Market statistics
How much of a good year is spent losing money
An annual return is a number attached to 31 December. It says nothing about the months spent underwater on the way there — and in most winning years there were some. This is the year as it was lived rather than as it is reported.
98 complete years · data through 28 Aug 2026
1928–2025
- Winning years that went negative
- 55 of 66
- at some point during the year
- Typical winning year
- 14 red days
- 6% of its sessions
- Deepest hole, typical winner
- -2.6%
- median of the year's worst YTD
- Winners mostly spent in the red
- 7 years
- over half the sessions negative
- Never once negative
- 11 years
- of 98 in the record
| Years that finished | Count | Median red days | Share of the year | Median flips | Median worst YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up | 66 | 14 | 5.6% | 5 | -2.6% |
| Down | 30 | 223 | 89.2% | 6 | -20.8% |
| All years | 98 | 57 | 22.6% | 6 | -6.8% |
| Year | Finished | Red days | Share | Worst YTD | Last red day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +0.1% | 245 | 96.5% | -24.7% | 28 Dec 1970 |
| 1982 | +14.8% | 180 | 71.1% | -16.4% | 5 Oct 1982 |
| 1984 | +1.4% | 179 | 70.8% | -10.4% | 17 Dec 1984 |
| 1992 | +4.5% | 158 | 62.2% | -5.4% | 23 Oct 1992 |
| 2005 | +3.0% | 147 | 58.3% | -6.1% | 1 Nov 2005 |
| 1942 | +12.4% | 141 | 56.2% | -14.0% | 22 Sep 1942 |
| 1949 | +10.5% | 132 | 52.8% | -10.9% | 20 Sep 1949 |
| Year | Worst YTD | On | Finished | Red days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | -30.8% | 23 Mar 2020 | +16.3% | 104 |
| 2009 | -25.1% | 9 Mar 2009 | +23.5% | 94 |
| 1970 | -24.7% | 26 May 1970 | +0.1% | 245 |
| 1933 | -20.1% | 27 Feb 1933 | +44.1% | 45 |
| 1938 | -19.4% | 31 Mar 1938 | +24.6% | 69 |
| 1982 | -16.4% | 12 Aug 1982 | +14.8% | 180 |
| 2025 | -15.3% | 8 Apr 2025 | +16.4% | 58 |
| 1935 | -15.2% | 14 Mar 1935 | +41.4% | 84 |
| 1942 | -14.0% | 28 Apr 1942 | +12.4% | 141 |
| 1949 | -10.9% | 13 Jun 1949 | +10.5% | 132 |
| Year | Finished | Red days | Share | Flips | Worst YTD | Best YTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +16.4% | 58 | 23.2% | 9 | -15.3% | +17.9% |
| 2024 | +23.3% | 8 | 3.2% | 3 | -1.7% | +27.7% |
| 2023 | +24.2% | 2 | 0.8% | 3 | -0.8% | +24.6% |
| 2022 | -19.4% | 249 | 99.2% | 1 | -25.0% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | +26.9% | 5 | 2.0% | 5 | -1.5% | +27.6% |
| 2020 | +16.3% | 104 | 41.1% | 10 | -30.8% | +16.3% |
| 2019 | +28.9% | 1 | 0.4% | 2 | -2.4% | +29.3% |
| 2018 | -6.2% | 57 | 22.7% | 15 | -12.1% | +9.6% |
| 2017 | +19.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.9% | +20.2% |
| 2016 | +9.5% | 61 | 24.2% | 11 | -10.5% | +11.1% |
| 2015 | -0.7% | 91 | 36.1% | 30 | -9.3% | +3.5% |
| 2014 | +11.4% | 45 | 17.9% | 11 | -5.8% | +13.1% |
| 2013 | +29.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 2.2% | +29.6% |
| 2012 | +13.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 1.6% | +16.6% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | 94 | 37.3% | 21 | -12.6% | +8.4% |
| 2010 | +12.8% | 96 | 38.1% | 12 | -8.3% | +13.0% |
| 2009 | +23.5% | 94 | 37.3% | 12 | -25.1% | +24.9% |
| 2008 | -38.5% | 253 | 100.0% | 0 | -48.8% | -1.4% |
| 2007 | +3.5% | 26 | 10.4% | 13 | -3.1% | +10.4% |
| 2006 | +13.6% | 14 | 5.6% | 12 | -2.0% | +14.3% |
| 2005 | +3.0% | 147 | 58.3% | 15 | -6.1% | +5.0% |
| 2004 | +9.0% | 72 | 28.6% | 21 | -4.4% | +9.1% |
| 2003 | +26.4% | 53 | 21.0% | 10 | -9.0% | +26.4% |
| 2002 | -23.4% | 231 | 91.7% | 5 | -32.3% | +2.1% |
| 2001 | -13.0% | 225 | 90.7% | 10 | -26.9% | +4.1% |
| 2000 | -10.1% | 187 | 74.2% | 22 | -13.9% | +4.0% |
| 1999 | +19.5% | 8 | 3.2% | 11 | -1.4% | +19.5% |
| 1998 | +26.7% | 15 | 6.0% | 8 | -4.4% | +28.0% |
| 1997 | +31.0% | 2 | 0.8% | 3 | -0.5% | +32.8% |
| 1996 | +20.3% | 11 | 4.3% | 2 | -2.8% | +22.9% |
| 1995 | +34.1% | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | -0.0% | +35.4% |
| 1994 | -1.5% | 177 | 70.2% | 18 | -5.9% | +3.3% |
| 1993 | +7.1% | 18 | 7.1% | 7 | -1.5% | +8.1% |
| 1992 | +4.5% | 158 | 62.2% | 22 | -5.4% | +5.8% |
| 1991 | +26.3% | 14 | 5.5% | 3 | -5.7% | +26.3% |
| 1990 | -6.6% | 195 | 77.1% | 7 | -16.4% | +4.4% |
| 1989 | +27.3% | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | -0.9% | +29.6% |
| 1988 | +12.4% | 7 | 2.8% | 6 | -1.8% | +14.8% |
| 1987 | +2.0% | 20 | 7.9% | 10 | -7.5% | +39.1% |
| 1986 | +14.6% | 20 | 7.9% | 3 | -3.7% | +20.2% |
| 1985 | +26.3% | 6 | 2.4% | 1 | -2.1% | +26.8% |
| 1984 | +1.4% | 179 | 70.8% | 21 | -10.4% | +3.3% |
| 1983 | +17.3% | 2 | 0.8% | 3 | -1.6% | +22.8% |
| 1982 | +14.8% | 180 | 71.1% | 8 | -16.4% | +16.7% |
| 1981 | -9.7% | 245 | 96.8% | 5 | -16.9% | +1.7% |
| 1980 | +25.8% | 57 | 22.5% | 3 | -9.0% | +30.2% |
| 1979 | +12.3% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | +15.8% |
| 1978 | +1.1% | 102 | 40.5% | 15 | -8.6% | +12.5% |
| 1977 | -11.5% | 252 | 100.0% | 0 | -15.6% | -0.4% |
| 1976 | +19.2% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.8% | +19.6% |
| 1975 | +31.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 2.2% | +39.5% |
| 1974 | -29.7% | 238 | 94.1% | 9 | -36.2% | +2.3% |
| 1973 | -17.4% | 236 | 93.7% | 1 | -21.9% | +1.9% |
| 1972 | +15.6% | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | -0.4% | +16.7% |
| 1971 | +10.8% | 12 | 4.7% | 7 | -2.2% | +13.7% |
| 1970 | +0.1% | 245 | 96.5% | 2 | -24.7% | +1.5% |
| 1969 | -11.4% | 231 | 92.4% | 3 | -14.1% | +2.2% |
| 1968 | +7.7% | 67 | 29.6% | 7 | -9.1% | +12.3% |
| 1967 | +20.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.1% | +21.5% |
| 1966 | -13.1% | 221 | 87.7% | 4 | -20.8% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | +9.1% | 21 | 8.3% | 11 | -3.7% | +9.3% |
| 1964 | +13.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.6% | +15.0% |
| 1963 | +18.9% | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | -0.7% | +18.9% |
| 1962 | -11.8% | 252 | 100.0% | 0 | -26.9% | -0.6% |
| 1961 | +23.1% | 1 | 0.4% | 1 | -0.9% | +25.0% |
| 1960 | -3.0% | 249 | 98.8% | 1 | -12.8% | +0.8% |
| 1959 | +8.5% | 15 | 5.9% | 8 | -3.0% | +10.0% |
| 1958 | +38.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.9% | +38.1% |
| 1957 | -14.3% | 189 | 75.0% | 2 | -16.5% | +5.3% |
| 1956 | +2.6% | 60 | 23.9% | 9 | -5.2% | +9.2% |
| 1955 | +26.4% | 20 | 7.9% | 6 | -3.9% | +29.0% |
| 1954 | +45.0% | 1 | 0.4% | 2 | -0.0% | +45.0% |
| 1953 | -6.6% | 250 | 99.6% | 2 | -14.5% | +0.3% |
| 1952 | +11.8% | 42 | 16.8% | 10 | -2.9% | +11.9% |
| 1951 | +16.4% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 1.3% | +16.7% |
| 1950 | +21.7% | 8 | 3.2% | 9 | -0.8% | +21.7% |
| 1949 | +10.5% | 132 | 52.8% | 13 | -10.9% | +10.5% |
| 1948 | -0.7% | 104 | 41.4% | 13 | -9.5% | +11.5% |
| 1947 | 0.0% | 150 | 60.0% | 15 | -10.0% | +5.5% |
| 1946 | -11.9% | 102 | 40.8% | 6 | -18.7% | +10.9% |
| 1945 | +30.7% | 2 | 0.8% | 2 | -0.5% | +33.1% |
| 1944 | +13.8% | 3 | 1.2% | 3 | -0.9% | +13.8% |
| 1943 | +19.5% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 1.2% | +29.4% |
| 1942 | +12.4% | 141 | 56.2% | 6 | -14.0% | +12.4% |
| 1941 | -17.9% | 241 | 96.4% | 2 | -20.9% | +2.7% |
| 1940 | -15.1% | 240 | 95.6% | 3 | -27.9% | +2.5% |
| 1939 | -5.2% | 246 | 98.8% | 6 | -20.7% | +0.7% |
| 1938 | +24.6% | 69 | 27.6% | 7 | -19.4% | +31.9% |
| 1937 | -38.6% | 182 | 72.8% | 8 | -40.8% | +8.7% |
| 1936 | +27.9% | 2 | 0.8% | 3 | -0.2% | +31.7% |
| 1935 | +41.4% | 84 | 33.6% | 4 | -15.2% | +41.7% |
| 1934 | -4.7% | 154 | 61.8% | 11 | -16.2% | +18.6% |
| 1933 | +44.1% | 45 | 18.6% | 5 | -20.1% | +76.3% |
| 1932 | -14.8% | 192 | 76.8% | 14 | -45.8% | +14.7% |
| 1931 | -47.1% | 176 | 69.8% | 7 | -49.7% | +18.5% |
| 1930 | -28.5% | 128 | 51.0% | 16 | -32.7% | +20.8% |
| 1929 | -11.9% | 46 | 18.5% | 7 | -27.5% | +30.8% |
| 1928 | +37.9% | 40 | 16.0% | 10 | -4.0% | +37.9% |
98 complete years. Price returns from daily closing levels. Index price returns exclude dividends.
The number on the annual table is not the year you lived
Of the 66 years that finished positive, 55 were underwater at some point — the typical one for 14 sessions, about 6% of the year, crossing the line 5 times and getting as deep as 2.6% below where it started. Only 11 years in the whole record never spent a single session below their opening level.
7 years finished up having spent **more than half** of themselves losing money. 1970 is the extreme: negative on 97% of its sessions, 24.7% down at the worst point, and it closed +0.1%. Those years are the argument against reading your own year-to-date screen as information.
This is not the same measure as an intra-year drawdown, and the difference matters. A drawdown is measured from the year's high, so a year that rose 20% and gave back 8% shows a large drawdown while never being a losing year for anyone who owned it in January. The line here is the previous year's close — the one that decides whether a calendar-year holder is up — and the count is of sessions spent beneath it.
The flip count is the part with no equivalent anywhere else. A year that ends up 15% having crossed zero nine times asked its holder to be wrong-footed nine times; a year that crossed once did not. Both land in an annual table as a single cheerful number.
Questions people ask about this
- How is this different from an intra-year drawdown chart?
- A drawdown is measured from the year's high, so it can be large in a year that was never actually losing money for anyone who started in January. This measures against the previous year's close — the line that decides whether a calendar-year investor is up or down — and counts the days spent below it. The two answer different questions, and this is the one that matches how people talk about their year.
- Why count crossings of zero?
- Because that is where the decisions get made. A year that ends up 15% having crossed the line nine times asked its holder to be wrong-footed nine times; a year that crossed once did not. The count is a rough measure of how much a year tested conviction, and it is not visible in any annual return table.
- Does a bad start predict a bad year?
- Weakly at best, and this page is where you can check it rather than take the claim. Most winning years were negative at some point, several spent more of themselves below the line than above it and still finished up, and the table lists them by name. Read the years that were deep in the red in the spring against how they closed.
Sources and method
- Data
- Financial Modeling Prep — Daily adjusted closing levels and quotes, retrieved through Plutux's own data service.
- S&P Dow Jones Indices — Publisher and methodology owner of the S&P 500 index itself.
- How it was calculated
- Each year's baseline is the last close of the previous year. Every session in the year is compared against it, giving a year-to-date figure for each day; days below zero are counted, crossings of the line in either direction are counted as flips, and the deepest year-to-date reading and its date are recorded. Full years only, with at least 200 sessions. Price returns, dividends excluded.
- How often it changes
- Regenerated from the full daily history about once a year; the date it runs through is at the top of the page.
- Citing this page
Free to quote — please link rather than copy the table.
Plutux. "How much of a good year is spent losing money." Data through 28 Aug 2026. https://plutux.ai/resources/tools/days-underwater-in-up-years
Historical figures for information only — not investment advice, and not a forecast.
Related tools
- S&P 500 annual returnsEvery calendar year's price return, the largest drop inside each of those years, and what the distribution of outcomes actually looks like.
- Historical drawdownsPeak, trough, depth, and how long it took to get back — for every decline of at least 10% in the record.
- Record highsEvery record close since 1928, how long the droughts between them ran, and what a year from a record actually paid.
Plutux is not an investment adviser. Market data and AI-generated analysis are for information and education only, not investment advice. Disclaimer