What if you invested in Netflix in 2002?
NFLX · Technology · Data through 2026-06-01
If you invested $1,000 in Netflix in 2002
The same $1,000 in the S&P 500 would be worth $10,399(+939.9%)
The S&P 500 returned $10,399 on the same $1,000. Netflix beat the market by $788,678.
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Compare Netflix to another stock
See how Netflix stacks up since 2002, head to head.
What if Netflix keeps this up?
Project forward at Netflix's 31.4% historical growth rate. See 5-30 year scenarios.
Growth of $1,000
Netflix vs. S&P 500 vs. US Dollar, 2002 to present
Year-by-Year Returns
$1,000 invested in Netflix starting January 2002
| Year | Price | Value | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | $0.11 | $1,000 | - |
| 2003 | $0.09 | $876 | -12.4% |
| 2004 | $0.52 | $4,871 | +456.1% |
| 2005 | $0.16 | $1,526 | -68.7% |
| 2006 | $0.39 | $3,656 | +139.6% |
| 2007 | $0.33 | $3,027 | -17.2% |
| 2008 | $0.36 | $3,338 | +10.3% |
| 2009 | $0.52 | $4,796 | +43.7% |
| 2010 | $0.89 | $8,261 | +72.2% |
| 2011 | $3.06 | $28,411 | +243.9% |
| 2012 | $1.72 | $15,952 | -43.9% |
| 2013 | $2.36 | $21,930 | +37.5% |
| 2014 | $5.85 | $54,324 | +147.7% |
| 2015 | $6.31 | $58,633 | +7.9% |
| 2016 | $9.18 | $85,319 | +45.5% |
| 2017 | $14.07 | $130,719 | +53.2% |
| 2018 | $27.03 | $251,108 | +92.1% |
| 2019 | $33.95 | $315,394 | +25.6% |
| 2020 | $34.51 | $320,587 | +1.6% |
| 2021 | $53.24 | $494,589 | +54.3% |
| 2022 | $42.71 | $396,812 | -19.8% |
| 2023 | $35.39 | $328,735 | -17.2% |
| 2024 | $56.41 | $524,056 | +59.4% |
| 2025 | $97.68 | $907,407 | +73.2% |
| 2026 | $83.49 | $775,619 | -14.5% |
What this return means
$1,000 put into Netflix (NFLX) in 2002 turned into $799,077. That is a +79,808% total return, or roughly 799x your money, measured through 2026-06-01.
That is a compound rate of about 31.4% a year, an extreme pace that few holdings sustain for 24.5 years. By comparison the S&P 500 returned about $10,399 on the same stake, putting Netflix ahead by close to $788,678. The index compounded at about 10% a year over that period.
The year-by-year record shows how bumpy the ride was. The best single year was 2004 at +456.1%, and the worst was 2005 at -68.7%. At its lowest point the position was down about 69% 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.
Netflix at different times
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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.