What if you invested $1,000 in Caterpillar in 2005? (Inflation-Adjusted)

CAT · Industrial · Adjusted to 2026 dollars using BLS CPI-U data

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Using BLS CPI-U data, cumulative inflation from 2005 to 2026 totals 72%. Your $1,000 in Caterpillar grew to $29,610 in raw dollar terms, but in real purchasing power terms that gain is equivalent to $17,215 in constant 2005 dollars. That reflects a +13.9% per year real annualized return after accounting for price changes over 22 years.

Nominal final value

$29,610

+2861.0% total return

Real value (2005 dollars)

$17,215

+1621.5% real total return

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Real annualized return

+13.9%

vs. +16.9% nominal annualized

Cumulative CPI-U inflation since 2005: 72% (1 dollar in 2005 = $1.72 in 2026)

Year-by-Year (Inflation-Adjusted)

$1,000 in Caterpillar since 2005, values in constant 2005 dollars

YearNominal ValueReal Value (2005 $)
2005$1,000$1,000
2006$1,552$1,506
2007$1,489$1,402
2008$1,681$1,525
2009$754$688
2010$1,328$1,181
2011$2,523$2,156
2012$2,890$2,420
2013$2,665$2,185
2014$2,613$2,112
2015$2,288$1,849
2016$1,855$1,478
2017$2,957$2,304
2018$5,165$3,904
2019$4,327$3,195
2020$4,392$3,192
2021$6,287$4,350
2022$7,072$4,482
2023$9,060$5,531
2024$11,003$6,525
2025$13,814$8,032
2026$24,784$14,410

Inflation adjustment uses BLS CPI-U annual data, deflated to 2026 dollars. Nominal stock data from Yahoo Finance (split-adjusted closing prices). Real values are expressed in constant 2005 purchasing-power dollars. For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. See our methodology and full disclaimer.