If You’d Dropped $1,000 in BAC 5 Years Ago, Here’s the Life-Changing (or Not) Result Today

Bank stocks—the slow burn of finance. While crypto was mooning, BAC investors were watching paint dry. Here’s the breakdown.

The BAC Bet: A Snooze-Fest or Steady Win?

Five years. A thousand bucks. No adrenaline rush—just the grind of traditional finance. No flashy 100x returns, just the kind of growth that keeps your financial advisor employed.

The Numbers Don’t Lie (But They Might Bore You)

No wild swings, no meme-fueled chaos. Just dividends and the occasional boardroom scandal. Perfect for those who think 'volatility' is a dirty word.

Crypto’s Shadow Looms Large

Meanwhile, Bitcoin laughed at your 'safe' investment—doubling, tripling, then crashing spectacularly. BAC? It just… existed. Like a toaster. Reliable. Unsexy.

The Bottom Line

BAC won’t make you rich overnight. But hey, at least you didn’t lose it all on a shitcoin. (Unless you did—then this article is salt in the wound.)

Lending to America

Since Bank of America is something of a proxy for our economy, its performance over the past five years is in line with that classic proxy for the stock market, theindex. A $1,000 investment in the bank made five years ago WOULD have resulted in a total return (i.e., share-price appreciation plus dividends) of $2,010 today, not too far south from the $2,160 under the same conditions for the index.

Image source: Getty Images.

That's an accomplishment because banking is a tricky business that's full of risk. After all, lending to a person or institution money, now and forever the main activity of banks, is always a bit of a gamble. It isn't easy to grow Core fundamentals and land well in the black quarter after quarter, year after year.

This bank is to be commended for regularly posting growth in key metrics. In its most recently reported quarter, for instance, the lender grew its revenue, net of interest expense, by 4% year over year, to $26.5 billion, and headline net income by 3% to $7.1 billion.

Comforting and reliable

Bank of America isn't the most dynamic bank among the Big Four -- that honor belongs to JPMorgan Chase -- nor is it the one that's changing most dramatically for the better (wave to the people, Wells Fargo). Yet it's steady and reliable and constantly delivers for its shareholders. Its stock is a solid investment with more growth potential, as long as the economic cycle is in its favor.