If you invested $100 in Netflix stock (NFLX) at the beginning of May 2002, you would have about $89,358.74 by March 2026. This is a return on investment of 89,258.74%, or 32.99% per year.
This investment beats inflation during this period for an inflation-adjusted return of about 48,555.57% cumulatively, or 29.64% per year.
If you used dollar-cost averaging (monthly) instead of a lump-sum investment, you'd have $70,627.46.
The nominal return on investment of $100 is $89,258.74, or 89,258.74%. This means by March 2026 you would have $89,358.74.
However, it is important to take inflation into account when evaluating a long-term investment. You can convert these returns to their real value using an inflation calculation based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index (CPI).
In this case, the CPI in May 2002 was 179.800 and the CPI in March 2026 was 330.213.
Adjusted for inflation, the $89,358.74 nominal end value would have a real return of roughly $48,555.57 in 2002 dollars. This means the inflation-adjusted return is 48,555.57% as opposed to the original 89,258.74%.
The table below shows the full dataset pertaining to a $100 investment over the 287-month period between 2002 and 2026.
Year
Month
Return (%)
Amount ($)
CPI
2002
5
0.00%
100.00
179.80
2002
6
-7.16%
92.84
179.90
2002
7
-4.50%
88.66
180.10
2002
8
-1.89%
86.99
180.70
2002
9
-25.96%
64.41
181.00
2002
10
-7.50%
59.57
181.30
2002
11
20.90%
72.03
181.30
2002
12
1.42%
73.05
180.90
2003
1
19.97%
87.64
181.70
2003
2
29.59%
113.57
183.10
2003
3
18.99%
135.13
184.20
2003
4
12.04%
151.39
183.80
2003
5
-1.35%
149.35
183.50
2003
6
13.57%
169.61
183.70
2003
7
2.52%
173.88
183.90
2003
8
27.26%
221.28
184.60
2003
9
0.67%
222.77
185.20
2003
10
70.76%
380.39
185.00
2003
11
-14.49%
325.28
184.50
2003
12
11.60%
363.01
184.30
2004
1
34.25%
487.36
185.20
2004
2
-6.29%
456.69
186.20
2004
3
-0.81%
452.97
187.40
2004
4
-25.67%
336.71
188.00
2004
5
29.81%
437.08
189.10
2004
6
9.36%
477.97
189.70
2004
7
-43.05%
272.21
189.40
2004
8
-31.96%
185.22
189.50
2004
9
10.54%
204.74
189.90
2004
10
-38.58%
125.74
190.90
2004
11
20.18%
151.12
191.00
2004
12
8.30%
163.66
190.30
2005
1
-6.70%
152.70
190.70
2005
2
-6.94%
142.10
191.80
2005
3
1.37%
144.05
193.30
2005
4
6.45%
153.35
194.60
2005
5
23.70%
189.68
194.40
2005
6
14.85%
217.84
194.50
2005
7
13.10%
246.38
195.40
2005
8
16.18%
286.25
196.40
2005
9
20.55%
345.07
198.80
2005
10
1.62%
350.65
199.20
2005
11
4.27%
365.61
197.60
2005
12
-1.73%
359.29
196.80
2006
1
1.81%
365.80
198.30
2006
2
-2.69%
355.95
198.70
2006
3
8.12%
384.85
199.80
2006
4
2.25%
393.49
201.50
2006
5
-6.57%
367.66
202.50
2006
6
-1.74%
361.25
202.90
2006
7
-23.95%
274.72
203.50
2006
8
-3.25%
265.80
203.90
2006
9
13.78%
302.42
202.90
2006
10
21.42%
367.19
201.80
2006
11
5.87%
388.75
201.50
2006
12
-11.69%
343.31
201.80
2007
1
-11.78%
302.88
202.42
2007
2
-1.23%
299.16
203.50
2007
3
2.92%
307.90
205.35
2007
4
-4.41%
294.33
206.69
2007
5
-1.20%
290.80
207.95
2007
6
-11.47%
257.43
208.35
2007
7
-11.16%
228.72
208.30
2007
8
1.71%
232.62
207.92
2007
9
18.42%
275.46
208.49
2007
10
27.56%
351.39
208.94
2007
11
-12.72%
306.69
210.18
2007
12
15.24%
353.44
210.04
2008
1
-5.52%
333.92
211.08
2008
2
25.55%
419.24
211.69
2008
3
9.73%
460.04
213.53
2008
4
-7.70%
424.63
214.82
2008
5
-5.08%
403.07
216.63
2008
6
-14.13%
346.10
218.82
2008
7
18.50%
410.13
219.96
2008
8
-0.16%
409.48
219.09
2008
9
0.11%
409.94
218.78
2008
10
-19.81%
328.72
216.57
2008
11
-7.18%
305.11
212.43
2008
12
30.06%
396.84
210.23
2009
1
20.91%
479.83
211.14
2009
2
0.27%
481.13
212.19
2009
3
18.43%
569.80
212.71
2009
4
5.58%
601.58
213.24
2009
5
-13.01%
523.33
213.86
2009
6
4.88%
548.88
215.69
2009
7
6.28%
583.36
215.35
2009
8
-0.70%
579.28
215.83
2009
9
5.82%
613.01
215.97
2009
10
15.77%
709.67
216.18
2009
11
9.69%
778.44
216.33
2009
12
-6.04%
731.41
215.95
2010
1
13.00%
826.49
216.69
2010
2
6.11%
876.95
216.74
2010
3
11.64%
979.00
217.63
2010
4
34.13%
1,313.10
218.01
2010
5
12.39%
1,475.74
218.18
2010
6
-2.25%
1,442.47
217.97
2010
7
-5.61%
1,361.52
218.01
2010
8
22.40%
1,666.45
218.31
2010
9
29.20%
2,152.97
218.44
2010
10
7.04%
2,304.46
218.71
2010
11
18.62%
2,733.64
218.80
2010
12
-14.67%
2,332.71
219.18
2011
1
21.84%
2,842.29
220.22
2011
2
-3.46%
2,743.87
221.31
2011
3
15.06%
3,156.97
223.47
2011
4
-2.15%
3,089.13
224.91
2011
5
16.39%
3,595.35
225.96
2011
6
-3.00%
3,487.64
225.72
2011
7
1.26%
3,531.51
225.92
2011
8
-11.65%
3,120.17
226.55
2011
9
-51.80%
1,503.81
226.89
2011
10
-27.53%
1,089.78
226.42
2011
11
-21.38%
856.78
226.23
2011
12
7.38%
919.98
225.67
2012
1
73.46%
1,595.82
226.67
2012
2
-7.87%
1,470.17
227.66
2012
3
3.89%
1,527.32
229.39
2012
4
-30.33%
1,064.03
230.09
2012
5
-20.84%
842.29
229.82
2012
6
7.96%
909.29
229.48
2012
7
-17.00%
754.74
229.10
2012
8
5.05%
792.84
230.38
2012
9
-8.84%
722.77
231.41
2012
10
45.56%
1,052.04
231.32
2012
11
3.12%
1,084.85
230.22
2012
12
13.31%
1,229.28
229.60
2013
1
78.47%
2,193.87
230.28
2013
2
13.82%
2,497.12
232.17
2013
3
0.64%
2,513.01
232.77
2013
4
14.15%
2,868.68
232.53
2013
5
4.71%
3,003.81
232.95
2013
6
-6.70%
2,802.60
233.50
2013
7
15.82%
3,245.91
233.60
2013
8
16.13%
3,769.42
233.88
2013
9
8.91%
4,105.30
234.15
2013
10
4.29%
4,281.51
233.55
2013
11
13.43%
4,856.60
233.07
2013
12
0.65%
4,888.10
233.05
2014
1
11.18%
5,434.57
233.92
2014
2
8.87%
5,916.45
234.78
2014
3
-21.00%
4,673.79
236.29
2014
4
-8.52%
4,275.65
237.07
2014
5
29.74%
5,547.40
237.90
2014
6
5.45%
5,849.72
238.34
2014
7
-4.06%
5,612.36
238.25
2014
8
12.99%
6,341.45
237.85
2014
9
-5.54%
5,990.15
238.03
2014
10
-12.95%
5,214.68
237.43
2014
11
-11.76%
4,601.58
236.15
2014
12
-1.44%
4,535.41
234.81
2015
1
29.33%
5,865.61
233.71
2015
2
7.49%
6,305.20
234.72
2015
3
-12.26%
5,532.25
236.12
2015
4
33.55%
7,388.48
236.60
2015
5
12.14%
8,285.41
237.81
2015
6
5.27%
8,722.03
238.64
2015
7
21.80%
10,623.61
238.65
2015
8
0.63%
10,690.52
238.32
2015
9
-10.23%
9,596.65
237.95
2015
10
4.96%
10,072.49
237.84
2015
11
13.79%
11,461.90
237.34
2015
12
-7.26%
10,630.11
236.53
2016
1
-19.71%
8,535.32
236.92
2016
2
1.71%
8,681.23
237.11
2016
3
9.44%
9,500.93
238.13
2016
4
-11.93%
8,367.10
239.26
2016
5
13.93%
9,532.53
240.23
2016
6
-10.81%
8,501.86
241.02
2016
7
-0.25%
8,480.48
240.63
2016
8
6.79%
9,056.69
240.85
2016
9
1.13%
9,158.92
241.43
2016
10
26.71%
11,605.02
241.73
2016
11
-6.30%
10,873.61
241.35
2016
12
5.81%
11,505.58
241.43
2017
1
13.66%
13,077.14
242.84
2017
2
1.01%
13,209.11
243.60
2017
3
4.00%
13,736.99
243.80
2017
4
2.97%
14,144.98
244.52
2017
5
7.14%
15,155.20
244.73
2017
6
-8.38%
13,885.69
244.96
2017
7
21.58%
16,882.90
244.79
2017
8
-3.83%
16,236.99
245.52
2017
9
3.80%
16,854.09
246.82
2017
10
8.32%
18,255.58
246.66
2017
11
-4.51%
17,433.09
246.67
2017
12
2.34%
17,840.15
246.52
2018
1
40.81%
25,120.82
247.87
2018
2
7.80%
27,079.93
248.99
2018
3
1.36%
27,448.88
249.55
2018
4
5.79%
29,039.03
250.55
2018
5
12.53%
32,676.58
251.59
2018
6
11.33%
36,378.25
251.99
2018
7
-13.79%
31,361.52
252.01
2018
8
8.96%
34,171.00
252.15
2018
9
1.75%
34,770.45
252.44
2018
10
-19.34%
28,046.47
252.89
2018
11
-5.19%
26,592.01
252.04
2018
12
-6.46%
24,875.46
251.23
2019
1
26.84%
31,552.04
251.71
2019
2
5.48%
33,280.67
252.78
2019
3
-0.43%
33,137.55
254.20
2019
4
3.92%
34,436.80
255.55
2019
5
-7.36%
31,903.35
256.09
2019
6
7.00%
34,137.55
256.14
2019
7
-12.07%
30,017.66
256.57
2019
8
-9.05%
27,300.19
256.56
2019
9
-8.90%
24,871.75
256.76
2019
10
7.39%
26,710.97
257.35
2019
11
9.48%
29,243.49
257.21
2019
12
2.83%
30,071.56
256.97
2020
1
6.65%
32,071.56
257.97
2020
2
6.94%
34,296.47
258.68
2020
3
1.75%
34,897.77
258.12
2020
4
11.81%
39,019.52
256.39
2020
5
-0.03%
39,008.36
256.39
2020
6
8.41%
42,289.96
257.80
2020
7
7.44%
45,434.94
259.10
2020
8
8.32%
49,215.61
259.92
2020
9
-5.58%
46,471.19
260.28
2020
10
-4.86%
44,213.75
260.39
2020
11
3.14%
45,604.09
260.23
2020
12
10.20%
50,253.72
260.47
2021
1
-1.54%
49,478.62
261.58
2021
2
1.21%
50,079.00
263.01
2021
3
-3.19%
48,481.41
264.88
2021
4
-1.57%
47,720.26
267.05
2021
5
-2.08%
46,729.55
269.20
2021
6
5.05%
49,090.15
271.70
2021
7
-2.01%
48,101.30
273.00
2021
8
9.97%
52,898.70
273.57
2021
9
7.23%
56,723.05
274.31
2021
10
13.10%
64,155.20
276.59
2021
11
-7.01%
59,656.13
277.95
2021
12
-6.15%
55,988.85
278.80
2022
1
-29.10%
39,697.03
281.15
2022
2
-7.64%
36,665.43
283.72
2022
3
-5.05%
34,813.20
287.50
2022
4
-49.18%
17,691.45
289.11
2022
5
3.72%
18,349.44
292.30
2022
6
-11.43%
16,251.86
296.31
2022
7
28.61%
20,901.49
296.28
2022
8
-0.60%
20,776.95
296.17
2022
9
5.31%
21,881.04
296.81
2022
10
23.97%
27,126.39
298.01
2022
11
4.68%
28,394.98
297.71
2022
12
-3.49%
27,405.20
296.80
2023
1
20.00%
32,886.62
299.17
2023
2
-8.97%
29,937.73
300.84
2023
3
7.25%
32,107.81
301.84
2023
4
-4.50%
30,662.64
303.36
2023
5
19.79%
36,731.41
304.13
2023
6
11.45%
40,937.73
305.11
2023
7
-0.35%
40,796.47
305.69
2023
8
-1.21%
40,304.83
307.03
2023
9
-12.93%
35,092.94
307.79
2023
10
9.03%
38,261.15
307.67
2023
11
15.13%
44,049.26
307.05
2023
12
2.72%
45,249.07
306.75
2024
1
15.86%
52,426.58
308.42
2024
2
6.88%
56,033.46
310.33
2024
3
0.73%
56,443.31
312.33
2024
4
-9.33%
51,174.72
313.55
2024
5
16.52%
59,630.11
314.07
2024
6
5.18%
62,721.19
314.18
2024
7
-6.89%
58,396.84
314.54
2024
8
11.62%
65,181.23
314.80
2024
9
1.13%
65,917.29
315.30
2024
10
6.59%
70,263.01
315.66
2024
11
17.30%
82,417.29
315.49
2024
12
0.51%
82,836.43
315.61
2025
1
9.59%
90,776.95
317.67
2025
2
0.39%
91,130.11
319.08
2025
3
-4.90%
86,666.36
319.80
2025
4
21.36%
105,178.44
320.80
2025
5
6.67%
112,196.10
321.47
2025
6
10.93%
124,454.46
322.56
2025
7
-13.42%
107,750.93
323.05
2025
8
4.21%
112,290.89
323.98
2025
9
-0.77%
111,423.79
324.80
2025
10
-6.68%
103,983.27
324.80
2025
11
-3.85%
99,981.41
324.12
2025
12
-12.85%
87,137.55
324.05
2026
1
-10.95%
77,592.94
325.25
2026
2
15.27%
89,442.38
326.79
2026
3
-0.09%
89,358.74
330.21
Click to show 281 more rows
Netflix dollar-cost averaging
Dollar-cost averaging is an alternative to investing the full lump-sum of $100 up front. Instead, the capital is invested over a period of time.
Consider a strategy in which $100 was invested in Netflix stock (NFLX) over a period of no more than 24 months beginning in 2002. This would result in a final amount of $70,627.46. In this particular case, dollar-cost average returns are less than the returns of a lump-sum investment (which ends with $89,358.74).
Year
Month
Contribution ($)
Amount ($)
2002
5
4.16
4.16
2002
6
4.16
7.72
2002
7
4.16
11.35
2002
8
4.16
15.22
2002
9
4.16
14.35
2002
10
4.16
17.12
2002
11
4.16
25.73
2002
12
4.16
30.31
2003
1
4.16
41.35
2003
2
4.16
58.98
2003
3
4.16
75.13
2003
4
4.16
88.83
2003
5
4.16
91.74
2003
6
4.16
108.90
2003
7
4.16
115.91
2003
8
4.16
152.80
2003
9
4.16
158.02
2003
10
4.16
276.93
2003
11
4.16
240.37
2003
12
4.16
272.89
2004
1
4.16
371.95
2004
2
4.16
352.44
2004
3
4.16
353.70
2004
4
4.32
266.13
2004
5
-
345.46
2004
6
-
377.78
2004
7
-
215.15
2004
8
-
146.40
2004
9
-
161.82
2004
10
-
99.39
2004
11
-
119.44
2004
12
-
129.36
2005
1
-
120.69
2005
2
-
112.31
2005
3
-
113.86
2005
4
-
121.20
2005
5
-
149.92
2005
6
-
172.18
2005
7
-
194.73
2005
8
-
226.24
2005
9
-
272.74
2005
10
-
277.15
2005
11
-
288.97
2005
12
-
283.98
2006
1
-
289.12
2006
2
-
281.33
2006
3
-
304.18
2006
4
-
311.01
2006
5
-
290.59
2006
6
-
285.52
2006
7
-
217.13
2006
8
-
210.08
2006
9
-
239.02
2006
10
-
290.22
2006
11
-
307.26
2006
12
-
271.34
2007
1
-
239.39
2007
2
-
236.45
2007
3
-
243.36
2007
4
-
232.63
2007
5
-
229.84
2007
6
-
203.47
2007
7
-
180.77
2007
8
-
183.86
2007
9
-
217.72
2007
10
-
277.74
2007
11
-
242.40
2007
12
-
279.35
2008
1
-
263.93
2008
2
-
331.36
2008
3
-
363.60
2008
4
-
335.62
2008
5
-
318.58
2008
6
-
273.55
2008
7
-
324.16
2008
8
-
323.64
2008
9
-
324.01
2008
10
-
259.81
2008
11
-
241.15
2008
12
-
313.65
2009
1
-
379.25
2009
2
-
380.28
2009
3
-
450.36
2009
4
-
475.48
2009
5
-
413.63
2009
6
-
433.83
2009
7
-
461.08
2009
8
-
457.85
2009
9
-
484.51
2009
10
-
560.91
2009
11
-
615.26
2009
12
-
578.09
2010
1
-
653.24
2010
2
-
693.13
2010
3
-
773.78
2010
4
-
1,037.85
2010
5
-
1,166.40
2010
6
-
1,140.10
2010
7
-
1,076.12
2010
8
-
1,317.13
2010
9
-
1,701.67
2010
10
-
1,821.40
2010
11
-
2,160.62
2010
12
-
1,843.73
2011
1
-
2,246.49
2011
2
-
2,168.70
2011
3
-
2,495.21
2011
4
-
2,441.59
2011
5
-
2,841.70
2011
6
-
2,756.56
2011
7
-
2,791.24
2011
8
-
2,466.12
2011
9
-
1,188.58
2011
10
-
861.34
2011
11
-
677.19
2011
12
-
727.14
2012
1
-
1,261.30
2012
2
-
1,161.99
2012
3
-
1,207.17
2012
4
-
840.99
2012
5
-
665.73
2012
6
-
718.69
2012
7
-
596.53
2012
8
-
626.65
2012
9
-
571.26
2012
10
-
831.52
2012
11
-
857.45
2012
12
-
971.60
2013
1
-
1,733.99
2013
2
-
1,973.68
2013
3
-
1,986.24
2013
4
-
2,267.35
2013
5
-
2,374.16
2013
6
-
2,215.12
2013
7
-
2,565.51
2013
8
-
2,979.28
2013
9
-
3,244.75
2013
10
-
3,384.02
2013
11
-
3,838.56
2013
12
-
3,863.47
2014
1
-
4,295.38
2014
2
-
4,676.25
2014
3
-
3,694.08
2014
4
-
3,379.39
2014
5
-
4,384.56
2014
6
-
4,623.51
2014
7
-
4,435.90
2014
8
-
5,012.16
2014
9
-
4,734.50
2014
10
-
4,121.59
2014
11
-
3,637.00
2014
12
-
3,584.70
2015
1
-
4,636.07
2015
2
-
4,983.51
2015
3
-
4,372.59
2015
4
-
5,839.71
2015
5
-
6,548.63
2015
6
-
6,893.73
2015
7
-
8,396.70
2015
8
-
8,449.59
2015
9
-
7,585.01
2015
10
-
7,961.11
2015
11
-
9,059.27
2015
12
-
8,401.84
2016
1
-
6,746.15
2016
2
-
6,861.48
2016
3
-
7,509.36
2016
4
-
6,613.20
2016
5
-
7,534.33
2016
6
-
6,719.71
2016
7
-
6,702.81
2016
8
-
7,158.24
2016
9
-
7,239.04
2016
10
-
9,172.39
2016
11
-
8,594.29
2016
12
-
9,093.79
2017
1
-
10,335.92
2017
2
-
10,440.23
2017
3
-
10,857.46
2017
4
-
11,179.93
2017
5
-
11,978.39
2017
6
-
10,974.99
2017
7
-
13,343.93
2017
8
-
12,833.41
2017
9
-
13,321.15
2017
10
-
14,428.86
2017
11
-
13,778.78
2017
12
-
14,100.52
2018
1
-
19,855.02
2018
2
-
21,403.46
2018
3
-
21,695.08
2018
4
-
22,951.91
2018
5
-
25,826.95
2018
6
-
28,752.69
2018
7
-
24,787.56
2018
8
-
27,008.12
2018
9
-
27,481.91
2018
10
-
22,167.40
2018
11
-
21,017.82
2018
12
-
19,661.10
2019
1
-
24,938.14
2019
2
-
26,304.41
2019
3
-
26,191.29
2019
4
-
27,218.20
2019
5
-
25,215.80
2019
6
-
26,981.67
2019
7
-
23,725.39
2019
8
-
21,577.55
2019
9
-
19,658.16
2019
10
-
21,111.84
2019
11
-
23,113.51
2019
12
-
23,768.00
2020
1
-
25,348.76
2020
2
-
27,107.28
2020
3
-
27,582.54
2020
4
-
30,840.29
2020
5
-
30,831.48
2020
6
-
33,425.19
2020
7
-
35,910.92
2020
8
-
38,899.09
2020
9
-
36,729.95
2020
10
-
34,945.72
2020
11
-
36,044.61
2020
12
-
39,719.59
2021
1
-
39,106.97
2021
2
-
39,581.50
2021
3
-
38,318.80
2021
4
-
37,717.19
2021
5
-
36,934.16
2021
6
-
38,799.93
2021
7
-
38,018.36
2021
8
-
41,810.14
2021
9
-
44,832.83
2021
10
-
50,707.07
2021
11
-
47,151.08
2021
12
-
44,252.53
2022
1
-
31,375.78
2022
2
-
28,979.66
2022
3
-
27,515.70
2022
4
-
13,982.99
2022
5
-
14,503.05
2022
6
-
12,845.16
2022
7
-
16,520.14
2022
8
-
16,421.71
2022
9
-
17,294.36
2022
10
-
21,440.19
2022
11
-
22,442.86
2022
12
-
21,660.56
2023
1
-
25,992.96
2023
2
-
23,662.22
2023
3
-
25,377.41
2023
4
-
24,235.17
2023
5
-
29,031.82
2023
6
-
32,356.41
2023
7
-
32,244.76
2023
8
-
31,856.18
2023
9
-
27,736.80
2023
10
-
30,240.89
2023
11
-
34,815.70
2023
12
-
35,764.01
2024
1
-
41,436.98
2024
2
-
44,287.79
2024
3
-
44,611.73
2024
4
-
40,447.54
2024
5
-
47,130.52
2024
6
-
49,573.65
2024
7
-
46,155.76
2024
8
-
51,518.01
2024
9
-
52,099.78
2024
10
-
55,534.56
2024
11
-
65,141.07
2024
12
-
65,472.35
2025
1
-
71,748.39
2025
2
-
72,027.52
2025
3
-
68,499.46
2025
4
-
83,131.06
2025
5
-
88,677.68
2025
6
-
98,366.46
2025
7
-
85,164.30
2025
8
-
88,752.61
2025
9
-
88,067.27
2025
10
-
82,186.42
2025
11
-
79,023.43
2025
12
-
68,871.88
2026
1
-
61,328.00
2026
2
-
70,693.57
2026
3
-
70,627.46
Click to show 281 more rows
Data Sources
Monthly adjusted close data is from Yahoo Finance via yfinance. Adjusted close reflects stock splits and dividends reported by the source. Inflation data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI.
Ian Webster is an engineer and data expert based in San Mateo, California. He has worked for Google, NASA, and consulted for governments around the world on data pipelines and data analysis. Disappointed by the lack of clear resources on the impacts of inflation on economic indicators, Ian believes this website serves as a valuable public tool. Ian earned his degree in Computer Science from Dartmouth College.