What if I had invested in Meituan
Every lump sum scenario for Meituan, start year by start year, using real prices and each month's exchange rate.
Over 8 years, Meituan (a stock listed in Hong Kong and quoted in Hong Kong dollars) barely moved in dollar terms: +16.6% since September 2018. Its record monthly close, HK$356 in January 2021, is still far off: the current price, HK$80.30, is 77.4% below it, split-adjusted. Only 21% of the 98 possible purchase months since September 2018 would show a gain today for a lump sum: timing was everything.
Data: Yahoo Finance monthly closing prices, up to date as of (latest update November 5, 2026) MethodAuthor: Yann Avondo
If I had invested $1,000 as a lump sum in Meituan in January 2019, today I would have $1,826
Over the same period
Worst moment: −82.6% between January 2021 and January 2024. To get this result, you had to hold on without selling.
Meituan at a glance
Meituan is China’s super-app for food delivery and local services. Listed in Hong Kong since 2018, the stock soared during Covid before falling back sharply.
Its worst fall, 82.6% in dollar terms between January 2021 and January 2024, has not been erased yet: the January 2021 peak is still out of reach. Year-to-year swings are extreme: +189.9% in 2020, −53.1% in 2023. Of 7 full calendar years, 3 ended higher. Against the MSCI World, this calculator's yardstick (+10.4% a year in dollar terms over the same period), Meituan lagged well behind.
$1,000 invested in Meituan, by start year
Bought in January, valued at the latest price. Click a year for the full story.
| Start | Worth today | Multiple | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $521 | ×0.52 | −28.8% | |
| $976 | ×0.98 | −0.8% | |
| $458 | ×0.46 | −18.1% | |
| $354 | ×0.35 | −19.0% | |
| $270 | ×0.27 | −19.9% | |
| $782 | ×0.78 | −3.5% | |
| $1,826 | ×1.83 | +7.9% |
Lump sum or DCA in Meituan?
Since January 2019, investing in Meituan all at once (lump sum) multiplied the stake by ×1.83, +7.9% a year. Investing every month (DCA) multiplied the total contributions by ×0.69, an annual return (IRR) of −9.4%.
Here the lump sum did better: money invested early rode the whole rise. That is the most common outcome on an asset that goes up.
Frequently asked questions
What if I had invested $1,000 in Meituan in 2020?
Invested in January 2020, $1,000 would be worth about $782 today, −3.5% a year on average.
What was the best year to invest in Meituan?
Among the start years covered, 2019 gave the best result: $1,000 would have become $1,826. The weakest was 2021, worth $270 today. This ranking is only known with hindsight.
Are dividends included?
By default, the calculation follows the market price only. The "Reinvest dividends" option uses the adjusted price, which includes dividends paid and stock splits: the closest measure of what an investor actually earned.
Are exchange rates taken into account?
Yes. Meituan trades in its own currency; every purchase and valuation is converted at that month's exchange rate. A US asset can gain in dollars and less in euros if the dollar weakened.
Are fees and taxes included?
No: results are before brokerage fees, fund fees and taxes. Your net result depends on the account you invest through.
Compare with
Before you have regrets
What this calculation does not tell you.
Hindsight bias
Picking Nvidia or Bitcoin today means picking known winners. Back then, nothing set them apart from hundreds of assets that went nowhere or vanished.
Holding on was the real test
The result assumes you never sold, including through the drawdowns shown above. Very few investors actually do.
The broad market, no bet required
The MSCI World never makes headlines, but it does not require guessing the winner. It is the fairest yardstick for any pick.
Method: past performance, computed from split-adjusted monthly closing prices (intra-month lows are smoothed out). Converted at each month’s exchange rate; no fees, no taxes. The MSCI World benchmark is the price index, excluding dividends. Sources: Yahoo Finance (prices, exchange rates, US Treasury bills), Eurostat (inflation), published regulated rates (Livret A). Not investment advice. NokxiHub.