What was the biggest Nasdaq Composite drawdown ever?

−55.5%, bottoming Mar 9, 2009.

Market proxy ONEQ$105.231D +1.05%as of market close, Oct 21, 2026

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Nasdaq Composite drawdown: 3.3% below the all-time high (price)

Q: How far is Nasdaq Composite from its all-time high?

Nasdaq Composite is 3.3% below its all-time high, set Oct 6, 2026.

Nasdaq Composite is 3.3% below its all-time high, set Oct 6, 2026 (as of market close, Oct 21, 2026), measured on price alone — dividends are not included, the convention headlines and crash histories use. The chart shows every day as a percentage of the highest level reached up to that point: 100% means a fresh record, everything below is a drawdown.

Below all-time high: −3.3%; 96.7% of ATH
All-time high: $108.77; Oct 6, 2026
Time below the high: 15 days; since Oct 6, 2026
Worst-ever drawdown: −55.5%; Mar 9, 2009
Longest underwater: 3.5 yrs; between all-time highs
Today's level first reached: May 28, 2026; 5 mo ago
Last time this deep: Sep 16, 2026; in a previous episode

% of all-time high since 2003: price#

The classic underwater chart (drawdown curve), drawn as % of the all-time high — 100% is a fresh record, everything below it is time spent underwater. Basis and range are in the URL, so a particular view is a link.

Basis

Range

All-time high = 100%50%60%70%80%90%

ONEQ close · log5.0010.0020.0050.00100

20052010201520202025

The deepest drawdowns on record#

Every decline of 15% or more from an all-time high (price basis), deepest first.

Peak	Trough	Depth	Peak → trough	Recovered by	Underwater
Oct 31, 2007	Mar 9, 2009	−55.5%	16 mo	Apr 26, 2011	3.5 yrs
Nov 19, 2021	Dec 28, 2022	−35.9%	13 mo	Feb 9, 2024	2.2 yrs
Feb 19, 2020	Mar 23, 2020	−30.4%	33 days	Jun 8, 2020	4 mo
Dec 16, 2024	Apr 8, 2025	−24.4%	4 mo	Jun 27, 2025	6 mo
Aug 31, 2018	Dec 24, 2018	−23.7%	4 mo	Apr 26, 2019	8 mo
Apr 28, 2011	Oct 3, 2011	−18.8%	5 mo	Feb 3, 2012	9 mo
Jan 26, 2004	Aug 12, 2004	−18.4%	7 mo	Dec 6, 2004	10 mo
Jul 20, 2015	Feb 9, 2016	−18.2%	7 mo	Aug 5, 2016	13 mo

Price basis (no dividends) — the convention crash histories use. With dividends reinvested, recoveries arrive years earlier; switch the basis on the chart above to see it.

Drawdown vs what came next#

One dot per month since 2003: how far Nasdaq Composite stood below its all-time high, and the total return over the following 1, 5 and 10 years.

1950–19992000–today

+0.0%+10.0%+20.0%100%80%60%40%% of all-time high at the start month (ATH on the left)today (−3.3%)

Read this with survivorship bias in mind: a single asset's history is one surviving sample, so past recoveries here say little about the odds ahead. Monthly windows also overlap heavily (they are not independent samples). Not investment advice.

FAQ#

How far is Nasdaq Composite from its all-time high?: Nasdaq Composite is currently 3.3% below its all-time high, set Oct 6, 2026 (as of market close, Oct 21, 2026). Prices only, the convention headlines use; with dividends reinvested the gap is usually smaller.
What was the biggest Nasdaq Composite drawdown ever?: The deepest decline on record in our data (since 2003) took Nasdaq Composite 55.5% below its prior high, bottoming Mar 9, 2009. The table on this page lists every major episode with its peak, trough and recovery date.

Methodology & related#

Daily data since 2003 from ONEQ, Nasdaq Composite's tracking fund; no free deep history exists for Nasdaq Composite — for a 150-year drawdown record see the S&P 500 drawdown page. The price basis excludes dividends; the total-return basis reinvests them; the real basis additionally deflates by CPI. See also returns by year. Past performance does not predict future returns; not investment advice.

More on Nasdaq Composite

Companies & weights→

1006

companies · NVDA heaviest at 11.8% (est.)

Stock performance→

1006

companies ranked best to worst

Return calculator→

$1,842

$1,000 invested 5 years ago, dividends reinvested

Dividend yield→

0.55%

weighted across members

Buyback yield→

1.06%

0.84% net of shares issued

Shareholder yield→

1.56%

buybacks 1.06% + dividends

Technology leads the index

Returns by year→

+15.6%

YTD total return · every year since 2004

Trailing returns→

+17.1%

1Y total return · 3Y · 5Y · 10Y (CAGR)

YTD return→

+15.6%

total return · daily path + historical rank

Yearly charts→

+20.9%

2025 · every year since 2004, with its events

Average return→

10%?

the long-run answer, examined

All 19 Nasdaq Composite pages →Drawdown for: S&P 500 · S&P 500 Equal Weight · US Stock Market · Nasdaq-100Tracked by ONEQ

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