CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends Chart: Complete Guide for Investors

The CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends, also known as CAC 40 GR (Gross Return), is the benchmark stock market index in France when it comes to analyzing the real performance of major French companies by taking dividends into account. This guide relies on up-to-date data for November 2025 and reveals all the subtleties necessary to understand, invest in, and graphically interpret the growth of this exceptional long-term index.

Introduction to the CAC 40 and the concept of reinvested dividends

The CAC 40 index brings together the 40 largest listed companies in Paris, such as L'Oréal, TotalEnergies, Airbus, BNP Paribas, LVMH, and Danone. It covers all key sectors and serves as a barometer for the French economy. While the classic "price" index measures only the evolution of prices, the "dividends reinvested" version (or PX1GR) offers a much more complete picture of real wealth creation over several decades.

What is the CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends Index?

The CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends Index simulates the case where each dividend paid by a company in the CAC would be automatically reinvested in the index at the time of payment. This allows measuring the effect of compounding, that is, the exponential increase in capital thanks to the compounded interest generated by the continuous reinvestment of dividends.

Differences between CAC 40, CAC 40 GR, and CAC 40 NR

  • CAC 40 (price): reflects only the evolution of the prices of the 40 companies, without taking dividends into account.
  • CAC 40 GR (Gross Return): integrates all dividends paid, without considering taxation.
  • CAC 40 NR (Net Return): includes dividends after deducting a fictional tax according to European regulations to compare indices between countries or strategies.

The distinction is essential for measuring the net performance of a particular investor, as the returns displayed by the CAC 40 GR are gross of all charges and taxes.

Chart and long-term performance of the CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends

The chart of the CAC 40 GR over 30 or 40 years highlights the power of the compounding effect. Below you will find key historical values and a detailed analysis of the major stock market cycles that have marked the index.

Essential figures: evolution and returns

  • Level of the CAC 40 GR on November 11, 2025: 26,124.80 points.
  • Performance over 5 years (October 2020 – October 2025): +86.08% (which corresponds to an annualized return of approximately 13.2% over this very dynamic period, particularly driven by luxury goods and energy).
  • Average annual return since inception in 1987: 8.96% per year.
  • Value of a €1,000 investment in 1987: around €26,071 in 2025 with dividends reinvested.
  • Total dividends paid by CAC 40 companies in 2024: approximately €68 billion.
  • Dividends paid in 2025 (forecast): around €81 billion.

This data illustrates the powerful growth of the index adjusted for dividends over a representative period.

Performance by period and volatility

The return is however not linear each year. In case of crisis, such as during the Covid crash in 2020, the CAC 40 GR can suffer a negative correction. The distribution of returns over 40 years reveals an alternation between structural uptrend cycles and bearish phases associated with economic shocks (internet bubble, 2008 financial crisis, pandemic, geopolitical tensions).

  • Over the last 10 years: the CAC 40 GR has progressed by approximately 132.18 %.
  • Over the last 3 years: approximately 48.43 %.
  • The annual average volatility fluctuates between 12 % and 24 % depending on periods of uncertainty.

International comparison

The CAC 40 GR offers a respectable performance, but remains inferior to that of the US S&P 500 Total Return over the long term, with an average of 10.5 % for the S&P compared to 8.96 % for the CAC 40 GR. This difference is mainly explained by the superior dynamism of American technology companies and stronger growth of underlying emerging markets.

Effect of reinvesting dividends on value creation

Impact on final wealth: concrete examples

  • An investor who invested €1,000 in the CAC 40 GR in 1987 would have approximately €26,071 in November 2025, proof of the power of compound interest.
  • If €100 had been invested each month since 1987 in this index, the accumulated capital would have exceeded €377,919 in 2025.

For comparison, the "price" version of the CAC 40 index, without reinvestment of dividends, results in a much lower raw value (less than €7,000 over the same period).

Inflation-adjusted effects

It is important to remember that long-term charts of the CAC 40 GR must be adjusted for inflation to estimate the real gain in purchasing power. Without this adjustment, the capital growth may appear higher than reality from the perspective of an individual.

Composition and evolution of the CAC 40 GR index

The companies in the CAC 40 in November 2025

  • L'Oréal
  • LVMH
  • TotalEnergies
  • Airbus
  • Bouygues
  • Sanofi
  • Orange
  • BNP Paribas
  • Renault
  • Société Générale
  • Saint-Gobain
  • Hermès International
  • Danone
  • Safran
  • Dassault Systèmes
  • Capgemini
  • ArcelorMittal
  • Carrefour
  • Vivendi
  • Veolia
  • Crédit Agricole
  • Teleperformance
  • Engie
  • Publicis Groupe
  • Kering
  • Alstom
  • STMicroelectronics
  • Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
  • Worldline
  • Schneider Electric
  • Legrand
  • Pernod Ricard
  • Eurofins Scientific
  • Michelin
  • Edenred
  • Arkema
  • Air Liquide
  • Accor
  • Thales
  • Vinci
  • Dassault Aviation

The composition evolves periodically to adjust to the state of the market. This renewal, called the survivorship bias, is rarely distinguished in analyses: past performance could overestimate what an actual investor would achieve on the entirety of initial companies (some having left the index over time due to crises).

How does the "index reconstruction" work

Each quarter, an independent committee revises the list of components based on market capitalization, liquidity, and sectoral representation. Troubled companies are replaced by more dynamic ones, ensuring that the index achieves structurally optimized performance.

Investing in the CAC 40 Dividends Reinvested: Strategies and Tools

ETF CAC 40 GR: The Simplest Solution

ETFs replicating the CAC 40 Dividends Reinvested offer very practical access to the index. Some fund managers propose ETF CAC 40 GR, generally eligible for a PEA and available on most French stock trading platforms.

  • Automatic Reinvestment: Every dividend paid is automatically reinvested in the index without manual intervention.
  • Low Fees: Management fees are typically around 0.2% to 0.4% per year.
  • Liquidity and Diversification: The CAC 40 GR covers all major sectors, limiting specific risk to any one company.

Investment via a Stock Account or PEA

It is also possible to invest in the CAC 40 through a stock account or PEA, by purchasing directly the shares of companies listed in the index and choosing to manually reinvest each received dividend. This method requires time and rigor but allows precise control over the exact tax applied to each transaction.

  • Tax Advantage of PEA: After five years of holding, capital gains and reinvested dividends are exempt from income tax, subject only to social security contributions.
  • Real-Time Quotation: The CAC 40 GR is updated continuously on platforms such as Euronext or Boursorama.
  • Risks: Actual performance depends on the discipline of reinvestment and individual taxation.

Optimize Your Strategy: Diversification and Investment Horizon

The key to maximizing the performance of the CAC 40 GR lies in diversification (not limiting oneself to the titles of the CAC 40 alone, but including other indices to dilute sectoral risks) and in the duration of investment. Statistics show that the probabilities of achieving a positive return on the CAC 40 GR increase with the investment horizon:

  • At 1 Year: Very wide variations, possibility of negative performance.
  • At 5 Years: Average annualized performance often exceeds inflation in France since 1990.
  • At 10 Years and Beyond: Near certainty of a positive return, with an annualized performance around 8–9% gross.

Taxation on Reinvested Dividends

The CAC 40 GR does not take into account the actual tax for an individual. In France, dividends are subject to the "flat tax" (unified withholding tax of 30% since 2018, including taxes and social security contributions). Therefore, the index shows a higher gross performance than what an individual investor would actually receive net of tax. To obtain a real performance, it is necessary to deduct the applicable tax on each dividend and capital gain.

Graphical Analysis of the CAC 40 Dividends Reinvested

Long-term Chart Reading: Key Points

  • Exponential Growth: The long-term chart of the CAC 40 GR (1987–2025) illustrates the compound effect. The curve follows a discontinuous geometric progression (accentuated by the strong years of luxury and energy companies).
  • Correction Dips: Crises (2000, 2008, 2020) are visible on the chart with periods of stagnation or decline in capital over several years.
  • Presentation Bias: Most charts ignore inflation adjustments and do not always distinguish the impact of changes in the index composition.

Using the Chart for Forecasting

To establish forecasts, it is advisable to differentiate the long-term average annual performance (8.96% per year) from one-year or five-year returns, which can be significantly higher or lower depending on the context (macroeconomic events, health crises, monetary policy changes, etc.). The index is particularly sensitive to global growth, the luxury, energy, and finance sectors.

What are the Risks and Limitations of the CAC 40 GR Index?

Survivorship Bias and Evolution of Composition

The performance displayed by the CAC 40 GR is subject to "survivorship bias": the index systematically integrates the most performing companies and removes underperforming stocks during each quarterly review. Consequently, an investor who replicates the index over 40 years without rebalancing will not achieve exactly the performance shown over time – hence the importance of ETFs to follow the official indicator accurately.

Taxation and Fees

The lack of consideration for dividend taxation and management fees in the performance displayed by the CAC 40 GR can mislead individual investors. It is always necessary to adjust the performance with the real parameters of your situation: tax, purchase/sale fees, broker cost, and any ETF costs.

Sectoral Exposure and Macro-economic Trends

  • Strong weight of luxury and finance companies in recent performance.
  • Sensitivity to European and global geopolitical crises.
  • Lower weighting of technology companies compared to the S&P 500, which may penalize performance in case of sector bubbles on American markets.

Comparison of the CAC 40 Dividends Reinvested with Major International Indices

Index Average Annual Return (since 1987) Dividends Included Performance Over 40 Years
CAC 40 GR 8.96% Yes Multiplication by 26, final value around €26,000 for €1,000 invested in 1987
S&P 500 TR 10.5% Yes Multiplication by nearly 40, value exceeding €40,000 for €1,000 invested in 1987
Stoxx Europe 600 GR About 8.3% Yes Multiplication by about 24

FAQ: CAC 40 Dividends Reinvested

  • What is the advantage of the CAC 40 GR compared to the classic CAC 40? The CAC 40 GR incorporates all dividends paid, providing an accurate picture of long-term capital growth. Over 40 years, the performance gap with the price index is enormous.
  • How can an individual investor access the CAC 40 GR? Through ETFs indexed to PX1GR, or through a brokerage account/PEA with the manual reinvestment of each dividend.
  • Can one purchase the CAC 40 GR directly? One cannot buy the raw index itself; investment is made through financial products replicating the CAC 40 GR.
  • Will future returns be identical? Nothing guarantees that past performance will repeat; the macroeconomic environment, taxation, and sectoral composition are constantly evolving.

Conclusion: How to best utilize the CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends?

The historical, graphical, and comparative analysis of the CAC 40 Reinvested Dividends shows that considering the reinvestment of dividends is absolutely key when investing for the long term. Accessing this index through ETFs or high-performing index funds offers maximum fidelity to the true performance of the French stock market. Investors seeking to optimize their wealth should prioritize regularity, diversification, and the automated reinvestment of dividends, while keeping a close eye on taxation and actual fees.

In summary, the CAC 40 GR constitutes an indispensable tool for anyone wishing to measure or achieve the real performance of the equity market in France, but it is essential to be aware of its biases, limitations, and the importance of the choice of financial products used to follow it over time.