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 2026 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the SPDR Gold Shares ETF is 368.57 (as of the close of Oct 29, 2026), 25.68% lower than the all-time high of 495.9 (Jan 29, 2026).

Since November 18, 2004, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 370.78%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 7.31%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 730.49%, or an annualized rate of 10.13%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. The inflation-adjusted column shows what each past level would represent in roughly today's dollars based on the latest CPI reading, following the same present-value method that underlies the US Inflation Calculator. The newest row will show matching nominal and adjusted values until another CPI update becomes available.

Date	Inflation-Adjusted	Nominal value
Oct 2026	368.57	368.57
Sep 2026	380.84	380.84
Aug 2026	410.81	408.42
Jul 2026	374.9	371.54
Jun 2026	371.68	368.38
May 2026	419.38	417.12
Apr 2026	428.65	423.66
Mar 2026	439.06	430.29
Feb 2026	498.78	483.75
Jan 2026	460.94	444.95
Dec 2025	412.07	396.31
Nov 2025	403.22	387.88
Oct 2025	368.12	368.12
Sep 2025	368.76	355.47
Aug 2025	330.8	318.07
Jul 2025	315.99	302.96
Jun 2025	318.42	304.83
May 2025	318.22	303.6
Apr 2025	319.06	303.77
Mar 2025	303.58	288.14
Feb 2025	278	263.27
Jan 2025	274.24	258.56
Dec 2024	258.5	242.13
Nov 2024	262.29	245.59
Oct 2024	270.6	253.51
Sep 2024	259.74	243.06
Aug 2024	247.56	231.29
Jul 2024	242.68	226.55
Jun 2024	230.59	215.01
May 2024	230.98	215.3
Apr 2024	227.68	211.87
Mar 2024	221.93	205.72
Feb 2024	205.55	189.31
Jan 2024	205.88	188.45
Dec 2023	209.99	191.17
Nov 2023	207.12	188.75
Oct 2023	201.6	184.09
Sep 2023	187.69	171.45
Aug 2023	197.56	180.02
Jul 2023	200.99	182.35
Jun 2023	196.87	178.27
May 2023	201.99	182.32
Apr 2023	205.25	184.8
Mar 2023	204.53	183.22
Feb 2023	190.15	169.78
Jan 2023	202.06	179.41
Dec 2022	192.58	169.64
Nov 2022	186.53	164.81
Oct 2022	171.75	151.91
Sep 2022	175.58	154.67
Aug 2022	181.19	159.27
Jul 2022	186.62	164.1
Jun 2022	191.56	168.46
May 2022	197.28	171.14
Apr 2022	206.18	176.91
Mar 2022	211.71	180.65
Feb 2022	211.84	178.38
Jan 2022	201.45	168.09
Dec 2021	206.61	170.96
Nov 2021	200.63	165.5
Oct 2021	203.01	166.65
Sep 2021	201.71	164.22
Aug 2021	209	169.69
Jul 2021	209.59	169.82
Jun 2021	205.4	165.63
May 2021	223.27	178.38
Apr 2021	209.01	165.66
Mar 2021	203.48	159.96
Feb 2021	207.29	161.81
Jan 2021	222.34	172.61
Dec 2020	230.72	178.36
Nov 2020	215.8	166.67
Oct 2020	228	176.2
Sep 2020	229.29	177.12
Aug 2020	239.6	184.83
Jul 2020	241.14	185.43
Jun 2020	218.75	167.37
May 2020	214.09	162.91
Apr 2020	208.69	158.8
Mar 2020	193.26	148.05
Feb 2020	193.27	148.38
Jan 2020	195.04	149.33
Dec 2019	187.37	142.9
Nov 2019	180.6	137.86
Oct 2019	186.48	142.43
Sep 2019	182.24	138.87
Aug 2019	188.79	143.75
Jul 2019	174.94	133.21
Jun 2019	175.22	133.2
May 2019	162.27	123.33
Apr 2019	159.8	121.2
Mar 2019	161.72	122.01
Feb 2019	165.27	123.99
Jan 2019	166.99	124.75
Dec 2018	162.61	121.25
Nov 2018	154.46	115.54
Oct 2018	153.42	115.15
Sep 2018	150.51	112.76
Aug 2018	151.68	113.51
Jul 2018	155.08	115.99
Jun 2018	158.65	118.65
May 2018	164.86	123.1
Apr 2018	167.55	124.59
Mar 2018	169.84	125.79
Feb 2018	169.15	125
Jan 2018	173.52	127.65
Dec 2017	169	123.65
Nov 2017	165.42	121.1
Oct 2017	164.83	120.67
Sep 2017	165.97	121.58
Aug 2017	172.67	125.82
Jul 2017	166.21	120.75
Jun 2017	162.34	118.02
May 2017	166.07	120.62
Apr 2017	166.41	120.77
Mar 2017	164.07	118.72
Feb 2017	164.91	119.23
Jan 2017	160.33	115.55
Dec 2016	152.97	109.61
Nov 2016	156.01	111.75
Oct 2016	169.97	121.94
Sep 2016	175.34	125.64
Aug 2016	174.56	124.78
Jul 2016	180.6	128.98
Jun 2016	176.8	126.47
May 2016	162.78	116.06
Apr 2016	174.13	123.65
Mar 2016	166.45	117.64
Feb 2016	168.59	118.64
Jan 2016	152.1	106.95
Dec 2015	144.53	101.46
Nov 2015	144.69	101.92
Oct 2015	154.84	109.3
Sep 2015	151.32	106.86
Aug 2015	153.85	108.82
Jul 2015	148.14	104.93
Jun 2015	158.66	112.37
May 2015	161.67	114.1
Apr 2015	161.59	113.47
Mar 2015	162.19	113.66
Feb 2015	166.75	116.16
Jan 2015	177.98	123.45
Dec 2014	162.98	113.58
Nov 2014	159.96	112.11
Oct 2014	159.88	112.66
Sep 2014	164.5	116.21
Aug 2014	175.46	123.86
Jul 2014	174.5	123.39
Jun 2014	181.01	128.04
May 2014	170.57	120.43
Apr 2014	176.55	124.22
Mar 2014	176.26	123.61
Feb 2014	183.15	127.62
Jan 2014	172.98	120.09
Dec 2013	167.89	116.12
Nov 2013	174.49	120.7
Oct 2013	184.29	127.74
Sep 2013	184.45	128.18
Aug 2013	193.94	134.62
Jul 2013	184.57	127.96
Jun 2013	171.87	119.11
May 2013	193.71	133.92
Apr 2013	206.88	142.77
Mar 2013	223.57	154.45
Feb 2013	222.05	153
Jan 2013	235.86	161.2
Dec 2012	237.76	162.02
Nov 2012	243.02	166.05
Oct 2012	243.01	166.83
Sep 2012	250.28	171.89
Aug 2012	240.18	164.22
Jul 2012	230.15	156.49
Jun 2012	227.86	155.19
May 2012	222.3	151.62
Apr 2012	237.06	161.88
Mar 2012	238.13	162.12
Feb 2012	243.15	164.29
Jan 2012	251.68	169.31
Dec 2011	226.93	151.99
Nov 2011	253.39	170.13
Oct 2011	249.02	167.34
Sep 2011	234.73	158.06
Aug 2011	264.32	177.72
Jul 2011	236.07	158.29
Jun 2011	217.94	146
May 2011	223.13	149.64
Apr 2011	228.27	152.37
Mar 2011	210.88	139.86
Feb 2011	209.59	137.66
Jan 2011	198.7	129.87
Dec 2010	213.25	138.72
Nov 2010	208.54	135.42
Oct 2010	204.31	132.62
Sep 2010	197.3	127.91
Aug 2010	188.42	122.08
Jul 2010	178.49	115.49
Jun 2010	188.1	121.68
May 2010	183.59	118.88
Apr 2010	178.29	115.36
Mar 2010	168.68	108.95
Feb 2010	170.12	109.43
Jan 2010	164.76	105.96
Dec 2009	167.43	107.31
Nov 2009	180.11	115.64
Oct 2009	159.81	102.53
Sep 2009	154.22	98.85
Aug 2009	145.81	93.4
Jul 2009	146.06	93.35
Jun 2009	142.43	91.18
May 2009	151.57	96.2
Apr 2009	137.9	87.27
Mar 2009	143.01	90.28
Feb 2009	147.09	92.63
Jan 2009	145.71	91.31
Dec 2008	138.67	86.52
Nov 2008	127.38	80.31
Oct 2008	110.99	71.34
Sep 2008	131.01	85.07
Aug 2008	125.66	81.71
Jul 2008	137.98	90.08
Jun 2008	140.74	91.4
May 2008	136.02	87.45
Apr 2008	135.91	86.65
Mar 2008	142.66	90.41
Feb 2008	153.08	96.18
Jan 2008	145.9	91.4
Dec 2007	132.28	82.46
Nov 2007	123.95	77.32
Oct 2007	126.79	78.62
Sep 2007	118.8	73.51
Aug 2007	107.8	66.52
Jul 2007	106.42	65.79
Jun 2007	103.94	64.27
May 2007	106.19	65.54
Apr 2007	109.37	67.09
Mar 2007	107.87	65.74
Feb 2007	110.07	66.48
Jan 2007	107.92	64.83
Dec 2006	105.54	63.21
Nov 2006	107.67	64.39
Oct 2006	100.58	60.24
Sep 2006	98.76	59.47
Aug 2006	102.93	62.29
Jul 2006	104.58	63.16
Jun 2006	101.68	61.23
May 2006	106.87	64.23
Apr 2006	108.84	65.09
Mar 2006	97.98	58.1
Feb 2006	95.08	56.07
Jan 2006	96.34	56.7
Dec 2005	88.31	51.58
Nov 2005	83.72	49.1
Oct 2005	78.48	46.4
Sep 2005	79.15	46.7
Aug 2005	74.46	43.4
Jul 2005	73.84	42.82
Jun 2005	75.25	43.44
May 2005	72.19	41.65
Apr 2005	75.06	43.35
Mar 2005	74.64	42.82
Feb 2005	76.47	43.53
Jan 2005	74.6	42.22
Dec 2004	77.55	43.8
Nov 2004	79.6	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, 2026, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	3.28%	7.14%
Last 3 years	26.6%	30.48%
Last 5 years	13.55%	18.32%
Last 10 years	8.06%	11.73%
Last 20 years	6.98%	9.73%

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 119.68% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 77.89%.

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 2021 - Sep 2025	$219.68	119.68%	77.89%
Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025	$299.62	199.62%	118.73%

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 Oct 29, 2026	368.57
Highest Jan 29, 2026	495.9
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Jan 29, 2026	513.72
Annualized return Since Nov 18, 2004	10.13%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Nov 18, 2004	7.31%