If I'd invested in Microsoft since 1998
$1,000 put into Microsoft at the end of 1998 would be worth about $11,270 today — a 11.3× return, or roughly 9.2% a year. Change the amount below to run your own number.
You'd have
$11,270
from $1,000 invested — up 1027%.
The story behind the number
Microsoft since 1998 has been a remarkably smooth ride. $1,000 put in at the end of 1998 grew to $11,270 — a 11.3× return, or about 9.2% a year. That beat the S&P 500, which turned the same $1,000 into $6,015 — you'd have come out roughly 1.87× ahead of simply buying the index.
The ride mattered as much as the destination. The strongest single year was 2001, up 41%; the worst was 2000, down 34%.
Holding on took nerve: the position fell as much as 72% from its 1999 peak to its 2009 low, before climbing back above that high by 2014.
Common questions
- How much would I have if I'd invested $1,000 in Microsoft in 1998?
- $1,000 invested in Microsoft at the end of 1998 would be worth about $11,270 today — a 11.3× return, or roughly 9.2% per year.
- What were the best and worst years for Microsoft since 1998?
- The best year was 2001, up about 41%. The toughest was 2000, when it fell about 34%. Across the window, 143 of 330 years finished lower than they started.
- What was the biggest drop along the way?
- The steepest decline was about 72%, from a peak in 1999 to a low in 2009, with the value recovering above its prior high by 2014.
- Would I have done better in S&P 500?
- No — the S&P 500 turned $1,000 into about $6,015 over the same window, while Microsoft reached $11,270. Microsoft came out ahead.
The chart above shows the whole journey, not just the destination. Try switching to a bit each year to see how spreading your buying would have changed the outcome — or skip the latte to find out what a small daily habit could have grown into instead.
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