The Bureau of Historic Losses · Counterfactual Division
What if you'd bought Woolworths in 2007?
Woolworths was the market's untouchable defensive compounder — groceries, petrol, pokies, and a share price that only ever seemed to go up. Buying here, near $20, you were paying a premium for certainty that the next decade would partly, but not entirely, reward.
$100 on 2007-01-01, worth today
A$420
As of 2026-06-12, $100 of Woolworths bought at 2007's open (A$9.12) is worth A$420 — 4.20×.
total return · dividends reinvested · AUD
How much would $100 of Woolworths bought in 2007 be worth today?
| You'd have put in | You'd have now | Multiple |
|---|---|---|
| A$100 | A$420 | 4.20× |
| A$1,000 | A$4,204 | 4.20× |
| A$10,000 | A$42,038 | 4.20× |
Lump sum on the year's first trading day, total return (dividends reinvested, splits adjusted), valued at the latest close. Past performance isn't a promise — it's a taunt.
What did Woolworths do in 2007?
Opened
A$9.12
2007-01-01
Peaked
A$13.81
2007-12-10
Bottomed
A$8.72
2007-01-16
Closed
A$13.47
2007-12-30
Levels are dividend-adjusted, so historical figures look lower than the headline price of the day — that's the total-return lens, and it's the honest one.
Would steady buying have beaten going all in?
A$101,500 deployed as $100 a week from 2007-01-01, under four temperaments — same money, different nerves.
| All in on day one | A$426,688 |
| Steady weekly buys | A$223,961 |
| Sold dips, rebought rallies | A$102,534 |
| Traded it perfectly | A$223,961 |
“Traded it perfectly” requires knowing the future. Nobody knew the future.
The same $1,000, elsewhere
$1,000 at 2007's open, each valued at the latest close. Hindsight remains undefeated.
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