What if you invested in eBay in 1998?
EBAY · Technology · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in eBay in 1998
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $12,380(+1138%)
The S&P 500 returned $12,380 on the same $1,000. eBay beat the market by $147,492.
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Compare eBay to another stock
See how eBay stacks up since 1998, head to head.
What if eBay keeps this up?
Project forward at eBay's 19.4% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
eBay vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 1998 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in eBay starting January 1998
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | $0.70 | $1,000 | - |
| 1999 | $4.31 | $6,161 | +516.1% |
| 2000 | $6.98 | $9,990 | +62.2% |
| 2001 | $4.60 | $6,574 | -34.2% |
| 2002 | $5.49 | $7,858 | +19.5% |
| 2003 | $7.00 | $10,007 | +27.3% |
| 2004 | $12.46 | $17,823 | +78.1% |
| 2005 | $15.17 | $21,703 | +21.8% |
| 2006 | $16.05 | $22,955 | +5.8% |
| 2007 | $12.06 | $17,251 | -24.8% |
| 2008 | $10.01 | $14,321 | -17% |
| 2009 | $4.47 | $6,402 | -55.3% |
| 2010 | $8.57 | $12,260 | +91.5% |
| 2011 | $11.30 | $16,170 | +31.9% |
| 2012 | $11.76 | $16,830 | +4.1% |
| 2013 | $20.84 | $29,809 | +77.1% |
| 2014 | $19.81 | $28,334 | -4.9% |
| 2015 | $19.73 | $28,227 | -0.4% |
| 2016 | $20.75 | $29,687 | +5.2% |
| 2017 | $28.16 | $40,279 | +35.7% |
| 2018 | $35.89 | $51,352 | +27.5% |
| 2019 | $29.76 | $42,582 | -17.1% |
| 2020 | $30.13 | $43,110 | +1.2% |
| 2021 | $51.47 | $73,634 | +70.8% |
| 2022 | $55.32 | $79,144 | +7.5% |
| 2023 | $46.45 | $66,446 | -16% |
| 2024 | $39.44 | $56,423 | -15.1% |
| 2025 | $66.06 | $94,506 | +67.5% |
| 2026 | $90.66 | $129,706 | +37.2% |
What this return means
$1,000 put into eBay (EBAY) in 1998 turned into $159,871. That is a +15,887% total return, or roughly 160x your money, measured through 2026-06-01.
In compound terms that is roughly 19.4% a year, well above what a broad index has historically returned. The same $1,000 in an S&P 500 index fund over the same span would be about $12,380, so eBay beat the index by roughly $147,492. The index compounded at about 9.2% a year over that period.
The path was not smooth. The best single year was 1999 at +516.1%, and the worst was 2009 at -55.3%. At its lowest point the position was down about 72% 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.
None of this is a recommendation. It is a record of what already happened, and 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 eBay at the close of every month from September 1998 through June 2026 means 334 buys and $33,400 contributed over about 27.8 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$312,399
+835.3% on $33,400 in
Same $33,400, all in at the start
$5,332,071
+15,864% on $33,400 in
Going all in at the start beat spreading the buys out by $5,019,673. 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 $11.95 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 EBAY split-adjusted monthly closes through June 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
eBay at different times
See how the start year changes the outcome
More Technology investments
Compare returns across the sector
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.