Nasdaq Composite Return Calculator
Live Nasdaq Composite Index data, historical backtests since 1971, and a growth projection at its long-term average return.
About Nasdaq Composite Index
The Nasdaq Composite is the index most people mean when they say "the Nasdaq". It began trading on February 5, 1971 at a base value of 100 and includes more than 3,000 stocks listed on the Nasdaq exchange, from mega-cap technology companies down to small biotech and growth names.
- Launched
- February 5, 1971
- Constituents
- 3,000+ Nasdaq-listed stocks
- Weighting
- Market cap
- Base value
- 100 (1971)
Hypothetical growth
What an investment in Nasdaq Composite could grow to if it keeps earning its long-term average return.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I invest directly in the Nasdaq Composite?+
Not directly, since an index is just a number. Fidelity's ONEQ ETF tracks the Nasdaq Composite. Most investors who want Nasdaq exposure buy QQQ instead, which tracks the narrower Nasdaq-100 and has far more trading volume.
What happened to the Nasdaq in the dot-com crash?+
The Nasdaq Composite peaked above 5,000 in March 2000 and fell roughly 78% to its October 2002 low. It did not regain its 2000 peak until 2015. Set the backtest start year to 2000 to see how a lump sum invested at the top would have recovered.
Does this Nasdaq Composite calculator include dividends?+
No. The Nasdaq Composite Index is a price index, so the figures here reflect index level only. A real investment through an ETF that tracks it would also have collected dividends, which historically add roughly 1% to 2% per year for broad US indexes.
Where does the Nasdaq Composite price data come from?+
Historical and live prices for the index are fetched from a market data feed and cached for one hour, so the numbers on this page track the current market with at most a short delay. The backtest uses daily data for periods under five years and weekly data for longer periods.
What annual return does the hypothetical growth section use?+
It starts at Nasdaq Composite's actual average annual return over all available history (since 1971), the same figure as the "Since inception" row of the "If you invested" table. The "Losses and gains" section above it shows the longest stretch it stayed below a previous high and its best and worst calendar years, as a reminder of how uneven the ride to that average was. Because the index is a price index, that average excludes dividends, which have historically added roughly 1% to 2% per year. Past returns are not a forecast, so change the rate to test more conservative or optimistic scenarios. Remember that inflation of around 2% to 3% per year reduces the real purchasing power of any nominal projection.