Back in 2022
- In March 2022, PayPal enabled accounts in Ukraine to receive money as well as send it, and waived fees on transfers to Ukrainian accounts. cnn.com
- In 2022, a gallon of gas averaged $3.95, a movie ticket averaged $10.53 and the new iPhone 14 Pro started at $999. eia.govapple.comindiewire.com
- During 2022 itself, PayPal fell 62%, #86 of the 112 investments we track. The best was Super Micro Computer (+84%); the worst was Solana (−94%). Full 2022 results →
$1,000 in PayPal, year by year
Of the 112 investments we track that were available at the start of 2022, PayPal ranks #102 by growth to today, in the bottom quarter — just behind Adobe and ahead of Lululemon. See the full 2022 ranking →
PayPal started 2022 16% below its start-of-2021 high, after falling 16% in 2021. It has been worth less than the $1,000 put in at every January since, and still is today. Its best January was 2025, at $442.09. Today it's 37% below that, so selling then would have beaten holding. It rose in 1 of the 4 full years since. It has trailed the same $1,000 in the S&P 500 at every January since, and still does. Month by month, the deepest fall ran from Jan 2022 ($1,000) to Jun 2026 ($225.71), a drop of 77%. At its lowest month-end, in Jun 2026, it was worth $225.71.
| When | Worth | Change | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2022 | $1,000 | — | $1,000 |
| Start of 2023 | $383 | −62% | $819 |
| Start of 2024 | $315 | −18% | $1,034 |
| Start of 2025 | $442 | +40% | $1,293 |
| Start of 2026 | $299 | −32% | $1,524 |
| Today | $280 | −6.5% | $1,723 |
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 2022, PayPal was priced at $192.79 (adjusted for later splits and dividends). $1,000 would have bought about 5.19 shares. PayPal runs online payments, including Venmo. It was spun off from eBay in July 2015.
Measured from one January to the next, PayPal's best year since then was 2024 (+40%) and its worst was 2022 (−62%). Holding on wasn't easy: between the start of 2022 and the start of 2026, the position fell 70% from its high.
Frequently Asked Questions
A $1,000 investment in PayPal at the start of 2022 would be worth approximately $279.50 today — a 0.28x return ($720.50 loss) over 4.7 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 2022 (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 of2022 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 PayPal, by year
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