NVIDIA vs S&P 500: what $10,000 became
Between 2021-05-03 and 2026-05-01, NVIDIA (NVDA) returned +1241%. A $10,000 position became $134,093. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +85% over the same window, turning $10,000 into $18,450. Price returns from Yahoo Finance daily closing prices; dividends not included.
The animation above is rendered live by the chartrace engine from the same dataset the numbers come from.
| NVIDIA | S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticker | NVDA | SPY |
| Return | +1241% | +85% |
| $10,000 became | $134,093 | $18,450 |
The S&P 500 is the benchmark most portfolios quietly track. NVIDIA is the stock that made the benchmark look like it was standing still. Seen side by side, the index line barely leaves the floor. That is exactly why this pairing became the template for a thousand 'you could have just bought the index' arguments, on both sides.
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Daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance (NVDA, SPY), snapshot ending 2026-05-01. Returns are price returns; dividends and fees are excluded. Past performance is not a guide to future results. This page is general information, not investment advice.