Stocks / AMZN
What If You Had Invested in Amazon 10 Years Ago?
Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
AMZN $260.21 ▼ -2.19% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in AMZN in November 2016, today it would be worth
$6,934
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into AMZN since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$144,417
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
AMZN live price chart
AMZN returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | +11.6% | +11.6% | $1,116 | +8.4% |
| 3 years | +78.1% | +21.2% | $1,781 | +18.5% |
| 5 years | +48.4% | +8.2% | $1,484 | +11.5% |
| 10 years | +593.4% | +21.4% | $6,934 | +14.6% |
| 20 years | +12800.8% | +27.5% | $129,008 | +10.6% |
| Since 1997 | +346846.7% | +31.8% | $3,469,467 | — |
AMZN year by year
Best full year: 1998 (+966.6%). Worst: 2000 (-79.6%).
| Year | AMZN | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +12.7% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +5.2% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +44.4% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +80.9% | +26.2% | |
| 2022 | -49.6% | -18.2% | Slowing online sales growth, high costs and rising rates cut the stock in half. |
| 2021 | +2.4% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +76.3% | +18.3% | Online shopping boomed in lockdowns and the stock rose about 75%. |
| 2019 | +23.0% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +28.4% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +56.0% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +10.9% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +117.8% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | -22.2% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +59.0% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +44.9% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | -3.8% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +33.8% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +162.3% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -44.6% | -36.8% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. |
| 2007 | +134.8% | +5.1% | |
| 2000 | -79.6% | -9.7% | The dot-com bubble burst and technology stocks began a long fall that lasted until late 2002. Amazon lost more than 90% of its value by 2001. |
AMZN: 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 1997 (343 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 240 (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 October 2000, when it finished the year 187% ahead.
Worst drop
AMZN's worst fall in this history was -93.1%, a near wipe-out, from March 1999 to September 2001. Getting back to the old high took until September 2007: 72 months from the bottom and 8.5 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $69 at the low.
Stock splits
- June 1998: 2-for-1
- January 1999: 3-for-1
- September 1999: 2-for-1
- June 2022: 20-for-1
One share bought before 1998 is 240 shares today.
About Amazon
| Company | Amazon.com, Inc. |
| Listed | May 1997 (Nasdaq) |
| Sector | Consumer discretionary |
| Dividend | None |
Amazon went public in 1997 as an online bookstore. It grew into the largest online retailer in the U.S. and, through Amazon Web Services, the largest cloud computing provider, which earns much of its profit.
Amazon's stock fell more than 90% in the dot-com crash, from late 1999 to 2001. It took until 2009 to get back above that peak. The 20-for-1 split in 2022 means today's share price is not comparable with older quotes.
Amazon has never paid a dividend. It has reinvested its cash in warehouses, data centers and new businesses instead.
Questions about AMZN
How much would $10,000 invested in AMZN 20 years ago be worth today?
About $1,290,084 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 12800.8% in total, or 27.5% a year.
Does AMZN pay a dividend?
No. AMZN has never paid a dividend, so all of its return is the price.
Did AMZN beat the S&P 500?
Yes. Over the last 20 years it was ahead by 16.9 percentage points a year: +27.5% a year for AMZN against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. It also fell harder at its worst (-93.1% against -50.8% for SPY over the same history).