The current bull market just turned four, and it's one of the strongest on record.
The S&P 500 closed at 3,577.03 on Oct. 12, 2022, the bottom of the last bear market. Exactly four years later, on Oct. 12, 2026, it closed at 7,807.24. That's a 118.3% gain.
Only two bull markets since 1949 did better at the four-year mark. The run that began in August 1982 was up 137.6%, and the one that began in March 2009 was up 129.3%.
Every other bull that made it to four years gained far less at the same point. The 1949 bull was up 75.8%, 1957 was up 74.4%, 2002 was up 73.9%, 1987 was up 69.7% and 1974 was up 64.7%.
Plenty of bulls never got this far. The runs that started in 1962, 1966, 1970 and 2020 all ended before their fourth birthdays.
The two bulls ahead of this one kept going for years after the four-year mark. The 1982 run gained 229% before it peaked in August 1987, and the 2009 run gained 401% before it peaked in February 2020, based on closing prices.
Age alone doesn't end bull markets. This one has already outlasted most of its peers. As of the Oct. 14 close of 7,718.94, it was up 115.8% from the 2022 low.
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