The Best Stock You Could Have Bought in 2010 — How It Performed
Written by
John Csiszar
Edited by
Amber Barkley
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Looking back at investments you “coulda, shoulda, woulda” made can drive some investors mad. But for many others, it’s fun to look back and see how stocks from years prior performed. Seeing how certain stocks can indeed produce great wealth can also be an inspiration to learn how to pick those types of winners going forward.
With that in mind, here’s some info on the best stock you could have bought in 2010 — both in terms of single-year performance and 15-year performance from 2010 to 2025.
Next, check out the stocks that surged in 2024.
The Champion of 2010 — Netflix (NFLX)
Netflix is the undisputed king of streaming services in 2025, but it’s almost hard to believe that just 15 years ago, in 2010, the company was primarily still known for its DVD-by-mail delivery service. As noted at the time by financial news service TheStreet, “Netflix has millions of subscribers in its DVD-rental-by-mail program, but its most exciting growth prospect is as a provider of a streaming service to deliver digital movies to PCs, internet-connected TVs and consumer-electronic devices.”
The strength of Netflix’s existing DVD-by-mail business, along with anticipation over its burgeoning streaming service, combined to push the stock up to the top of the charts in 2010, posting an incredible 227% gain, tops in the S&P 500.
This means that if you invested $10,000 in Netflix at the start of 2010, you would have ended the year with an account balance of $32,700, for a tidy gain of $22,700.
Although Netflix stock has had a notoriously volatile history, it was just beginning a multi-year boom when it soared to the top of the rankings in 2010. According to Visual Capitalist, Netflix has been the 6th-best performing stock over the last 15 years, posting a total gain of 10,631%. Even with its numerous ups and downs, the stock has had immense staying power, absolutely crushing the S&P 500’s 443% return over the same time period.
The Winner of the 15-Year Prize — Nvidia (NVDA)
If you’ve been anywhere near a financial news program over the past few years, you’ve likely heard more than your share of stories about Nvidia. The chip maker has been firing on all cylinders for decades, and its positioning as a leader in the AI revolution will likely continue its success for years to come.
So, just how dominant has Nvidia been? According to Visual Capitalist, NVDA is not only the top-performing stock in the S&P 500 over the past 15 years, it’s also been the top dog for the past 5-, 10- and 20-year periods, as well. That’s an incredible track record for any company, and its performance has been so strong that Nvidia — not Apple, Microsoft or Tesla — is now the most valuable company in the entire world.
Here’s how Nvidia’s market-topping performance stacks up:
- Past 5 years: 2,462% vs. the S&P 500’s 87%
- Past 10 years: 27,360% vs. the S&P 500’s 194%
- Past 15 years: 47,035% vs. the S&P 500’s 443%
- Past 20 years: 92,790% vs. the S&P 500’s 399%
Worth noting is that Netflix has certainly done its best to keep up with Nvidia. Although the company’s 15-year return of 10,631% is well below Nvidia’s 27,360%, it’s still in the same ballpark, at least when compared with the S&P 500. And over the last 20 years, Netflix actually ranks No. 2 in terms of performance, with its 54,258% return placing it right behind Nvidia.
The Bottom Line
Although Netflix was the undisputed king of the S&P 500 in 2010, it has also been a stellar performer over a multi-decade period. While it couldn’t quite keep up with the monster returns of Nvidia over time, it at least holds bragging rights for 2010.
Interestingly, Nvidia actually lost money while Netflix was skyrocketing higher in 2010. In that year, the future industry giant fell 16.8% and started a three-year string of losses. Investors who kept the faith and held onto their shares, however, were richly rewarded over the coming years.
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