Inflation-Adjusted SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)

The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the price of gold bullion, providing investors with a convenient way to gain exposure to gold without the complexities of physical ownership.

Gold is often viewed as an inflation hedge, but its nominal price movements don't always reflect its true purchasing power performance over time. This page adjusts GLD's historical prices for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index, revealing how the ETF has performed in real terms relative to broader inflation trends.

Nominal prices are adjusted for stock splits and assume reinvestment of any dividends to reflect total return. Inflation-adjusted prices use September 2025 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF is 387.13 (as of the close of Dec 4, 2025), 3.97% lower than the all-time high of 403.15 (Oct 20, 2025).

Since November 18, 2004, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 412.96%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 8.08%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 772.31%, or an annualized rate of 10.84%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. Inflation-adjusted figures show what past levels would be worth using roughly today's purchasing power (based on the latest CPI data). The latest entry in the table will have equal nominal and adjusted values until the next CPI figures are released.

Date	Inflation-Adjusted	Nominal value
Dec 2025	387.13	387.13
Nov 2025	387.88	387.88
Oct 2025	368.12	368.12
Sep 2025	355.47	355.47
Aug 2025	318.88	318.07
Jul 2025	304.6	302.96
Jun 2025	306.95	304.83
May 2025	306.75	303.6
Apr 2025	307.56	303.77
Mar 2025	292.65	288.14
Feb 2025	267.99	263.27
Jan 2025	264.36	258.56
Dec 2024	249.18	242.13
Nov 2024	252.83	245.59
Oct 2024	260.85	253.51
Sep 2024	250.38	243.06
Aug 2024	238.64	231.29
Jul 2024	233.94	226.55
Jun 2024	222.28	215.01
May 2024	222.66	215.3
Apr 2024	219.47	211.87
Mar 2024	213.93	205.72
Feb 2024	198.14	189.31
Jan 2024	198.46	188.45
Dec 2023	202.42	191.17
Nov 2023	199.66	188.75
Oct 2023	194.34	184.09
Sep 2023	180.93	171.45
Aug 2023	190.44	180.02
Jul 2023	193.75	182.35
Jun 2023	189.78	178.27
May 2023	194.71	182.32
Apr 2023	197.86	184.8
Mar 2023	197.16	183.22
Feb 2023	183.3	169.78
Jan 2023	194.78	179.41
Dec 2022	185.65	169.64
Nov 2022	179.81	164.81
Oct 2022	165.57	151.91
Sep 2022	169.26	154.67
Aug 2022	174.67	159.27
Jul 2022	179.9	164.1
Jun 2022	184.66	168.46
May 2022	190.17	171.14
Apr 2022	198.75	176.91
Mar 2022	204.08	180.65
Feb 2022	204.21	178.38
Jan 2022	194.19	168.09
Dec 2021	199.17	170.96
Nov 2021	193.4	165.5
Oct 2021	195.7	166.65
Sep 2021	194.45	164.22
Aug 2021	201.47	169.69
Jul 2021	202.04	169.82
Jun 2021	198	165.63
May 2021	215.23	178.38
Apr 2021	201.48	165.66
Mar 2021	196.15	159.96
Feb 2021	199.82	161.81
Jan 2021	214.33	172.61
Dec 2020	222.41	178.36
Nov 2020	208.03	166.67
Oct 2020	219.79	176.2
Sep 2020	221.03	177.12
Aug 2020	230.97	184.83
Jul 2020	232.45	185.43
Jun 2020	210.87	167.37
May 2020	206.37	162.91
Apr 2020	201.17	158.8
Mar 2020	186.3	148.05
Feb 2020	186.31	148.38
Jan 2020	188.01	149.33
Dec 2019	180.62	142.9
Nov 2019	174.09	137.86
Oct 2019	179.76	142.43
Sep 2019	175.67	138.87
Aug 2019	181.99	143.75
Jul 2019	168.63	133.21
Jun 2019	168.9	133.2
May 2019	156.42	123.33
Apr 2019	154.04	121.2
Mar 2019	155.9	122.01
Feb 2019	159.32	123.99
Jan 2019	160.97	124.75
Dec 2018	156.75	121.25
Nov 2018	148.9	115.54
Oct 2018	147.9	115.15
Sep 2018	145.08	112.76
Aug 2018	146.22	113.51
Jul 2018	149.49	115.99
Jun 2018	152.93	118.65
May 2018	158.92	123.1
Apr 2018	161.51	124.59
Mar 2018	163.72	125.79
Feb 2018	163.06	125
Jan 2018	167.27	127.65
Dec 2017	162.91	123.65
Nov 2017	159.46	121.1
Oct 2017	158.9	120.67
Sep 2017	159.99	121.58
Aug 2017	166.45	125.82
Jul 2017	160.22	120.75
Jun 2017	156.49	118.02
May 2017	160.08	120.62
Apr 2017	160.42	120.77
Mar 2017	158.16	118.72
Feb 2017	158.97	119.23
Jan 2017	154.55	115.55
Dec 2016	147.46	109.61
Nov 2016	150.39	111.75
Oct 2016	163.85	121.94
Sep 2016	169.03	125.64
Aug 2016	168.27	124.78
Jul 2016	174.1	128.98
Jun 2016	170.43	126.47
May 2016	156.92	116.06
Apr 2016	167.86	123.65
Mar 2016	160.46	117.64
Feb 2016	162.52	118.64
Jan 2016	146.62	106.95
Dec 2015	139.33	101.46
Nov 2015	139.48	101.92
Oct 2015	149.26	109.3
Sep 2015	145.87	106.86
Aug 2015	148.31	108.82
Jul 2015	142.81	104.93
Jun 2015	152.94	112.37
May 2015	155.84	114.1
Apr 2015	155.77	113.47
Mar 2015	156.35	113.66
Feb 2015	160.74	116.16
Jan 2015	171.57	123.45
Dec 2014	157.11	113.58
Nov 2014	154.2	112.11
Oct 2014	154.11	112.66
Sep 2014	158.57	116.21
Aug 2014	169.14	123.86
Jul 2014	168.21	123.39
Jun 2014	174.49	128.04
May 2014	164.42	120.43
Apr 2014	170.19	124.22
Mar 2014	169.91	123.61
Feb 2014	176.55	127.62
Jan 2014	166.75	120.09
Dec 2013	161.84	116.12
Nov 2013	168.2	120.7
Oct 2013	177.65	127.74
Sep 2013	177.8	128.18
Aug 2013	186.96	134.62
Jul 2013	177.92	127.96
Jun 2013	165.68	119.11
May 2013	186.73	133.92
Apr 2013	199.42	142.77
Mar 2013	215.51	154.45
Feb 2013	214.05	153
Jan 2013	227.37	161.2
Dec 2012	229.2	162.02
Nov 2012	234.27	166.05
Oct 2012	234.25	166.83
Sep 2012	241.26	171.89
Aug 2012	231.53	164.22
Jul 2012	221.86	156.49
Jun 2012	219.65	155.19
May 2012	214.29	151.62
Apr 2012	228.52	161.88
Mar 2012	229.55	162.12
Feb 2012	234.39	164.29
Jan 2012	242.61	169.31
Dec 2011	218.75	151.99
Nov 2011	244.26	170.13
Oct 2011	240.05	167.34
Sep 2011	226.27	158.06
Aug 2011	254.8	177.72
Jul 2011	227.57	158.29
Jun 2011	210.08	146
May 2011	215.09	149.64
Apr 2011	220.05	152.37
Mar 2011	203.28	139.86
Feb 2011	202.03	137.66
Jan 2011	191.54	129.87
Dec 2010	205.57	138.72
Nov 2010	201.02	135.42
Oct 2010	196.95	132.62
Sep 2010	190.19	127.91
Aug 2010	181.63	122.08
Jul 2010	172.06	115.49
Jun 2010	181.32	121.68
May 2010	176.98	118.88
Apr 2010	171.87	115.36
Mar 2010	162.6	108.95
Feb 2010	163.99	109.43
Jan 2010	158.83	105.96
Dec 2009	161.4	107.31
Nov 2009	173.62	115.64
Oct 2009	154.05	102.53
Sep 2009	148.66	98.85
Aug 2009	140.55	93.4
Jul 2009	140.79	93.35
Jun 2009	137.3	91.18
May 2009	146.11	96.2
Apr 2009	132.93	87.27
Mar 2009	137.85	90.28
Feb 2009	141.79	92.63
Jan 2009	140.46	91.31
Dec 2008	133.67	86.52
Nov 2008	122.79	80.31
Oct 2008	106.99	71.34
Sep 2008	126.29	85.07
Aug 2008	121.14	81.71
Jul 2008	133.01	90.08
Jun 2008	135.67	91.4
May 2008	131.12	87.45
Apr 2008	131.01	86.65
Mar 2008	137.52	90.41
Feb 2008	147.57	96.18
Jan 2008	140.64	91.4
Dec 2007	127.52	82.46
Nov 2007	119.49	77.32
Oct 2007	122.22	78.62
Sep 2007	114.52	73.51
Aug 2007	103.91	66.52
Jul 2007	102.59	65.79
Jun 2007	100.19	64.27
May 2007	102.37	65.54
Apr 2007	105.43	67.09
Mar 2007	103.98	65.74
Feb 2007	106.11	66.48
Jan 2007	104.03	64.83
Dec 2006	101.74	63.21
Nov 2006	103.79	64.39
Oct 2006	96.96	60.24
Sep 2006	95.2	59.47
Aug 2006	99.22	62.29
Jul 2006	100.81	63.16
Jun 2006	98.02	61.23
May 2006	103.02	64.23
Apr 2006	104.92	65.09
Mar 2006	94.45	58.1
Feb 2006	91.65	56.07
Jan 2006	92.87	56.7
Dec 2005	85.13	51.58
Nov 2005	80.71	49.1
Oct 2005	75.66	46.4
Sep 2005	76.3	46.7
Aug 2005	71.77	43.4
Jul 2005	71.18	42.82
Jun 2005	72.54	43.44
May 2005	69.59	41.65
Apr 2005	72.35	43.35
Mar 2005	71.95	42.82
Feb 2005	73.72	43.53
Jan 2005	71.91	42.22
Dec 2004	74.76	43.8
Nov 2004	76.73	45.12

Returns from Investing in the SPDR Gold Shares ETF

How much did an investment in the GLD ETF really grow each year after accounting for inflation? The following chart contains the inflation-adjusted real annual percentage returns.

Detailed Annual Returns (Adjusted vs. Nominal)

The table below shows the returns for the SPDR Gold Shares ETF by year, both inflation-adjusted and nominal. You can sort any column by clicking on the header.

Year	Inflation-Adjusted Return	Nominal Return
2024	23.1%	26.66%
2023	9.04%	12.69%
2022	-6.79%	-0.77%
2021	-10.45%	-4.15%
2020	23.14%	24.81%
2019	15.22%	17.86%
2018	-3.78%	-1.94%
2017	10.48%	12.81%
2016	5.84%	8.03%
2015	-11.32%	-10.67%
2014	-2.92%	-2.19%
2013	-29.39%	-28.33%
2012	4.77%	6.6%
2011	6.41%	9.57%
2010	27.37%	29.27%
2009	20.74%	24.03%
2008	4.83%	4.92%
2007	25.34%	30.45%
2006	19.51%	22.55%
2005	13.87%	17.76%

Spdr Gold Shares Etf: Average Annualized Returns

Annualized returns show the average rate of growth per year, making it easier to compare performance across different time periods. While nominal returns indicate the headline growth, adjusting for inflation reveals the actual change in purchasing power.

This table presents both nominal and inflation-adjusted average annual returns for the SPDR Gold Shares over various trailing periods ending September 30, 2025, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	41.97%	46.25%
Last 3 years	28.06%	31.97%
Last 5 years	9.97%	14.95%
Last 10 years	9.32%	12.77%
Last 20 years	8%	10.68%

Real Returns of Investing in the SPDR Gold Shares

The chart and table below show the nominal and inflation-adjusted value of a hypothetical $100 investment over various long-term historical periods, ending in September 2025.

The inflation-adjusted line, in green, represents the real increase in purchasing power for the initial investment. Observe the gap between both lines, which illustrates the cumulative effect of inflation over time.

Even over just five years, inflation takes a noticeable bite out of investments. Investing $100 in the SPDR Gold Shares five years ago yielded an 139.57% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 90.8%.

As investment periods get longer, the difference between reported nominal returns and the inflation-adjusted gains usually becomes much greater due to the compounding effect of inflation over time.

Investment Period	What $100 Grew To (Nominal)	Total Nominal Return (%)	Total Inflation-Adjusted Return (%)
Last 5 years Feb 2020 - Sep 2025	$239.57	139.57%	90.8%
Last 10 years Feb 2015 - Sep 2025	$306.02	206.02%	121.15%

About the SPDR Gold Shares ETF

The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) is an exchange-traded fund managed by State Street Global Advisors that seeks to reflect the performance of the price of gold bullion. Launched in November 2004, GLD was one of the first ETFs to provide investors with exposure to gold through the equity markets.

The fund is backed by physical gold bars held in secure vaults, with each share representing a fractional ownership interest in the trust's gold holdings. GLD offers investors a liquid and cost-effective alternative to direct gold ownership, eliminating the need for storage, insurance, and other logistical concerns while providing exposure to gold price movements. The fund has become a popular choice for investors seeking portfolio diversification, inflation protection, or exposure to precious metals as an asset class.

Last Close Dec 4, 2025	387.13
Highest Oct 20, 2025	403.15
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Oct 20, 2025	403.15
Annualized return Since Nov 18, 2004	10.84%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Nov 18, 2004	8.08%