Pokémon cards outpace the S&P 500 by nearly 8x over 20 years

Card Ladder data reported by Fortune shows the average Pokémon card rose 3,261% over two decades, far ahead of the S&P 500’s 421% total return. The numbers, plus a record Pikachu Illustrator sale and growing retail demand, show trading cards have evolved from hobby items into a tracked alternative asset.

Why it matters: - Pokémon cards have become one of the strongest-performing collectible categories tracked by Card Ladder, giving investors and collectors a new benchmark for alternative assets. - The long-run gains far outpaced the S&P 500, while record sales and retail demand show the market is no longer limited to niche auction buyers. - The trend matters for Gen Z and millennial collectors who increasingly treat cards as both memorabilia and an investment vehicle.

What happened: - Card Ladder data reported by Fortune shows the average Pokémon card gained 3,261% over the past 20 years. - Over the same period, the S&P 500 posted a 421% total return. - Fortune’s July 2025 reporting said Pokémon led every card category tracked in the dataset Card Ladder provided. - American football, basketball and baseball cards also outpaced the S&P 500 over the same 20-year window. - As of the July 2025 report, the average Pokémon card was rising at nearly 46% a year on a one-year basis. - That annual pace outstripped the S&P 500’s average annual return rate of 12% and also topped prominent technology stocks over the same stretch.

The details: - Card Ladder is a pricing platform that tracks trading card sales across major marketplaces. - The 20-year comparison came from data the platform gave Fortune for a July 2025 report by Preston Fore. - In February 2026, YouTuber and entrepreneur Logan Paul sold his PSA 10 Pikachu Illustrator for $16,492,000 including buyer’s fees. - Fortune reported that sale as the most expensive trading card ever sold. - Paul bought the card in 2022 for $5.3 million, then the most expensive private sale on record. - eBay users searched “Pokemon” nearly 14,000 times per hour in 2024, according to Adam Ireland, VP and GM of global collectibles at eBay, speaking to Fortune. - The total gross value of cards sold on eBay rose for nine consecutive quarters. - Collectibles, including trading cards, made up 29% of GameStop’s total sales in its fiscal first quarter, exceeding video game software. - Walmart and Target temporarily limited or paused trading card sales during the 2021 surge. - The sports card segment generates more than $1 billion in annual sales revenue, according to SkyQuest Technology. - GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has described trading cards as a natural extension of the retailer’s business. - Pokémon Company International is printing at maximum capacity for current expansions, Barry Sams, the company’s vice president of game development, told Fortune. - Sams said collectors who grew up with Pokémon are now introducing the franchise to their children, spreading demand across generations. - CardOutpost, a digital Pokémon card pack-opening platform operated by Arcade Processing LLC, lets collectors open packs online and then request shipment of pulled cards, subject to availability, through a US-based warehouse. - CardOutpost also lets users sell cards back to the platform at 100% of displayed fair market value, minus a handling fee. - Displayed values on CardOutpost use third-party market data and historical sales, with the median of those prices used for valuation. - If a shipped item is a graded card, CardOutpost fulfills it with a physical card of the same card and grade from the same grading company. - CardOutpost says collectors can open Pokémon packs across tiers priced from $25 to $2,500 per pack, with maximum pulls ranging from $250 to $25,000.

Between the lines: - The Card Ladder comparison reflects graded, high-condition sales, not the typical unopened pack sitting in a closet. - Fortune noted that rare cards in pristine condition are the ones most likely to command major profits. - The market data points to a collectibles sector that now behaves more like a tracked asset class than a simple nostalgia purchase. - The rise of online pack-opening platforms shows the hobby is shifting toward instant digital access while still trying to preserve the appeal of a physical card.

What's next: - Supply pressure is likely to remain an issue if demand keeps expanding across both collectors and casual retail buyers. - The category’s next test will be whether card prices can hold if broader market conditions weaken or if the most dramatic gains remain concentrated in rare, high-grade cards. - Platforms like CardOutpost are likely to keep pushing the hobby toward faster, market-priced digital transactions paired with physical fulfillment.

The bottom line: - Pokémon cards have delivered equity-like returns over 20 years, but the biggest gains still depend on rarity, condition and timing.