If You'd Put $1,000 Into Google Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Google parent Alphabet has been a market-beating machine for ages.



Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) has been a buy-and-hold bonanza since it first went public more than two decades ago. Even better, analysts say the frenzy over all things AI gives GOOGL stock more room to run.
Investors knew they had something special with Google when it went public via a Dutch auction (don't ask) back in those innocent days of the early 21st century. The company clearly offered the best internet search product, one that would eventually give it a near-monopoly in that lucrative market.
But Google hardly rested on its search laurels. The company rolled out a steady stream of new products – mail, maps and the Chrome operating system, for example – that extended its reach across the world wide web.

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
In 2006, the same year GOOGL was added to the S&P 500, the company acquired a quirky startup that allowed users to upload videos to the internet. Critics questioned the wisdom of spending $1.7 billion on what looked to be a fad, but the YouTube deal turned out alright. After all, the business generated $32 billion in ad revenue in 2023, or roughly 10% of Alphabet's entire top line.
Google, now dominant in search and omnipresent on the web, soon set its sights on mobile. When smartphone sales exploded following Apple's (AAPL) release of the iPhone, Google entered the booming segment by creating the open-source Android mobile operating system.
And those are just a handful of highlights from the early days. By 2015 Google was operating so many diverse projects that it reorganized into a holding company called Alphabet.
Today, Google commands roughly 90% of the market for global search, and its Android operating system is found on approximately 70% of all smartphones. Future success, however, is predicated on competing with Amazon.com (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) in artificial intelligence and cloud-based enterprise services. Note too that analysts feel pretty good about GOOGL's prospects in these endeavors.
But before we get to where Wall Street thinks GOOGL stock is going, let's take a look at how it’s performed for the truly faithful over the past couple of decades.
The bottom line on Google stock?
GOOGL stock has been one of the best stocks of all time, according to research by Hendrik Bessembinder, a finance professor at the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Over its entire lifetime as a publicly traded company, Alphabet generated more than $1 trillion in lifetime wealth creation, which accounts for a stock's increase in market cap adjusted for cash flows in and out of the business and other factors.
How impressive is that? Only Apple, Microsoft and Exxon Mobil (XOM) created more wealth for shareholders, per Bessembinder's findings.
But then retail investors are probably more interested in what a long-term investment in GOOGL stock looks like on a brokerage statement.
Spoiler alert: Alphabet's outperformance has been nothing less than stupendous.
GOOGL stock outperforms the S&P 500 over any pretty much any standardized time period investors care to measure. Over its entire life as a publicly traded company, GOOGL stock has generated an annualized total return (price change plus dividends) of 23.7%. That more than doubles the broader market's total return of 10.6%.
GOOGL's 20-year performance might be slightly less impressive, but it’s been highly remunerative nonetheless. Over the past two decades, GOOGL stock delivered an annualized total return of 20.4% versus 10.6% for the S&P 500.
Have a look at the above chart. You'll see that if you put $1,000 into GOOGL stock 20 years ago, it would be worth about $41,000 today. The same amount invested in an S&P 500 index fund would be worth about $7,600.
Happily for GOOGL shareholders, analysts see plenty more upside ahead for the Magnificent 7 stock. Of the 61 analysts issuing ratings GOOGL stock surveyed by S&P Global Market Intelligence, 35 call it a Strong Buy, 14 say Buy and 12 have it at Hold. That works out to a consensus recommendation of Buy, with high conviction to boot.
Indeed, Alphabet is primed to join the rankings of analysts' top S&P 500 stocks.
More Stocks of the Past 20 Years
- If You'd Put $1,000 Into Amazon Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
- If You'd Put $1,000 Into Microsoft Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
- If You'd Put $1,000 Into Netflix Stock 20 Years Ago, Here's What You'd Have Today
Get Kiplinger Today newsletter — free
Profit and prosper with the best of Kiplinger's advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and much more. Delivered daily. Enter your email in the box and click Sign Me Up.
Dan Burrows is Kiplinger's senior investing writer, having joined the august publication full time in 2016.
A long-time financial journalist, Dan is a veteran of SmartMoney, MarketWatch, CBS MoneyWatch, InvestorPlace and DailyFinance. He has written for The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Consumer Reports, Senior Executive and Boston magazine, and his stories have appeared in the New York Daily News, the San Jose Mercury News and Investor's Business Daily, among other publications. As a senior writer at AOL's DailyFinance, Dan reported market news from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and hosted a weekly video segment on equities.
Once upon a time – before his days as a financial reporter and assistant financial editor at legendary fashion trade paper Women's Wear Daily – Dan worked for Spy magazine, scribbled away at Time Inc. and contributed to Maxim magazine back when lad mags were a thing. He's also written for Esquire magazine's Dubious Achievements Awards.
In his current role at Kiplinger, Dan writes about equities, fixed income, currencies, commodities, funds, macroeconomics, demographics, real estate, cost of living indexes and more.
Dan holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College and a master's degree from Columbia University.
Disclosure: Dan does not trade stocks or other securities. Rather, he dollar-cost averages into cheap funds and index funds and holds them forever in tax-advantaged accounts.
-
RMD Deadline April 1: Five Tax Strategies to Manage Your 2025 Income
Taxable Income The April 1, 2025, deadline for required minimum distributions (RMDs) is fast approaching for retirees who turned 73 in 2024.
By Kelley R. Taylor Published
-
Rising AI Demand Stokes Undersea Investments
The Kiplinger Letter As demand soars for AI, there’s a need to transport huge amounts of data across oceans. Tech giants have big plans for new submarine cables, including the longest ever.
By John Miley Published
-
How Much Does Being Rich Matter in Retirement?
After a certain point, having more money in retirement won't make you any happier, new research shows. Instead, physical health, a sense of purpose, and a minimal amount of non-mortgage debt are more relevant.
By Christy Bieber Published
-
The Three Biggest Fears Keeping Retirees Up at Night
Here are the steps you can take to put those fears to rest and retire with confidence so you can relax and enjoy the life you've planned.
By Pam Krueger Published
-
What Can a Donor-Advised Fund Do for You? (A Lot)
DAFs and private foundations go about helping charities (and those who donate) in different ways. Each comes with its own benefits and restrictions to navigate.
By Julia Chu Published
-
Estate Planning When You Have International Assets
Estate planning gets tricky when you have assets and/or beneficiaries outside the U.S. To avoid costly inheritance mistakes, it pays to understand the basics.
By Kelsey M. Simasko, Esq. Published
-
Microsoft Stock: Innovation Spurs Its 100,000% Return
Microsoft's ability to recognize the "next big thing" has allowed sales – and its share price – to grow exponentially over the years.
By Louis Navellier Published
-
Three Essential Estate Planning Steps to Protect Your Nest Egg
After dedicating years to building your wealth and securing your future, make sure your assets are protected and your loved ones are provided for in the future.
By Nicole Farbo, CFP® Published
-
Is Chasing the American Dream Ruining Your Financial Life?
Too many people focus on visible affluence as a marker of success. Here's how to avoid succumbing to the pressure and driving yourself into debt.
By Anthony Martin Published
-
Stock Market Today: Dow Sinks 715 Points as Inflation Unrest Grows
Inflation worries are showing up in both hard and soft data.
By Karee Venema Published