Which was the better investment since 2015, Apple or Microsoft?

Apple was the better investment. $1,000 invested in Apple in 2015 would be worth $11,161 today, compared to $10,880 for Microsoft.

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

$1,000 invested in Apple in 2015 would be worth $11,161 today (+1016.1%). The same $1,000 in Microsoft would be worth $10,880 (+988.0%).

How do Apple and Microsoft compare to the S&P 500 since 2015?

The same $1,000 invested in the S&P 500 in 2015 would be worth $4,521 today (+352.1%). Apple returned $11,161 and Microsoft returned $10,880 over the same period.

Apple vs Microsoft: $1,000 invested since 2015

AAPL vs MSFT · Data through 2026-06-01

Investment amount

$1,000 invested in 2015 would be worth

AppleWinner

$11,159

+1015.9%

Microsoft

$10,882

+988.2%

The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $4,521(+352.1%)

Growth of $1,000

Apple vs. Microsoft vs. S&P 500, 2015 to present

Year-by-year comparison

Apple vs. Microsoft, 2015 to present

Year	Apple	Return	Microsoft	Return	S&P 500
2015	$1,000	-	$1,000	-	$1,000
2016	$845	-15.5%	$1,401	+40.1%	$991
2017	$1,077	+27.4%	$1,689	+20.6%	$1,189
2018	$1,510	+40.2%	$2,537	+50.2%	$1,502
2019	$1,523	+0.9%	$2,837	+11.8%	$1,466
2020	$2,875	+88.8%	$4,693	+65.4%	$1,780
2021	$4,946	+72.0%	$6,463	+37.7%	$2,086
2022	$6,591	+33.3%	$8,738	+35.2%	$2,570
2023	$5,473	-17.0%	$7,028	-19.6%	$2,359
2024	$7,033	+28.5%	$11,375	+61.9%	$2,845
2025	$9,045	+28.6%	$11,964	+5.2%	$3,591
2026	$9,990	+10.4%	$12,495	+4.4%	$4,178

Which came out ahead

From a $1,000 stake at the start of 2015, Apple (AAPL) came out ahead of Microsoft (MSFT). That $1,000 grew to $11,161 in AAPL versus $10,880 in MSFT as of 2026-06-01, roughly $281 more in the end.

In total-return terms the order is clear. Apple returned +1016.1% against Microsoft at +988.0%, a gap of about 28.1 percentage points over the 11.6-year window. Compounded, that is about 23.2% a year for AAPL against 22.9% for MSFT.

Both holdings beat a plain S&P 500 fund over the same span, which would have turned that $1,000 into about $4,521 at roughly 13.9% a year. All figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.

None of this recommends one holding over the other. It is historical math, and past performance does not guarantee future results.

Other start years

Apple vs Microsoft from a different starting point

Since 2000 Since 2005 Since 2010 Since 2020 Since 2023

Individual stock pages

Apple since 2015+1016.1%Microsoft since 2015+988.0%

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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.