If You Had Invested in PayPal (PYPL)
Digital-payments pioneer spun off from eBay. Pick an amount and a starting month above — the result, the chart and the S&P 500 comparison update instantly, with dividends reinvested.
PayPal price history
$1,000 invested in PayPal — what it became
| Invested | Value today | Total return | Per year (CAGR) | S&P 500 same period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start of 2025 (1 year ago) | $701 | -30% | -20.1% | $1,294 |
| Start of 2023 (3 years ago) | $762 | -24% | -7.3% | $1,970 |
| Start of 2021 (5 years ago) | $265 | -74% | -21.2% | $2,228 |
| Start of 2016 (10 years ago) | $1,718 | +72% | 5.2% | $4,689 |
| 2015-07 (11 years, since our data begins) | $1,604 | +60% | 4.4% | $4,363 |
Monthly investing in PayPal — projected forward
What if you started investing a fixed amount into PayPal every month from today? This projection applies the stock's own historical average return to your plan — pick which history to assume, or set your own rate. Treat it as a what-if, not a forecast: few assets repeat their past.
PayPal by the numbers
- Best full year: 2020 (+117%)
- Worst full year: 2022 (-62%)
- Deepest fall from a peak (monthly data): -85% — the price of holding any single stock
- Average return since 2015: 4.4% per year
Reading the results
Returns are computed from monthly adjusted prices in US dollars, meaning stock splits and reinvested dividends are included. A euro investor's result would additionally move with the USD/EUR exchange rate. And the obvious but essential caveat: these are the results of one specific stock picked with hindsight — past performance tells you what happened, not what happens next.
If numbers like these tempt you to invest, the boring path usually wins: a diversified index fund bought monthly. See how to start investing in Europe, compare costs in the broker comparison, or project your own plan with the compound interest calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What would $1,000 invested in PayPal 10 years ago be worth today?
About $1,718 in USD with dividends reinvested — a total return of +72% from a $1,000 investment made at the start of 2016.
What is PayPal's average annual return?
Since 2015, PayPal has returned about 4.4% per year with dividends reinvested, and about 5.2% per year over the past 10 years. Averages hide large swings — see the best and worst years above.
Did PayPal beat the S&P 500?
Over the past 10 years, $1,000 in PayPal grew to about $1,718 while the same amount in an S&P 500 fund grew to about $4,689 — so PayPal trailed the index over that period. Other periods can tell a different story; use the calculator above to check any timeframe.