Which was the better investment since 2005, Apple or Amazon?

Apple was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Apple in 2005 would be worth $251,395 today, compared to $110,292 for Amazon.

What would $1,000 in Apple vs Amazon be worth today?

$1,000 invested in Apple in 2005 would be worth $251,395 today (+25039.5%). The same $1,000 in Amazon would be worth $110,292 (+10929.2%).

How do Apple and Amazon compare to the S&P 500 since 2005?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2005 would be worth $9,342 today (+834.2%). Apple returned $251,395 and Amazon returned $110,292 over the same period.

Apple vs Amazon: $1,000 invested since 2005

AAPL vs AMZN · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2005 would be worth

AppleWinner

$251,617

+25061.7%

Amazon

$110,343

+10934.3%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $9,342(+834.2%)

Growth of $1,000

Apple vs. Amazon vs. S&P 500, 2005 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Apple vs. Amazon, 2005 to present

Year	Apple	Return	Amazon	Return	S&P 500
2005	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2006	$1,964	+96.4%	$1,037	+3.7%	$1,098
2007	$2,230	+13.5%	$872	-16.0%	$1,261
2008	$3,520	+57.9%	$1,798	+106.3%	$1,227
2009	$2,344	-33.4%	$1,361	-24.3%	$758
2010	$4,995	+113.1%	$2,902	+113.2%	$1,005
2011	$8,825	+76.7%	$3,925	+35.3%	$1,228
2012	$11,872	+34.5%	$4,499	+14.6%	$1,280
2013	$11,952	+0.7%	$6,143	+36.5%	$1,491
2014	$13,465	+12.7%	$8,299	+35.1%	$1,811
2015	$22,524	+67.3%	$8,203	-1.2%	$2,066
2016	$19,032	-15.5%	$13,582	+65.6%	$2,048
2017	$24,255	+27.4%	$19,053	+40.3%	$2,458
2018	$34,003	+40.2%	$33,570	+76.2%	$3,104
2019	$34,309	+0.9%	$39,767	+18.5%	$3,029
2020	$64,760	+88.8%	$46,477	+16.9%	$3,678
2021	$111,396	+72.0%	$74,183	+59.6%	$4,310
2022	$148,453	+33.3%	$69,215	-6.7%	$5,309
2023	$123,267	-17.0%	$47,723	-31.1%	$4,875
2024	$158,413	+28.5%	$71,819	+50.5%	$5,879
2025	$203,734	+28.6%	$109,986	+53.1%	$7,421
2026	$225,017	+10.4%	$110,736	+0.7%	$8,633

Which came out ahead

Starting in 2005, Apple (AAPL) was the better of the two against Amazon (AMZN). That $1,000 grew to $251,395 in AAPL versus $110,292 in AMZN as of 2026-06-01, roughly $141,104 more in the end.

The headline returns line up with the dollar figures. Apple returned +25,040% against Amazon at +10,929%, a gap of about 14,110 percentage points over the 21.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 29.2% a year for AAPL against 24.3% for AMZN.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $9,342 at roughly 10.9% a year. Across this long 21.6-year window, small annual differences compounded into the wide ending gap. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

This is a record of what already happened, not financial advice or a recommendation of either name. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Apple vs Amazon from a different starting point

Since 2000 Since 2010 Since 2015 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Apple since 2005+25,040%Amazon since 2005+10,929%

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For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All calculations are based on split-adjusted closing prices from Yahoo Finance and do not account for dividends, taxes, or trading fees. See our methodology and full disclaimer.