What if you invested in IBM in 2020?
IBM · Technology · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in IBM in 2020
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $2,540(+154%)
The S&P 500 returned $2,540 on the same $1,000. IBM beat the market by $144.
Try a different start date
Pick any month and year to see what IBM would be worth.
Compare IBM to another stock
See how IBM stacks up since 2020, head to head.
What if IBM keeps this up?
Project forward at IBM's 16.2% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
IBM vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 2020 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in IBM starting January 2020
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $104.78 | $1,000 | - |
| 2021 | $91.38 | $872 | -12.8% |
| 2022 | $112.59 | $1,075 | +23.2% |
| 2023 | $119.20 | $1,138 | +5.9% |
| 2024 | $170.55 | $1,628 | +43.1% |
| 2025 | $246.04 | $2,348 | +44.3% |
| 2026 | $302.73 | $2,889 | +23% |
What this return means
Putting $1,000 into IBM (IBM) in 2020 returned $2,684. That is a +168.4% gain, a little over 2.7x your money, measured to 2026-06-01.
In compound terms that is roughly 16.2% a year, well above what a broad index has historically returned. By comparison the S&P 500 returned about $2,540 on the same stake, putting IBM ahead by close to $144. The index compounded at about 15.2% a year over that period.
The path was not smooth. The best single year was 2025 at +44.3%, and the worst was 2021 at -12.8%. 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 IBM at the close of every month from January 2020 through June 2026 means 78 buys and $7,800 contributed over about 6.5 years.
$100/month, dollar-cost averaged
$16,312
+109.1% on $7,800 in
Same $7,800, all in at the start
$20,934
+168.4% on $7,800 in
Going all in at the start beat spreading the buys out by $4,621. 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 $134.46 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 IBM split-adjusted monthly closes through June 2026. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
IBM 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.