By the end of the 2002 dot-com downturn, stocks had lost about $5 trillion in market capitalization from the bubble’s peak. The loss measured the decline in the total value of shares, not a literal withdrawal of $5 trillion in cash.
The dot-com bubble peaked on March 10, 2000, when the Nasdaq Composite reached 5,048.62. Investors had poured money into Internet and technology companies, often valuing businesses on expected future growth rather than profits, revenue, or sustainable cash flow.
As the bubble burst, technology stocks collapsed. The Nasdaq eventually fell 78% from its peak by October 2002, with the downturn also spreading to telecommunications and other growth sectors. Many highly publicized companies failed, while survivors such as Amazon endured years of much lower valuations before later growth.
The $5 trillion figure is therefore a broad market-capitalization estimate tied to the peak-to-trough collapse. It should not be confused with the roughly $1.755 trillion wiped out from Internet stocks by late 2000 or with the percentage decline of the Nasdaq itself.