What if you invested in Alphabet (Google) in 2004?
GOOGL · Technology · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in Alphabet (Google) in 2004
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $9,914(+891.4%)
The S&P 500 returned $9,914 on the same $1,000. Alphabet (Google) beat the market by $130,738.
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See how Alphabet (Google) stacks up since 2004, head to head.
What if Alphabet (Google) keeps this up?
Project forward at Alphabet (Google)'s 24.5% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
Alphabet (Google) vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 2004 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in Alphabet (Google) starting January 2004
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | $2.54 | $1,000 | - |
| 2005 | $4.85 | $1,911 | +91.1% |
| 2006 | $10.73 | $4,226 | +121.2% |
| 2007 | $12.44 | $4,899 | +15.9% |
| 2008 | $14.00 | $5,512 | +12.5% |
| 2009 | $8.40 | $3,307 | -40% |
| 2010 | $13.15 | $5,177 | +56.5% |
| 2011 | $14.89 | $5,865 | +13.3% |
| 2012 | $14.39 | $5,667 | -3.4% |
| 2013 | $18.74 | $7,382 | +30.3% |
| 2014 | $29.29 | $11,536 | +56.3% |
| 2015 | $26.64 | $10,492 | -9.1% |
| 2016 | $37.73 | $14,860 | +41.6% |
| 2017 | $40.65 | $16,008 | +7.7% |
| 2018 | $58.59 | $23,074 | +44.1% |
| 2019 | $55.80 | $21,974 | -4.8% |
| 2020 | $71.01 | $27,964 | +27.3% |
| 2021 | $90.56 | $35,665 | +27.5% |
| 2022 | $134.11 | $52,816 | +48.1% |
| 2023 | $97.97 | $38,582 | -26.9% |
| 2024 | $138.87 | $54,688 | +41.7% |
| 2025 | $202.96 | $79,928 | +46.2% |
| 2026 | $337.56 | $132,935 | +66.3% |
What this return means
$1,000 put into Alphabet (Google) (GOOGL) in 2004 turned into $140,652. That is a +13,965% total return, or roughly 141x your money, measured through 2026-06-01.
In compound terms that is roughly 24.5% a year, well above what a broad index has historically returned. A plain S&P 500 fund would have turned that $1,000 into about $9,914 instead, leaving Alphabet (Google) ahead by around $130,738. The index compounded at about 10.7% a year over that period.
The year-by-year record shows how bumpy the ride was. The best single year was 2006 at +121.2%, and the worst was 2009 at -40.0%. At its lowest point the position was down about 40% from an earlier high. These figures use split-adjusted closing prices and exclude dividends, taxes, trading fees, and inflation, so a real after-tax result would differ.
Treat this as history rather than advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
What if you invested $100 a month instead?
Most people do not drop a lump sum in on day one. They add a fixed amount every month. Putting $100 into Alphabet (Google) at the close of every month from August 2004 through June 2026 means 263 buys and $26,300 contributed over about 21.9 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$464,492
+1,666.1% on $26,300 in
Same $26,300, all in at the start
$3,698,153
+13,961% on $26,300 in
Going all in at the start beat spreading the buys out by $3,233,661. That is the usual result when a stock trends up: each monthly buy pays a higher price than the last, so the average cost climbs. Averaging in also meant an average buy price of $20.22 per share across the whole stretch, so the monthly buyer never had to time a single low. Neither number counts dividends, taxes, or trading costs.
Illustrative fixed $100/month example, not a recommendation. Figures are computed from GOOGL split-adjusted monthly closes through June 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Alphabet (Google) at different times
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Numbers worth sharing
Occasional data drops when something interesting surfaces. No schedule, just signal.
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.