Stocks / LLY
What If You Had Invested in Eli Lilly 10 Years Ago?
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
LLY $1,364.73 ▼ -3.76% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in LLY in November 2016, today it would be worth
$23,623
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into LLY since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$482,714
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
LLY live price chart
LLY returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | $1.7300 | +0.0% | ||
| May 15, 2026 | $1.7300 | +0.0% | ||
| Feb 13, 2026 | $1.7300 | +15.3% | ||
| Nov 14, 2025 | $1.5000 | +0.0% | ||
| Aug 15, 2025 | $1.5000 | +0.0% | ||
| May 16, 2025 | $1.5000 | +0.0% | ||
| Feb 14, 2025 | $1.5000 | +15.4% | ||
| Nov 15, 2024 | $1.3000 | +0.0% | ||
| Aug 15, 2024 | $1.3000 | +0.0% | ||
| May 15, 2024 | $1.3000 | +0.0% | ||
| Feb 14, 2024 | $1.3000 | +15.0% | ||
| Nov 14, 2023 | $1.1300 | — |
LLY year by year
Best full year: 1997 (+93.5%). Worst: 1992 (-24.9%).
| Year | LLY | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +27.6% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +40.2% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +33.3% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +60.9% | +26.2% | Demand for its diabetes and weight-loss drugs sent the stock up about 60%. |
| 2022 | +34.3% | -18.2% | |
| 2021 | +66.1% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +31.0% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +16.1% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +40.5% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +17.8% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | -10.4% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +25.4% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | +39.8% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +7.3% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +24.2% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | +25.2% | +1.9% | |
| 2010 | +3.7% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | -6.2% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | -21.3% | -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 | +5.7% | +5.1% |
LLY: 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 1985 (491 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 350 (71%). 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 February 1999, when it finished the year 30% ahead.
Worst drop
LLY's worst fall in this history was -64.5%, a loss of more than half, from July 2000 to February 2009. Getting back to the old high took until September 2014: 67 months from the bottom and 14.2 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $355 at the low.
Eli Lilly dividends
LLY paid $6.69 per share over the last 12 months, quarterly. At $1,364.73 that is 0.49%, a small yield; nearly all of the return has come from the price. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +15.2% a year, well ahead of inflation. The yearly total did not fall once in the last ten years. Amounts are adjusted for splits.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $6.00 | +15.4% | 0.56% |
| 2024 | $5.20 | +15.0% | 0.67% |
| 2023 | $4.52 | +15.3% | 0.78% |
| 2022 | $3.92 | +15.3% | 1.07% |
| 2021 | $3.40 | +14.9% | 1.23% |
| 2020 | $2.96 | +14.7% | 1.75% |
| 2019 | $2.58 | +14.6% | 1.96% |
| 2018 | $2.25 | +8.3% | 1.95% |
| 2017 | $2.08 | +2.0% | 2.46% |
| 2016 | $2.04 | +2.0% | 2.77% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
LLY dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 14, 2026 | $1.7300 | +0.0% |
| May 15, 2026 | $1.7300 | +0.0% |
| Feb 13, 2026 | $1.7300 | +15.3% |
| Nov 14, 2025 | $1.5000 | +0.0% |
| Aug 15, 2025 | $1.5000 | +0.0% |
| May 16, 2025 | $1.5000 | +0.0% |
| Feb 14, 2025 | $1.5000 | +15.4% |
| Nov 15, 2024 | $1.3000 | +0.0% |
| Aug 15, 2024 | $1.3000 | +0.0% |
| May 15, 2024 | $1.3000 | +0.0% |
| Feb 14, 2024 | $1.3000 | +15.0% |
| Nov 14, 2023 | $1.1300 | — |
Stock splits
- January 1986: 2-for-1
- May 1989: 2-for-1
- December 1995: 2-for-1
- October 1997: 2-for-1
One share bought before 1986 is 16 shares today.
About Eli Lilly
| Company | Eli Lilly and Company |
| Listed | NYSE (founded 1876) |
| Sector | Health care (pharmaceuticals) |
| Dividend | Paid quarterly |
Eli Lilly is one of the oldest U.S. drug makers, long known for insulin and the antidepressant Prozac. Its recent surge comes from tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss.
For most of the 2000s Lilly was a slow mover as key drugs lost patent protection. The obesity-drug boom from 2022 onward turned it into the most valuable health care company in the world.
Questions about LLY
How much would $10,000 invested in LLY 20 years ago be worth today?
About $443,926 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 4339.3% in total, or 20.9% a year.
When does LLY pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out in February, May, August and November, $6.69 per share in total.
Did LLY beat the S&P 500?
Yes. Over the last 20 years it was ahead by 10.3 percentage points a year: +20.9% a year for LLY against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. It also fell harder at its worst (-64.5% against -50.8% for SPY over the same history).