What happened after each all-time high

Buying at an all-time high is the least favourable entry the record contains, and the table shows what it produced. Every peak except the most recent was eventually exceeded, and the interval required was measured in years rather than months. A holder who bought at the top of one cycle and needed the money before the next one arrived did not recover, and the table cannot show how many such holders there were because it only records prices.

The pattern across the rows is worth noting. The earliest peaks were exceeded relatively quickly, because the market was small and a modest inflow could lift it past any previous level. The later peaks took longer, and the intervals have not shortened as the market has grown. That is the same compression of upside and persistence of downside that appears throughout the record, seen from the perspective of the worst possible entry point.

The most important caveat is the one that applies to every historical maximum. The fact that every past peak was eventually exceeded is a statement about the past, and the sample is small. It is not a guarantee that the current peak will be exceeded, and the table should not be read as one. What it does support is a narrower and more useful conclusion: buying at a peak has historically required patience measured in years, and any plan that assumes otherwise is assuming something the record does not show.

The all-time high history page lists the peaks themselves, and the drawdown record measures how far the price fell after each one.