Nasdaq 100 Index: Nearly 15% Annualized Return Over 36 Years, a Mirror of Long-Term Tech Stock Investment

This set of data is interesting. From early 1990 to the end of 2025, the Nasdaq 100 Index achieved an annualized return of 14.6%, spanning over three decades.

How has it performed in recent years? The past ten years saw an annualized return of 19.4%, and the past five years 14.9%. Looking at a fifteen-year horizon, the annualized return reaches 18.6%—significantly above the long-term average.

Examining the annual data closely, what has this index experienced? 1999 and 1998 were wild times, with gains of 102.0% and 85.3%, respectively. After the dot-com bubble burst, there were consecutive crashes in 2000, 2001, and 2002, with the deepest single-year decline reaching -41.9% (2008 financial crisis).

But this is the truth of long-term investing: high growth comes with high volatility. The rebound in 2023 reached 53.8%, continuing to rise by 24.9% in 2024, and maintaining a 19.1% increase so far in 2025. The concentration of leading tech companies determines the character of this index—risk and opportunity coexist.

For traders, this historical record offers an insight: short-term fluctuations, long-term gains. Whether in crypto assets or traditional tech stocks, understanding cycles and sticking to a long-term perspective are often the keys to success.