The S&P 500 could reach 43,000 in 20 years. Here’s the math

It's wild to think how rapidly the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) has progressed in recent years. Since July 2022, the S&P 500 has nearly doubled, reaching 7,681 as of Aug. 26.

From its launch in 1923, it took 45 years to reach 100 on June 4, 1968. Then it took almost 30 years to close above 1,000 on Feb. 2, 1998. It took another 16 years for the S&P 500 to reach 2,000, which it did on Oct. 31, 2014.

After that, the 2010s bull market pushed the S&P 500 to its next milestone in just five years, closing above 3,000 on Oct. 21, 2019. Then, the S&P 500 rode the post-COVID-19 pandemic rally to hit 4,000 on April 21, 2021 — taking just 18 months to gain 1,000 points. Its road to 5,000 was slowed a bit by the 2022 bear market, so it didn't close above 5,000 until Feb. 9, 2024.

In less than a year, the S&P 500 scaled the 6,000 peak on Nov. 11, 2024. And then it closed above 7,000 for the first time on April 15, 2026. As of Aug. 26, the S&P 500 is bearing down on 8,000, sitting at 7,681.

The higher…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/money/