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Data-driven investment analysis and guides.
What If You Bought Bitcoin at the All-Time High?
Bitcoin peaked at $126,080 on October 6, 2025. By July 8, 2026 it traded 51% lower. What $1,000, $5,000, and $10,000 bought at the top is worth now.
What If You Bought the S&P 500 on the Fourth of July Every Year for 20 Years?
Putting $1,000 into the S&P 500 every Fourth of July for 20 years totals $20,000 in contributions and would be worth about $99,567 today, up +397.8%, and more with dividends reinvested. The earliest dollars did almost all the work. Here is the year-by-year math.
What If You Invested Your Summer Bonus in the S&P 500 Every Year Instead of Spending It?
Investing a $2,500 summer bonus in the S&P 500 every year for 20 years totals $50,000 in contributions and would be worth about $248,918 today, up +397.8%, and more with dividends reinvested. The year-by-year math, plus the honest case for spending some of it.
S&P 500 Mid-Year 2026 Report Card: What $10,000 Invested on January 1 Would Be Worth Now
Starting from the December 2025 close, the S&P 500 (SPY) is up about +11.6% year-to-date through the end of May 2026. A $10,000 position opened on January 1 would be worth roughly $11,160 now. The path was not a straight line: the same money dipped to about $9,565 at the March low before recovering. Here is the month-by-month math, the data source, and how this first half stacks up against a normal year.
Sell in May and Go Away: What Actually Happens to Your Portfolio If You Do It Every Year
Selling the S&P 500 every May and buying back November 1 turned $10,000 into about $38,407 over 25 years. Buy-and-hold turned the same $10,000 into $59,998. The seasonal pattern is faintly real, but exploiting it cost roughly $21,600. Here is the data, the years it worked, and why 2026 is a live test.
What If You Invested $1,000 in Nvidia After Each Earnings Beat in 2026?
Nvidia beat again. Investing $1,000 after each of its last eight quarterly earnings beats means $8,000 in, worth about $12,571 today, up +57.1%. That beat the S&P 500 but lost to simply buying once and holding. The honest version, with the entry-price catch.
What If You Bought the S&P 500 on Memorial Day Every Year for 20 Years?
Putting $1,000 into the S&P 500 every Memorial Day for 20 years totals $20,000 in contributions and would be worth about $90,717 today, up +353.6%, and more with dividends reinvested. The earliest dollars did almost all the work. Here is the year-by-year math.
What If You Bought Bitcoin in the February 2026 Dip?
Bitcoin closed February 2026 near $67,000 after sliding from its December peak. What would a $10,000 buy at that monthly low be worth now, and how does it stack up against the S&P 500 over the same window? Here is the honest version, including what the peak buyers are sitting on.
What If You Bought the S&P 500 Right After the Liberation Day Crash?
After the April 2, 2025 Liberation Day tariff shock, the S&P 500 closed April near 548 on SPY. As of the latest monthly close it is about 757. A $10,000 buy at the end of that month would be worth roughly $13,800 today, up +38.0%. Gold ran close behind. Bitcoin lost money. The full picture.
$500 a Month in the Nasdaq vs the S&P 500 Over 20 Years: Which Won?
$500 a month into the Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) for 20 years turned $120,500 of contributions into about $1,099,786. The same plan in the S&P 500 (SPY) reached about $573,438. The Nasdaq nearly doubled the index, but the volatility was real. Here are the actual numbers, dividends caveat included.
Real Estate vs the S&P 500 Over 25 Years: The Comparison That Surprises People
Median U.S. home prices grew from about $145K in 2000 to roughly $440K in 2025 - a 4.7% annualized return. The S&P 500 returned 7.5% annualized over the same period. But the real estate vs stocks debate is more nuanced than the headline number suggests.
The S&P 500 Under Every President Since Reagan: Returns Side by Side
Stock market returns by president, from Reagan to today. Clinton produced the highest annualized return at +15.2%. George W. Bush produced the lowest at -4.4%. Here is the data, with the caveats every honest analysis has to include.
Defense Stocks vs the S&P 500: 25 Years of Returns
$1,000 in Lockheed Martin in 2000 is worth $54,735 today vs $8,630 in SPY. Northrop +3,994%. RTX +1,737%. But over the last decade every defense name trailed the S&P 500. The long-horizon view of every major U.S. defense contractor.
What If You Invested $500 a Month in the S&P 500 for 30 Years?
Investing $500 a month for 30 years totals $180,000 in contributions. At the historical S&P 500 return of 10% annualized, the ending value is roughly $1.13 million. Here is the year-by-year math, what inflation does to it, and why most people get the simulation wrong.
What If You Bought the Dot-Com Survivors at the 2000 Peak?
$1,000 in Apple in 2000 is worth $393,372. The same in Intel: $3,959 - positive at last, but the laggard of the group. Cisco still trades near its dot-com entry. The full range of outcomes for nine survivors, 26 years later.
Berkshire Hathaway vs S&P 500: 30 Years of Returns Compared
$1,000 in BRK.B in 1996 vs the same $1,000 in SPY, anchored at six different start years. Berkshire crushed the index from 1996 to 2009; since 2005 the S&P 500 has pulled ahead. The two-halves story behind Buffett's career.
Lump Sum vs Dollar-Cost Averaging: 25 Years of S&P 500 Data
Lump sum beat 12-month DCA in 78% of historical S&P 500 windows. The 22% where DCA wins is concentrated around peaks. Here are the actual numbers.
Magnificent 7 vs the Other 493: What $10,000 in Each Would Be Worth
$10,000 split across the Mag 7 in 2020 is worth $92,941 today. The same $10,000 in SPY: $25,736. In the rest of the S&P 500: roughly $21,705. The concentration story, with the actual numbers.
What If You Never Panic Sold? $10,000 in the S&P 500 Since 2000
Miss the 10 best trading days out of 6,616 and your $77,539 becomes $33,645. Miss 40 and you lose money over 26 years. The April 9, 2025 tariff pause was the #3 best day in 26 years.
What If You Bought Bitcoin at $10,000? Your Return Today vs. the S&P 500
Bitcoin crossed $10,000 for the first time in November 2017. $1,000 invested then is worth $6,937 today - a +594% return. Here's how it compares to the S&P 500, and what the drawdowns looked like along the way.
What If You Invested in Gold Instead of the S&P 500 During the 2026 Tariff Shock?
$10,000 in gold (GLD) since 2023 vs the same stake in the S&P 500: gold's 2025 tariff-driven blowout, the 2026 snap-back, and where the two stand at the latest monthly close. The full picture.
What If You Invested in Nvidia Instead of the S&P 500 Five Years Ago?
$10,000 in Nvidia in 2020 is worth $373,827 today. The same amount in the S&P 500: $25,736. A look at the biggest return gap in recent market history.
What If You Invested in Defense Stocks When the Iran Conflict Started?
Defense stocks spiked when the Iran conflict began, then gave the surge back while the broader market recovered. RTX, LMT, NOC, and AVAV year-to-date against the S&P 500, and why the war trade reversed.
What If You Invested in Oil Stocks Before Every Major Middle East Conflict?
From the Gulf War to the 2026 Iran conflict, oil stocks have surged during every Middle East crisis. Here are the actual returns.
What If You Invested in SpaceX's Early Backers Instead?
You couldn't buy SpaceX stock. But the publicly traded companies riding the space economy have delivered massive returns.
What $10,000 Invested in Nvidia in 2015 Would Be Worth Today
Nvidia has been the best-performing major stock of the last decade. We ran the numbers on a $10,000 investment from 2015.
The Worst Times to Invest (and Why It Didn't Matter)
What if you invested right before the dot-com crash, the 2008 financial crisis, or the 2020 pandemic? The results might surprise you.
Apple vs Microsoft: 25 Years of Investment Returns
Two of the biggest companies in history, head to head. We compared $1,000 in Apple vs $1,000 in Microsoft from 2000 to today.
What Inflation Really Does to Your Cash
$1,000 in cash since 2000 has lost nearly half its purchasing power. Here are the real numbers and what they mean for your savings.
Bitcoin vs the S&P 500: The Real Numbers
Bitcoin vs traditional stocks. We compared $1,000 in Bitcoin vs $1,000 in the S&P 500 across multiple time periods.
If You Invested Your College Tuition in Stocks Instead
The average 4-year college costs $104,000. What if you had invested that in the S&P 500 or top stocks instead?
The 5 Best Investments of the 2020s (So Far)
From pandemic lows to AI mania, the 2020s have been wild. Here are the top-performing investments since January 2020.
AI Stocks: What $1,000 in 2020 Would Be Worth Today
We calculated what $1,000 in 10 AI stocks would be worth if you invested in January 2020, before the AI boom.
What If You Invested in Micron Before Every Earnings Report
Micron is one of the most volatile chip stocks. We calculated what $1,000 would be worth from six different start years.
What If You Invested in Reddit's IPO
Reddit went public in March 2024. A little over two years later, the stock has more than tripled. Here are the numbers.
Moderna's Roller Coaster: What $1,000 at Every Stage Would Be Worth
Pandemic hero, 90% crash, 2026 comeback. We calculated what $1,000 in Moderna would be worth from three different entry points.
Semiconductor Stocks: 5-Year Returns Compared
We compared 12 semiconductor stocks side by side. From Nvidia to Intel, the gap in returns is staggering.
The 10 Best Performing Stocks of the Last 20+ Years
Which stocks turned $1,000 into a fortune? We ranked every company in our database by total return from the earliest available start year.
How to Calculate Investment Returns (Total Return, CAGR Explained)
Total return, annualized return, CAGR. What they mean, how to calculate them, and why they matter when comparing investments.
What $1,000 Invested in the S&P 500 Would Be Worth Today
We calculated what a $1,000 investment in the S&P 500 would be worth from six different start years, from 2000 to 2023.
Background reading
A few investing classics worth reading. These are background, not advice - this site shows what historical returns were, and these books cover the wider context behind them.
- The Psychology of MoneyMorgan Housel
Why behavior, not spreadsheets, tends to decide how investing turns out.
- A Random Walk Down Wall StreetBurton Malkiel
The long-running case for low-cost index funds over stock picking.
- The Little Book of Common Sense InvestingJohn C. Bogle
The Vanguard founder on why costs and time matter more than timing.
- The Intelligent InvestorBenjamin Graham
The 1949 value-investing classic Warren Buffett calls the best ever written.
- One Up On Wall StreetPeter Lynch
The Fidelity manager on what everyday investors can notice before Wall Street does.
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Numbers worth sharing
Occasional data drops when something interesting surfaces. No schedule, just signal.