ETFs / GLD
What If You Had Invested in GLD 10 Years Ago?
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
GLD $375.49 ▲ +0.81% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in GLD in November 2016, today it would be worth
$3,360
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into GLD since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$133,497
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
GLD live price chart
GLD returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | -3.2% | -3.2% | $968 | +8.4% |
| 3 years | +98.9% | +25.8% | $1,989 | +18.5% |
| 5 years | +126.9% | +17.8% | $2,269 | +11.5% |
| 10 years | +236.0% | +12.9% | $3,360 | +14.6% |
| 20 years | +483.1% | +9.2% | $5,831 | +10.6% |
| Since 2004 | +732.2% | +10.1% | $8,322 | — |
GLD year by year
Best full year: 2025 (+63.7%). Worst: 2013 (-28.3%).
| Year | GLD | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | -5.3% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +63.7% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +26.7% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +12.7% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -0.8% | -18.2% | |
| 2021 | -4.1% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +24.8% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +17.9% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | -1.9% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +12.8% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +8.0% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | -10.7% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | -2.2% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | -28.3% | +32.3% | Gold fell sharply as the economy recovered and the Fed signaled less stimulus. |
| 2012 | +6.6% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +9.6% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +29.3% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +24.0% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | +4.9% | -36.8% | Gold held up and then climbed as investors looked for safety during the financial crisis. |
| 2007 | +30.5% | +5.1% |
GLD: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 2004 (253 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 178 (70%). The lump sum usually won, but roughly one start in 3 favored spreading it out. The best case for monthly investing was a start in January 2013, when it finished the year 21% ahead.
Worst drop
GLD's worst fall in this history was -42.9%, a deep bear-market fall, from August 2011 to December 2015. Getting back to the old high took until July 2020: 55 months from the bottom and 8.9 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $571 at the low.
About GLD
| Issuer | State Street (World Gold Trust Services) |
| Launched | November 2004 |
| Tracks | Price of gold bullion |
| Expense ratio | 0.40% |
| Holdings | Gold bars held in vaults in London |
Fund details as of 2025. Check the issuer for the current expense ratio and holdings.
GLD holds physical gold, so its price follows gold minus the fund's fee. It pays no dividends: all of the return is the change in the gold price.
Gold tends to do well when real interest rates fall or when investors are nervous, and it can go nowhere for years otherwise. It went roughly sideways from 2011 to 2019 before rising again.
In the U.S., gains on GLD are taxed at the collectibles rate of up to 28%, not the usual long-term capital gains rate.
Questions about GLD
How much would $10,000 invested in GLD 20 years ago be worth today?
About $58,315 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 483.1% in total, or 9.2% a year.
Does GLD pay a dividend?
No. GLD has never paid a dividend, so all of its return is the price.
Did GLD beat the S&P 500?
No. Over the last 20 years it trailed by 1.4 percentage points a year: +9.2% a year for GLD against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. Its worst fall was milder than SPY's over the same history (-42.9% against -50.8%).