S&P 500 Historical Data: PE, CAPE, Div Yield

S&P 500 Historical Data: P/E and CAPE ratio, Dividend Yield, Prices and Earnings from 1871 till the present.

P/E Ratio

26.15
Historical Mean
16.27
Range
5.3 - 123.7

CAPE Ratio

41.07
Historical Mean
17.44
Recent Range
4.8 - 44.2

Dividend Yield

1.06%
Historical Mean
4.20%
Recent Range
1.0% - 13.8%

Earnings (Trend)

S&P 500 Index Historical Levels

Current Market Valuation Comparison

Metric Current Value Historical Mean vs. Mean Interpretation
P/E Ratio 26.15 16.27 +60.7% Significantly overvalued
CAPE Ratio 41.07 17.44 +135.5% Extremely overvalued
Dividend Yield 1.06% 4.20% -74.8% Significantly low income yield
Key Insights
  • P/E Ratio: Current earnings vs. stock price
  • CAPE Ratio: 10-year inflation-adjusted earnings vs. stock price
  • Dividend Yield: Annual income as % of price
Current Market Summary

As of Oct 1, 2026, the S&P 500 at 7,723.45 is exuberantly priced. Market participants are paying a premium far beyond historical norms for each dollar of earnings—a level rarely followed by positive returns. As Keimling (2016) demonstrated in “Predicting Stock Market Returns Using the Shiller CAPE,” such elevated valuations (CAPE > 30) have historically preceded subdued, often negative, long-term returns.