What if you invested in Gold (GLD) in 2005?
GLD · Commodity · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in Gold (GLD) in 2005
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $9,342(+834.2%)
The S&P 500 returned $9,342 on the same $1,000. S&P 500 outperformed by $617.
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Compare Gold (GLD) to another stock
See how Gold (GLD) stacks up since 2005, head to head.
What if Gold (GLD) keeps this up?
Project forward at Gold (GLD)'s 10.6% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
Gold (GLD) vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 2005 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in Gold (GLD) starting January 2005
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | $42.22 | $1,000 | - |
| 2006 | $56.70 | $1,343 | +34.3% |
| 2007 | $64.83 | $1,536 | +14.3% |
| 2008 | $91.40 | $2,165 | +41% |
| 2009 | $91.31 | $2,163 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | $105.96 | $2,510 | +16% |
| 2011 | $129.87 | $3,076 | +22.6% |
| 2012 | $169.31 | $4,010 | +30.4% |
| 2013 | $161.20 | $3,818 | -4.8% |
| 2014 | $120.09 | $2,844 | -25.5% |
| 2015 | $123.45 | $2,924 | +2.8% |
| 2016 | $106.95 | $2,533 | -13.4% |
| 2017 | $115.55 | $2,737 | +8% |
| 2018 | $127.65 | $3,023 | +10.5% |
| 2019 | $124.75 | $2,955 | -2.3% |
| 2020 | $149.33 | $3,537 | +19.7% |
| 2021 | $172.61 | $4,088 | +15.6% |
| 2022 | $168.09 | $3,981 | -2.6% |
| 2023 | $179.41 | $4,249 | +6.7% |
| 2024 | $188.45 | $4,464 | +5% |
| 2025 | $258.56 | $6,124 | +37.2% |
| 2026 | $444.95 | $10,539 | +72.1% |
What this return means
Putting $1,000 into Gold (GLD) in 2005 returned $8,725. That is a +772.5% gain, a little over 8.7x your money, measured to 2026-06-01.
That is about 10.6% a year compounded, broadly in line with long-run stock market averages. By comparison the S&P 500 returned about $9,342 on the same stake, edging out Gold (GLD) by close to $617. The index compounded at about 10.9% a year, a reminder that a single stock can lag a basket of them.
Getting here meant sitting through real volatility. The best single year was 2008 at +41.0%, and the worst was 2014 at -25.5%. At its lowest point the position was down about 37% 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.
This is historical math, not financial 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 Gold (GLD) at the close of every month from January 2005 through June 2026 means 258 buys and $25,800 contributed over about 21.5 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$82,332
+219.1% on $25,800 in
Same $25,800, all in at the start
$225,111
+772.5% on $25,800 in
Going all in at the start beat spreading the buys out by $142,780. 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 $115.44 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 GLD split-adjusted monthly closes through June 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Gold (GLD) at different times
See how the start year changes the outcome
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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.