History of Market · The Chronicle of the U.S. Stock Market S&P 500
Gathering I · leaf 15 of 27
S&P 500 · ROE

S&P 500 · ROE — S&P 500 Return on Equity: The Anchor of Capital Efficiency

Return on Equity (ROE) — Long-term index-level Return on Equity, tracing structural corporate profitability and capital efficiency.

Measures annual net income generated per dollar of shareholder equity. Holding remarkably stable near 15% across recent decades, ROE reflects the durable corporate earning power anchoring the index.

View the interactive chart Download raw JSON

What this page answers

The latest observation for S&P 500 return on equity stands at 23.30 (2026-06-30). The historical series spans 1960-12-31 through the present with 68 data points; its secular mean is 13.97, with an all-time peak of 23.30 (2026-06-30) and a cyclical floor of 7.20 (2001-12-31).

Measures annual net income generated per dollar of shareholder equity. Holding remarkably stable near 15% across recent decades, ROE reflects the durable corporate earning power anchoring the index. The data is refreshed by the History of Market pipeline and published as a stable JSON endpoint for research, citation, and AI-agent use.

The plate

S&P 500 · ROE — S&P 500 Return on Equity: The Anchor of Capital Efficiency10%15%20%198020002020
Plate I.15 Measures annual net income generated per dollar of shareholder equity. Holding remarkably stable near 15% across recent decades, ROE reflects the durable corporate earning power anchoring the index. 2026-09-05

Latest Snapshot

Updated
2026-09-05
Average
+1,400.0%
Observations
68
Sample
1960-12-31 – 2026-06-30
Latest value
23.32026-06-30

S&P 500 return on equity — historical year-end index readings

S&P 500 return on equity — historical year-end index readings
DateValue
2026-06-3023.30
2025-09-3018.70
2024-12-3119.20
2023-12-3118.80
2022-12-3118.00
2021-12-3120.50
2020-12-3113.50
2019-12-3116.20
2018-12-3117.60
2017-12-3115.60
2016-12-3113.70
2015-12-3113.80
2014-12-3115.00
2013-12-3115.20
2012-12-3113.90
2011-12-3114.50
2010-12-3114.80
2009-12-3112.10
2008-12-318.00
2007-12-3116.50
2006-12-3117.60
2005-12-3116.80
2004-12-3115.40
2003-12-3112.30
2002-12-318.10
2001-12-317.20
2000-12-3114.80
1999-12-3117.50
1998-12-3116.00
1997-12-3117.00
1996-12-3116.50
1995-12-3116.00
1994-12-3115.50
1993-12-3113.20
1992-12-3111.50
1991-12-3111.10
1990-12-3113.00
1989-12-3115.00
1988-12-3116.20
1987-12-3113.00
1986-12-3110.20
1985-12-3111.50
1984-12-3113.00
1983-12-3111.50
1982-12-3110.70
1981-12-3113.50
1980-12-3114.00
1979-12-3115.80
1978-12-3114.30
1977-12-3113.50
1976-12-3113.20
1975-12-3111.60
1974-12-3114.00
1973-12-3113.50
1972-12-3111.80
1971-12-3110.50
1970-12-319.80
1969-12-3111.50
1968-12-3112.10
1967-12-3111.90
1966-12-3113.00
1965-12-3112.50
1964-12-3111.80
1963-12-3111.00
1962-12-3110.50
1961-12-319.80
1960-12-3110.20

Displaying the 67 most recent of 68 observations — complete series in JSON: https://historyofmarket.com/api/sp500/roe.json

Data & Source

GET /api/sp500/roe.json — Canonical dataset endpoint.

Exchange closing prices · Company filings · Robert Shiller · FRED · NBER.

FAQ

What is the latest reading for S&P 500 return on equity?

23.30 as of 2026-06-30, compared against a long-term historical mean of 13.97.

What historical period does the S&P 500 return on equity data cover?

1960-12-31 through 2026-06-30 across 68 continuous observations.

Where does this data come from?

History of Market combines public market and macro datasets — exchange closing prices, company filings, Robert Shiller, FRED, NBER, and the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook (Dimson–Marsh–Staunton). The exact endpoint for this panel is linked below.

How often is it updated?

Daily-tier datasets refresh after the U.S. market close, with a broader weekly refresh on Sunday. The timestamp shown on this page comes from the JSON payload.

Can I use the data?

Yes, for research and education with attribution to History of Market. Upstream data sources retain their own terms.