Invested In Apple Stock 10 Years Ago? Here’s How You’ve Performed Against The S&P 500
📝 usncan Note: Invested In Apple Stock 10 Years Ago? Here’s How You’ve Performed Against The S&P 500
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Apple stock has dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 over the last decade but it is worth remembering that past performance does not predict the future.
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Apple stock has enjoyed a better decade than the S&P 500 has. Specifically, the iPhone maker’s stock has increased at a 24% average annual rate – about 11 percentage points more than the S&P 500. Here are five reasons why:
- Strong product ecosystem: Apple has built a powerful and loyal customer base around its ecosystem of hardware, software and services (like the App Store, Apple Music and Apple Pay). This ecosystem fosters repeat purchases and reduces churn.
- Innovation and brand recognition: Apple consistently introduces innovative products and maintains a strong brand image. This brand strength allows Apple to command premium prices and maintain high profit margins.
- Services growth: Apple’s services segment has experienced significant growth, contributing to revenue diversification and increased profitability.
- Consistent shareholder returns: Apple has a history of returning capital to shareholders through dividends and share buybacks, making it an attractive investment.
- Adaptability and resilience: While Apple has faced challenges, it has demonstrated an ability to adapt to changing market conditions and overcome obstacles.
Read on to learn how much Apple stock has risen in the last decade; key company milestones; how stock splits and dividends have affected Apple investor returns compared to the S&P 500; how much a $10,000 investment in Apple a decade ago would be worth today compared to the S&P 500; and the long term lessons for investors..
Apple Stock’s 10-Year Overview
Apple’s stock has risen much more than the S&P 500 in the last decade. Apple’s stock price growth has been propelled by its introduction of new products and services since 2015. Dividends and stock buybacks have added to Apple’s total return. Although hard to quantify,the stock has likely benefited from being Berkshire Hathaway’s largest holding – despite Warren Buffett’s recent sales of the stock.
AAPL’s Share Price Growth Since 2015
Between August 21, 2015 and August 22, 2025 shares in the iPhone maker have increased 714%. That is way better than the 236% increase in the S&P 500 during that period.
Key Milestones in Apple’s Last Decade
Since 2015, significant milestones in Apple’s history include the continued success and evolution of the Apple Watch, the expansion into services like Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade, and achieving record-breaking market capitalization milestones. The company also saw major iPhone releases and redesigns, including the iPhone X and iPhone XR, according to CNET.
- Apple Watch’s Growth and Evolution: Launched in 2015, the Apple Watch has become a dominant force in the wearables market. Apple has added features to the Watch such as built-in GPS, cellular connectivity, ECG, fall detection and health tracking advancements like blood oxygen and temperature sensors.
- Services Expansion: Apple has added subscription services like Apple TV+, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade.
- Market Capitalization Records: Apple became the first publicly traded U.S. company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization in 2018, and later surpassed $2 trillion and $3 trillion.
- iPhone Incremental Improvements: Apple’s iPhone X added edge-to-edge display and Face ID. And the iPhone XR — a less expensive version — was popular with consumers.
- AI Integration: Apple has lagged the competition in integrating AI into its products.
- Hardware Redesigns: Apple has updated its MacBook Air with Touch ID, Retina Display and new color options.
Impact Of Stock Splits On Investor Returns
Apple has had five stock splits in its history – the most recent of which happened August 31, 2020. On that day, each share of Apple was converted from one share trading at $499.23 to four shares each of which traded at $124.81, according to Pocket Option. In the two weeks prior to the latest stock split, Apple shares rose about 8% as investors anticipated the stock would rise. Since the August 2000 stock split, Apple’s shares have risen 83%, according to Google Finance.
Dividends And Total Return Considerations
Apple’s dividends rose at a 2.8% compound annual rate from $11.5 billion in 2015 to $15.2 billion in 2024, according to Macrotrends. In the decade ending August 14, 2025, dividend reinvestment increased the total return from Apple stock by 68 percentage points from 815% (with no reinvestment) to 883%, according to DRIPCalc,
In addition, Apple has invested about $704 billion to buy back its stock in the last decade – roughly $70 billion worth per year, according to Benzinga,
S&P 500’s 10-Year Overview
The S&P 500 has increased at a double-digit pace over the last decade. While the index has been boosted by technology and financial services stocks, other sectors – notably food, beverage and tobacco and real estate have lost considerable value. Dividends contributed significantly to the total return of the S&P 500.
The S&P 500’s Performance Since 2015
In the decade between July 2015 and July 2025, the return on the S&P 500 was 200.6%, according to OfDollarsandData.
Sector Leaders And Laggards Over The Last Decade
Technology distributors, financial services, chemicals, insurance and utilities led the S&P 500 in the last decade. The biggest laggards were food, beverage and tobacco, real estate, transportation, energy and retail, according to GoogleFinance data.
Five biggest S&P 500 gaining sectors:
- Technology Distributors: +215.87%
- Financial Services: +165.60%
- Chemicals: +96.94%
- Insurance: +82.34%
- Utilities: +71.27%
Five biggest S&P 500 declining sectors:
- Food, Beverage and Tobacco: -99.60%
- Real Estate: -88.93%
- Transportation: -73.01%
- Energy: -61.74%
- Retail: -25.52%
Dividends And Reinvestment Impact
The impact of reinvesting S&P 500 dividends was significant over the last decade. Reinvesting dividends increased the S&P 500’s total return by about 56 percentage points to 256.9%, according to OfDollarsandData.
Comparing Apple Vs. S&P 500
Apple’s average annual return with dividends reinvested was higher than that of the S&P 500. Specifically, Apple’s average annual return was 24.4%, according to DividendStocks compared to 13.3% for the S&P 500, reported officialdata.org.
Apple achieved this higher rate of return with higher volatility. Volatility was calculated by analyzing the daily log returns of Apple stock and the S&P 500 between August 21, 2015, and August 22, 2025. The annualized volatility calculations annualize the daily standard deviation of the returns of Apple and the S&P 500 – a measure of how spread out their respective returns are from their mean value.
Apple’s annualized volatility was 31.62% in the last decade – compared to the S&P 500’s 15.4%, according to GoogleFinance data.
$10,000 Investment Example: Where You’d Stand Today
Compared to the S&P 500 Apple has delivered a higher return on a hypothetical $10,000 investment made a decade ago. Apple stock turned that investment into $101,430 with dividends reinvested – 184% more than the $35,688 the S&P 500 would have returned.
Value of $10,000 in Apple After 10 Years
If you had invested $10,000 in Apple stock on August 21, 2015, and did not reinvest any dividends, your investment would be worth approximately $85,893 on August 22, 2025. If you had reinvested the dividends received over the same period, your investment would have grown to roughly $89,144.
Value of $10,000 in S&P 500 After 10 Years
If you had invested $10,000 in the S&P 500 on August 21, 2015, it would have risen to a value of $32,492 on August 22, 2025. With dividends reinvested, the initial investment would be worth $37,284.
Lessons For Long-Term Investors
Patiently holding a diversified portfolio of dividend-paying stocks and consistently reinvesting those dividends can be a powerful strategy for maximizing long-term wealth accumulation.
How so? Reinvesting dividends allows your investment to grow exponentially over time, as you’re earning returns on your initial investment and the reinvested dividends. Over the past 10 years, dividends have accounted for 23% of the S&P 500’s total return, – demonstrating the impact of dividend income.
By setting up automatic dividend reinvestment, investors can harness the power of dollar-cost averaging, reducing risk by buying shares at different price points over time.
Bottom Line
Long-term investment – rather than market timing – can be a good strategy. This is especially true if you choose a diversified portfolio and reinvest the dividends. Apple stock has dramatically outperformed the S&P 500 over the last decade but as Berkshire Hathaway unloads its holdings in Apple, it is worth remembering that past performance does not predict the future.
