Silver vs. S&P 500: The 2025 Showdown

While the world spent 2025 obsessing over AI darlings like Nvidia and Apple, a much older asset was quietly staging a historic coup. Silver didn’t just participate in the 2025 bull market—it dominated it, crushing the S&P 500’s returns by nearly eightfold.

Silver vs. S&P 500: The 2025 Showdown

But for many investors, the year ended with a bittersweet lesson in timing. On December 29th, silver hit a breathtaking intraday high of $84.03, only to see those gains evaporate into a $72 close by New Year’s Eve. In a year where even a humble CD returned a steady 4.5%, the silver roller coaster proved that while the ‘poor man’s gold’ can outrun Wall Street’s tech giants, it only pays off if you know exactly when to step off the ride.

Here is the breakdown of how silver performed in 2025 compared to a CD, the S&P 500, and major tech stocks.

Silver vs. S&P 500: The 2025 Showdown

Silver: The 2025 Outlier

Silver experienced a historic run in 2025, reaching levels not seen in decades. It began the year as a relatively quiet asset and ended with record-breaking gains.²

• Price on January 2, 2025: ~$28.90 per ounce

• Price on December 31, 2025: ~$72.03 per ounce³

• Total Annual Gain: +149.2%

Comparison: Silver vs. Other Investments

While our previous discussion highlighted that silver usually lags behind over 10–20 years because it lacks “compounding,” 2025 was the year the “momentum” shifted entirely toward metals.

Key Takeaways from 2025

1. The Rare Win for Metals: In most years, the S&P 500 or high-growth tech like Nvidia beats silver. However, 2025 saw silver jump nearly 150%, outperforming even the “AI darling” Nvidia by a massive margin.

2. The Opportunity Cost of a CD: While a CD is safe, its 4.5% return in 2025 felt like standing still compared to the 17.9% of the broader stock market or the explosion in silver.

3. Volatility: It is worth noting that while silver ended the year at $72,03. it hit a 52-week high of over $84.03 just days before the year ended. This level of volatility is why we usually treat it as a speculative play rather than a foundational “interest-earning” account. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) raised margin requirements three times in December to cool off the “silver squeeze,” and the final hike on December 29th triggered a massive wave of profit-taking. It plummeted nearly 11% in a single day, which is why it ended the year closer to $72.

   Silver vs. S&P 500: The 2025 Showdown

• #######

  • Visit our gold prospecting site to view of collection of natural gold nuggets,

    silver and many other unique precious metals collectibles and great gift ideas:

     https://california-gold-rush-miner.us

    A few examples from our site:

    High Grade Silver Ore Slab

    

    silver slab – example only

    Nice sawn vein specimen of fresh, unaltered high grade silver ore from the world-class Cobalt Ontario deposits. Sawn on one side only.  The deposit was described in Mineralogical Record, Volume 43, Number 6.  In general, veins are predominantly composed of carbonates (calcite and/or dolomite) with arsenides and sulpharsenides of Co, Ni and Fe with native Ag and Bismuth.  Most of this material has been squirreled away in collections by now, although specimens do occasionally come to market.

    

    There are a few of these silver slabs available. The very bright silver really makes this piece stand out, but, unfortunately makes it all so hard to photograph. As an example the one pictured above is 66 grams for $85.

    

    Silver, Bornite

    There are a few of these beautiful native silver w bornite specimens available. Here is a 2 inch x 1 inch, Apx. 17.5 grams – Native Silver on Bornite thumbnail specimen from San Martin, Mexico. As an example the one pictured above is 17.5 grams for $120. 

    Avon Gold Rush Collectible stein

    

    1987 8 1/2” tall  San Francisco Gold Rush Handcrafted in Brazil for Avon. Each one of is individually numbered (#32017) this is the last one. $35.

    For further information on these: seo711@gmail.com

    All the items shown here are very limited and subject to prior sale without notice.

    #######

    Also see the most expensive type of gold nuggets, the Crystalline Gold Nuggets

    

    Crystalline gold

    Subscribe to our Youtube Arizona Gold Prospecting channel

    Click Here for great Gold Prospecting Equipment Deals

    • • DISCLAIMER:

        Some of the links in this description and in our videos may be affiliate links, and pay a small commission if you use them, but never increase the basic cost. I really appreciate the support. The content in my Youtube videos & blog posts SHALL NOT be construed as tax, legal, insurance, construction, engineering, health & safety, electrical, financial advice, prospecting or other & may be outdated or inaccurate; it is your responsibility to verify all information. I am a not financial adviser. I only express my opinions based on my experiences. Your experience may be quite different. Investing of any kind involves risk. While it is possible to minimize risk, your investments are solely your responsibility. You must conduct your own research. There is NO guarantee of gains or losses on any investments. My produced videos are for entertainment purposes ONLY. DO NOT make buying or selling decisions based on these videos. If you need advice, please contact a qualified CPA, attorney, insurance agent, contractor/electrician/engineer, financial advisor, or the appropriate professional for the subject you would like help with.

      • Keep in mind land use and land boundaries are constantly changing,  before going to a unknown location you must do extensive research not only into the current weather conditions, access and current land status.  Keep In mind private property owners and mining claim owners do not take kindly to trespassers and or claim jumpers. Always follow local laws and regulations related to prospecting and land use. Regulations and restrictions are constantly changing on BLM lands, State lands, National Monuments  and tribal lands. It is your responsibility to totally investigate any potential prospecting area  prior to heading out.  Failure to do so, could not only result in massive fines but also imprisonment and confiscation of all your equipment.