# How Analog Devices (ADI) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/adi
> Data as of October 22, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on ADI alone. It places ADI (Analog Devices, Inc.) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where ADI stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: ADI's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Its semiconductor peers split over the past 6 months: SWKS (Skyworks Solutions) rose 34.5%, while MPWR (Monolithic Power Systems) fell 23.0%. Over the past 6 months, ADI rose 1.7% against 8.0% for the S&P 500 and 7.8% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** ADI held up far better than its industry: it rose 0.1% over the past 3 months while the semiconductors ETF SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) fell 10.8%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its semiconductor peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: SWKS (Skyworks Solutions) rose 30.4%, while MPWR (Monolithic Power Systems) fell 16.4%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** ADI has run far ahead of the market, rising 62.5% over the past year against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (147% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** ADI turned $10,000 into $72,500 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. ADI's 10-year return of 625% puts it ahead of 90% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 316%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, ADI has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500. On the flip side, in the 2022 bear market, ADI held up better than NXPI (NXP Semiconductors), MPWR and MCHP; only NVT (nVent Electric) fell less.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, ADI has a correlation of 0.63 over 5 years, more closely than 94% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. That said, over 10 years, ADI's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.20: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.2 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 92% as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** APH (Amphenol) earned more than ADI with less volatility over the past 5 years: 31.3% a year at 32.4% volatility, against 18.6% a year at 34.2%.
  - **Whole market:** 115 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ADI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT (Walmart), XOM (Exxonmobil) and ABBV (AbbVie).

## How much would $10,000 in ADI have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in ADI over the past 29 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of ADI over the same span and ADI's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in ADI at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $385,909 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of ADI, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## ADI at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the stock, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- ADI's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 82.9%, from September 2000 to December 2008. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, ADI's best was 1999, when it returned 197%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 46.2%. It lost money in ten of those years.
- ADI is 13.1% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Semiconductors)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $187B
- Volatility (5 years): 34.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.67
- Worst decline ever: −82.9%, from September 1, 2000 to December 1, 2008; back at its high by November 25, 2016

| Period | ADI total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −1.2% |
| 3 months | +0.1% |
| 6 months | +1.7% |
| year to date | +42.2% |
| 1 year | +62.5% |
| 3 years | +147% |
| 5 years | +135% |
| 10 years | +625% |

## ADI against the whole market

Where ADI ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does ADI rank among all stocks?

This section ranks ADI on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every stock worth at least $300 million with enough history.

- ADI's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 2% of the 2,184 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | ADI | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +62.5% | 393 of 3,282 (top 12%) |
| 3-year return | +147% | 616 of 3,016 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +135% | 512 of 2,897 (top 18%) |
| 10-year return | +625% | 223 of 2,201 (top 11%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 34.2% | 1,085 of 2,897 (top 38%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.67 | 516 of 2,897 (top 18%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −33.6% | 52 of 2,184 (top 3%) |

### What has beaten ADI on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 98 stocks and 17 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than ADI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 3% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half ADI's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 28% less than ADI's 34.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.67 for ADI. TRGP earned the most, 41.8% a year, while still swinging less than ADI (31.7% against 34.2%).
- Among ADI's popular alternatives, APH is in the region. APH earned 31.3% a year against 18.6% a year for ADI, at 32.4% volatility, 5% less than ADI's 34.2%.

### Is there a better investment than ADI?

The table below lists investments that beat ADI over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes.

- Among ADI's popular alternatives, APH earned more than ADI with less volatility over the past 5 years: 31.3% a year at 32.4% volatility, against 18.6% a year at 34.2%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, SMH (semiconductors) earned more than ADI over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 32.2% a year at 37.0% volatility, against 18.6% a year at 34.2%.
- Across the whole market, 115 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ADI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT, XOM and ABBV.

The 15 strongest of 115 investments that beat ADI over the past 5 years, out of 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with ADI | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADI: Analog Devices, Inc. (this page) |  | +18.6% | 34.2% | 0.67 | −33.6% | +625% |  |  |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRGP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +41.8% | 31.7% | 1.27 | −90.8% | +829% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +21.1% | 22.6% | 0.97 | −25.7% | +521% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [PGR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.8% | 25.7% | 0.90 | −30.3% | +849% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +360% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MFC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | Life Insurance | +23.3% | 24.0% | 1.00 | −57.5% | +386% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [GWW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gww): W.W. Grainger, Inc. | Industrial Distribution | +26.7% | 24.9% | 1.08 | −41.6% | +670% | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [HLT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hlt): Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. | Hotels & Resorts | +20.7% | 26.8% | 0.84 | −50.8% | +693% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [AMGN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +20.1% | 24.9% | 0.86 | −24.9% | +280% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| USFD: US Foods Holding Corp. | Food Distribution | +23.3% | 29.8% | 0.85 | −77.3% | +353% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| SNX: TD Synnex Corp | Technology Distribution | +20.2% | 30.4% | 0.76 | −55.8% | +427% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| MOG-A: Moog Inc. | Aerospace Components | +35.1% | 32.1% | 1.10 | −63.7% | +540% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | International Equity | +19.8% | 24.3% | 0.87 | −38.9% | +448% | 0.67 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Health Care Facilities | +31.2% | 28.6% | 1.10 | −35.3% | +385% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DTM: DT Midstream, Inc. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +25.0% | 25.2% | 1.02 | −23.6% | — | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## ADI against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against ADI, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do ADI's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only APH was both more rewarding and calmer than ADI over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- 14 of the 22 popular alternatives earned less than ADI over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, ADI returned 18.6% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (34.2% against 17.2%).

### Has ADI consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares ADI with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- None of the 22 popular alternatives outperformed ADI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was TER.
- AMAT outperformed ADI over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so ADI has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of ADI | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADI: Analog Devices, Inc. (this page) | +62.5% | +147% | +135% | +625% |  |  | 0.67 |
| [TER](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ter): Teradyne, Inc. | +123% | +243% | +171% | +1,379% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| [AMAT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amat): Applied Materials, Inc. | +71.2% | +186% | +188% | +1,334% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| [APH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aph): Amphenol Corporation | +14.6% | +282% | +290% | +887% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.01 |
| [KEYS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/keys): Keysight Technologies, Inc. | +89.2% | +156% | +76.8% | +843% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| MTSI: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. | +69.0% | +212% | +246% | +492% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| [MPWR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpwr): Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | +17.4% | +189% | +137% | +1,495% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| NVT: nVent Electric plc | +32.3% | +176% | +309% | — | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.93 |
| SMTC: Semtech Corporation | +92.1% | +691% | +60.2% | +397% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| MXL: MaxLinear, Inc. | +289% | +234% | +23.5% | +233% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| SITM: SiTime Corporation | +74.3% | +341% | +102% | — | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| SLAB: Silicon Laboratories Inc. | +67.7% | +121% | +45.9% | +274% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [TXN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | +68.0% | +108% | +61.8% | +413% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| SYNA: Synaptics Incorporated | +69.9% | +34.8% | −34.2% | +69.8% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [NXPI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nxpi): NXP Semiconductors N.V. | +11.4% | +37.5% | +30.4% | +166% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| SWKS: Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | +15.0% | +0.4% | −42.6% | +30.3% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | +41.0% | −12.4% | +59.3% | +506% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [STM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/stm): STMicroelectronics N.V. | +52.8% | +14.3% | +4.8% | +498% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| [ROK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rok): Rockwell Automation, Inc. | +22.6% | +66.9% | +45.7% | +325% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| DIOD: Diodes Incorporated | +45.1% | +13.6% | −11.4% | +294% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| [MCHP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | +18.5% | +8.0% | +10.5% | +197% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| POWI: Power Integrations, Inc. | +13.1% | −29.8% | −50.9% | +65.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| ALGM: Allegro MicroSystems, Inc. | +3.2% | +11.8% | −4.3% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |

### How did ADI do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1997, along with where ADI ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- ADI finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 14 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, NVT came out ahead of ADI most often, in five of the seven years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, ADI finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 9 of 23.

| Year | ADI | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +29.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +8.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +23.4% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −4.9% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +21.0% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +26.9% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +41.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −1.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +25.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +35.0% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How ADI has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were ADI's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all four of ADI's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: ADI fell 41.4% from June to August 2000, while the S&P 500 slipped only 1.4%.
- The slowest recovery came after ADI fell 82.9% from September 2000 to December 2008; it did not regain that peak until November 2016, eight years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −82.9% | September 1, 2000 | December 1, 2008 | November 25, 2016 | −38.1% | dot-com bust |
| −76.1% | August 7, 1987 | November 1, 1990 | August 4, 1993 | — |  |
| −66.0% | May 1, 1998 | September 4, 1998 | May 12, 1999 | −12.9% |  |
| −41.4% | June 19, 2000 | August 4, 2000 | August 31, 2000 | −1.4% | dot-com bust |
| −40.1% | May 13, 1996 | July 15, 1996 | November 11, 1996 | −5.1% |  |

### How did ADI do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far ADI, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than ADI in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- ADI fell further than the S&P 500 in four of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when ADI fell 82.0% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | ADI fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −82.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −55.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.2% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −18.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −22.7% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −18.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −33.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −22.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does ADI move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Over the past 10 years, ADI captured 117% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 92% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.20. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- KEYS took just 71% of the S&P 500's losses, against 92% for ADI, while still keeping 121% of its gains.
- Five of the 19 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than ADI's 1.26, led by KEYS, APH and AMAT.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADI: Analog Devices, Inc. (this page) | 117% | 92.0% | 1.20 |
| [TER](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ter): Teradyne, Inc. | 167% | 121% | 1.53 |
| [AMAT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amat): Applied Materials, Inc. | 152% | 97.0% | 1.51 |
| [APH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aph): Amphenol Corporation | 125% | 79.0% | 1.24 |
| [KEYS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/keys): Keysight Technologies, Inc. | 121% | 71.0% | 1.08 |
| MTSI: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. | 148% | 157% | 1.93 |
| [MPWR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpwr): Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | 156% | 107% | 1.31 |
| SMTC: Semtech Corporation | 193% | 240% | 1.99 |
| MXL: MaxLinear, Inc. | 140% | 169% | 2.95 |
| SLAB: Silicon Laboratories Inc. | 113% | 130% | 1.18 |
| [TXN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | 113% | 108% | 1.18 |
| SYNA: Synaptics Incorporated | 117% | 188% | 1.64 |
| [NXPI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nxpi): NXP Semiconductors N.V. | 115% | 157% | 1.63 |
| SWKS: Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | 88.0% | 149% | 1.31 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | 161% | 185% | 1.95 |
| [STM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/stm): STMicroelectronics N.V. | 122% | 104% | 1.72 |
| [ROK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rok): Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 122% | 138% | 1.46 |
| DIOD: Diodes Incorporated | 128% | 146% | 1.53 |
| [MCHP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | 127% | 170% | 1.72 |
| POWI: Power Integrations, Inc. | 89.0% | 133% | 1.28 |

### What diversifies ADI?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in ADI into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+20.8% for ADI alone, +24.9% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and HDV have moved largely independently of ADI over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.44 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which ADI lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with ADI | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in ADI's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.38 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.41 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 1 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.44 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 1 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.18 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 6 of 10 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.16 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 5 of 10 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.21 | +114% | 18.9% | 0.90 | 2 of 10 |
| EUFN: iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF | 0.47 | +130% | 21.8% | 0.88 | 0 of 10 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.04 | +66.7% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was ADI's worst drawdown?

ADI's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 82.9%, from September 2000 to December 2008. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were ADI's best and worst years?

Over 29 full calendar years, ADI's best year was 1999, when it returned 197%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -46.2%.

### Is there a better investment than ADI?

Among ADI's popular alternatives, APH earned more than ADI with less volatility over the past 5 years: 31.3% a year at 32.4% volatility, against 18.6% a year at 34.2%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, SMH (semiconductors) earned more than ADI over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 32.2% a year at 37.0% volatility, against 18.6% a year at 34.2%.

### Is ADI more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. ADI's volatility over the past 5 years was 34.2%, about twice the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, ADI's return lands within 34.2% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is ADI's Sharpe ratio?

ADI's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.67, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so ADI earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is ADI with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, ADI's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.63 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They often move together: some diversification next to an index fund, but not a cushion. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against ADI instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a ADI holding.

### What are the best alternatives to ADI?

None of the 22 popular alternatives we compared outperformed ADI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about ADI's strength than about its alternatives.

### Did ADI outperform the S&P 500?

ADI finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 14 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +29.8%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did ADI do in stock market crashes?

ADI fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when ADI fell 82.0% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies ADI?

These had a low correlation with ADI over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.38), EMLP (correlation 0.41) and HDV (correlation 0.44); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.04), CLS (correlation 0.29) and MCK (correlation -0.00). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Teradyne (TER) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ter)
- [Applied Materials (AMAT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amat)
- [Amphenol (APH) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aph)
- [Keysight Technologies (KEYS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/keys)
- [Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpwr)
- [Texas Instruments (TXN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/txn)
- [NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nxpi)
- [STMicroelectronics (STM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/stm)
- [Rockwell Automation (ROK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rok)
- [Microchip Technology (MCHP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mchp)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://betterthanspy.com/research/adi
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against ADI live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=ADI