Stocks / NFLX
What If You Had Invested in Netflix 10 Years Ago?
Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
NFLX $65.56 ▼ -1.25% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in NFLX in November 2016, today it would be worth
$5,603
Same $1,000 in the S&P 500 (SPY): $3,895
If you had put $500 a month into NFLX since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$109,211
Same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY): $128,888
More options in the What If calculator.
NFLX live price chart
NFLX returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | SPY per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | -39.1% | -39.1% | $609 | +8.4% |
| 3 years | +38.3% | +11.4% | $1,383 | +18.5% |
| 5 years | +2.1% | +0.4% | $1,021 | +11.5% |
| 10 years | +460.3% | +18.8% | $5,603 | +14.6% |
| 20 years | +15573.0% | +28.8% | $156,730 | +10.6% |
| Since 2002 | +60829.4% | +29.9% | $609,294 | — |
NFLX year by year
Best full year: 2003 (+396.9%). Worst: 2011 (-60.6%).
| Year | NFLX | SPY | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | -30.1% | +8.3% | |
| 2025 | +5.2% | +17.7% | |
| 2024 | +83.1% | +24.9% | |
| 2023 | +65.1% | +26.2% | A password-sharing crackdown and an ad-supported plan brought subscriber growth back. |
| 2022 | -51.1% | -18.2% | Netflix reported its first subscriber loss in a decade and the stock fell about 35% in a single day in April. |
| 2021 | +11.4% | +28.7% | |
| 2020 | +67.1% | +18.3% | |
| 2019 | +20.9% | +31.2% | |
| 2018 | +39.4% | -4.6% | |
| 2017 | +55.1% | +21.7% | |
| 2016 | +8.2% | +12.0% | |
| 2015 | +134.4% | +1.2% | |
| 2014 | -7.2% | +13.5% | |
| 2013 | +297.6% | +32.3% | |
| 2012 | +33.6% | +16.0% | |
| 2011 | -60.6% | +1.9% | A price increase and the short-lived plan to split off the DVD business, called Qwikster, drove away subscribers and the stock lost about 80% from its July peak. |
| 2010 | +218.9% | +15.1% | |
| 2009 | +84.3% | +26.4% | |
| 2008 | +12.3% | -36.8% | |
| 2007 | +3.0% | +5.1% |
NFLX: 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 2002 (283 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 193 (68%). 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 July 2011, when it finished the year 183% ahead.
Worst drop
NFLX's worst fall in this history was -79.9%, a near wipe-out, from May 2011 to September 2012. It was back at the old high by August 2013, only 11 months after the bottom. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $201 at the low.
Stock splits
- February 2004: 2-for-1
- July 2015: 7-for-1
- November 2025: 10-for-1
One share bought before 2004 is 140 shares today.
About Netflix
| Company | Netflix, Inc. |
| Listed | May 2002 (Nasdaq) |
| Sector | Communication services |
| Dividend | None |
Netflix started by mailing DVDs, moved to streaming in 2007 and began making its own shows in 2013. It is now the largest paid streaming service in the world.
It has been one of the best-performing stocks of the last two decades, with some of the sharpest crashes along the way: about 75% in 2011 after a price hike and a plan to split off DVDs, and about 75% again in 2022 when it lost subscribers for the first time in a decade.
Netflix split its stock 10-for-1 in November 2025. It does not pay a dividend.
Questions about NFLX
How much would $10,000 invested in NFLX 20 years ago be worth today?
About $1,567,296 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 15573.0% in total, or 28.8% a year.
Does NFLX pay a dividend?
No. NFLX has never paid a dividend, so all of its return is the price.
Did NFLX beat the S&P 500?
Yes. Over the last 20 years it was ahead by 18.1 percentage points a year: +28.8% a year for NFLX against +10.6% for SPY, dividends reinvested. It also fell harder at its worst (-79.9% against -50.8% for SPY over the same history).