# How Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/adm
> 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 ADM alone. It places ADM (Archer-Daniels-Midland Company) against 14 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 ADM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: ADM'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:** ADM has gone against the market, falling 8.0% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 2.5%. On the flip side, after a 54.1% loss from November 2022 to April 2025, ADM has bounced 97.6% off the low.
- **Stock or market?:** ADM fell 8.0% over the past 3 months, less than the 0.64 beta versus the S&P 500 would have implied (1.6%). Its agricultural product peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: SENEA (Seneca Foods) fell 0.4%, while BG (Bunge Global) fell 16.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, ADM rose 32.8% against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. It took 17 months for ADM to win back the 54.1% it lost from November 2022 to April 2025. the S&P 500 fell 28.6% over those same dates.
- **Long term:** ADM turned $10,000 into $25,200 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. Even so, over the past decade, only DAR (Darling Ingredients) and SENEA (Seneca Foods) of its agricultural product peers outpaced ADM.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, ADM has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, ADM has a correlation of 0.36 over 5 years, less closely than 58% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, ADM's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.75: 72% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 79% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** DE (Deere & Company) earned more for the risk it took than ADM over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 37.9%, against 54.1% for ADM.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** NEU (NewMarket, specialty chemicals) and KO (Coca-Cola, nonalcoholic beverages) earned more than ADM with less volatility over the past 5 years. NEU returned 20.9% a year at 26.8% volatility, against 6.8% a year at 28.7%.
  - **Whole market:** 676 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ADM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF), VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) and BRK-A (Berkshire Hathaway).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in ADM at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $78,052 by September 2026, less 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 ADM, and MNST finished highest, at $45,663,831.

## ADM 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.

- ADM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 68.0%, from April to October 2008. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, ADM's best was 2013, when it returned 61.8%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 36.9%. It lost money in 11 of those years.
- ADM is 9.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Staples (Agricultural Farm Products)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $38B
- Volatility (5 years): 28.7%; Sharpe ratio: 0.38
- Worst decline ever: −68.0%, from April 21, 2008 to October 9, 2008; back at its high by December 18, 2013

| Period | ADM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −3.0% |
| 3 months | −8.0% |
| 6 months | +16.5% |
| year to date | +38.0% |
| 1 year | +32.8% |
| 3 years | +21.9% |
| 5 years | +38.9% |
| 10 years | +152% |

## ADM against the whole market

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

### How does ADM rank among all stocks?

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

- ADM is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 21% of the 2,897 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | ADM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +32.8% | 921 of 3,282 (top 29%) |
| 3-year return | +21.9% | 2,008 of 3,016 (top 67%) |
| 5-year return | +38.9% | 1,238 of 2,897 (top 43%) |
| 10-year return | +152% | 1,075 of 2,201 (top 49%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 28.7% | 610 of 2,897 (top 22%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.38 | 1,311 of 2,897 (top 46%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −54.1% | 623 of 2,184 (top 29%) |

### What has beaten ADM 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).

- 206 stocks and 470 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than ADM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 19% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half ADM's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 14% less than ADM's 28.7%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.38 for ADM.
- None of ADM's popular alternatives made it, but WAB (industrial machinery) did: 25.2% a year at 26.3% volatility, 8% less than ADM's 28.7%.

### Is there a better investment than ADM?

The table below lists investments that beat ADM 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 ADM's popular alternatives, DE earned more for the risk it took than ADM over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 37.9%, against 54.1% for ADM.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, NEU (specialty chemicals) and KO (nonalcoholic beverages) earned more than ADM with less volatility over the past 5 years. NEU returned 20.9% a year at 26.8% volatility, against 6.8% a year at 28.7%.
- Across the whole market, 676 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ADM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-A.

The 15 strongest of 676 investments that beat ADM 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 ADM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADM: Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (this page) |  | +6.8% | 28.7% | 0.38 | −54.1% | +152% |  |  |
| [ABBV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Specialty Pharmaceuticals | +25.5% | 23.4% | 1.09 | −45.1% | +600% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [JNJ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +13.5% | 18.0% | 0.80 | −27.4% | +209% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MRK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mrk): Merck & Co., Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +16.1% | 24.8% | 0.73 | −43.4% | +245% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MCK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +37.8% | 25.1% | 1.41 | −38.1% | +582% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [AMGN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +20.1% | 24.9% | 0.86 | −24.9% | +280% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [RY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.5% | 18.2% | 0.98 | −40.0% | +361% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [FAST](https://betterthanspy.com/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +16.2% | 24.6% | 0.74 | −30.7% | +582% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [XLV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xlv): State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF | Health Care Equity | +8.4% | 15.3% | 0.60 | −28.4% | +208% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| PDBC: Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF | Broad Commodities | +12.0% | 19.3% | 0.69 | −40.7% | +152% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [V](https://betterthanspy.com/research/v): Visa Inc. | Payment Processing | +13.2% | 22.9% | 0.66 | −36.4% | +435% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | Japan Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +415% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| RLI: RLI Corp. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +9.2% | 24.0% | 0.49 | −43.5% | +238% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| NEU: NewMarket Corporation | Specialty Chemicals | +20.9% | 26.8% | 0.85 | −40.7% | +162% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ma): Mastercard Incorporated | Payment Processing | +12.7% | 23.8% | 0.62 | −41.0% | +551% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## ADM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do ADM'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 CTVA was both more rewarding and calmer than ADM over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, ADM returned 6.8% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (28.7% against 17.2%).

### Has ADM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Three of the 14 popular alternatives, CF, SENEA and CTVA, outperformed ADM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- CF and SENEA outperformed ADM in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- SENEA, CTVA and DE earned more for the risk they took than ADM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of ADM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADM: Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (this page) | +32.8% | +21.9% | +38.9% | +152% |  |  | 0.38 |
| CF: CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | +40.8% | +58.2% | +121% | +510% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.61 |
| SENEA: Seneca Foods Corporation | +34.4% | +212% | +217% | +468% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.82 |
| CTVA: Corteva, Inc. | +37.1% | +81.4% | +112% | — | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.67 |
| [DE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/de): Deere & Company | +40.8% | +79.5% | +102% | +764% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| DAR: Darling Ingredients Inc. | +78.8% | +36.0% | −29.1% | +307% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.03 |
| ANDE: The Andersons, Inc. | +43.6% | +39.7% | +118% | +109% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| DOLE: Dole plc | +5.9% | +31.9% | +1.0% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |
| ALCO: Alico, Inc. | +5.4% | +59.8% | +14.1% | +62.1% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| INGR: Ingredion Incorporated | −16.5% | +17.7% | +15.5% | −3.6% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| GIS: General Mills, Inc. | −23.5% | −35.5% | −31.0% | −14.8% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.21 |
| BG: Bunge Global S.A. | +10.8% | +10.9% | +33.5% | +125% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| SEB: Seaboard Corporation | +17.6% | +11.0% | −5.2% | +10.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| AGRO: Adecoagro S.A. | +33.6% | 0.0% | +25.4% | +0.9% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.32 |
| MOS: The Mosaic Company | −39.6% | −43.7% | −53.4% | −14.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.15 |

### How did ADM do year by year?

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

- ADM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, CTVA came out ahead of ADM most often, in four of the six years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, ADM finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 15.

| Year | ADM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +18.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −27.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −20.4% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +40.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +37.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +12.4% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +17.1% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +5.3% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | −9.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +28.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How ADM 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 ADM's worst declines?

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

- In all five of ADM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: ADM fell 57.7% from October 1997 to September 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 52.1%.
- The slowest recovery came after ADM fell 68.0% from April to October 2008; it did not regain that peak until December 2013, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −68.0% | April 21, 2008 | October 9, 2008 | December 18, 2013 | −33.8% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −57.7% | October 7, 1997 | September 25, 2000 | October 28, 2004 | +52.1% | dot-com bust |
| −54.1% | November 22, 2022 | April 8, 2025 | September 10, 2026 | +28.6% | 2023 regional bank crisis |
| −41.9% | May 27, 2015 | January 19, 2016 | August 2, 2018 | −10.2% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −40.5% | October 8, 2018 | March 23, 2020 | October 8, 2020 | −20.1% | late-2018 sell-off |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, GIS held up best, falling less than ADM in eight of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- ADM fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when ADM fell 35.5% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

| Crash | Dates | ADM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −31.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −68.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −24.4% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −35.5% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −2.0% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −22.9% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −33.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −26.7% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.1% | −3.4% |

### How closely does ADM 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.

- Six of the 12 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than ADM's 0.91, led by SENEA, DE and CF.
- SENEA took just 20% of the S&P 500's losses, against 79% for ADM, while still keeping 73% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, ADM captured 72% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 79% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.75. Its share of the market's losses was slightly larger than its share of the gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADM: Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (this page) | 72.0% | 79.0% | 0.75 |
| CF: CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | 102% | 78.0% | 0.82 |
| SENEA: Seneca Foods Corporation | 73.0% | 20.0% | 0.34 |
| [DE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/de): Deere & Company | 110% | 66.0% | 0.98 |
| DAR: Darling Ingredients Inc. | 118% | 127% | 1.05 |
| ANDE: The Andersons, Inc. | 54.0% | 54.0% | 0.65 |
| ALCO: Alico, Inc. | 79.0% | 120% | 0.72 |
| INGR: Ingredion Incorporated | 56.0% | 114% | 0.72 |
| GIS: General Mills, Inc. | 22.0% | 65.0% | 0.27 |
| BG: Bunge Global S.A. | 67.0% | 72.0% | 0.66 |
| SEB: Seaboard Corporation | 30.0% | 49.0% | 0.30 |
| AGRO: Adecoagro S.A. | 51.0% | 100% | 0.63 |
| MOS: The Mosaic Company | 82.0% | 154% | 1.32 |

### What diversifies ADM?

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 ADM into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+8.8% for ADM alone, +13.0% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and DBEF have moved largely independently of ADM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.44 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in seven of the 11 calendar years in which ADM lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with ADM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in ADM's 11 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.44 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 3 of 11 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.18 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 5 of 11 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.31 | +83.6% | 13.8% | 0.95 | 5 of 11 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.13 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 6 of 11 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.17 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 7 of 11 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.49 | +112% | 18.4% | 0.91 | 3 of 11 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.26 | +130% | 20.9% | 0.91 | 3 of 11 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.47 | +114% | 18.9% | 0.90 | 4 of 11 |

## Common questions

### What was ADM's worst drawdown?

ADM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 68.0%, from April to October 2008. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, ADM's best year was 2013, when it returned 61.8%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -36.9%.

### Is there a better investment than ADM?

Among ADM's popular alternatives, DE earned more for the risk it took than ADM over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 37.9%, against 54.1% for ADM. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, NEU (specialty chemicals) and KO (nonalcoholic beverages) earned more than ADM with less volatility over the past 5 years. NEU returned 20.9% a year at 26.8% volatility, against 6.8% a year at 28.7%.

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

Yes. ADM's volatility over the past 5 years was 28.7%, 1.7 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, ADM's return lands within 28.7% 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 ADM's Sharpe ratio?

ADM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.38, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so ADM 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 ADM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, ADM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.36 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They are only loosely linked, which makes it a real diversifier next to an index fund. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against ADM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a ADM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to ADM?

Of the 14 popular alternatives we compared, three outperformed ADM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: CF, SENEA and CTVA.

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

ADM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +18.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

ADM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when ADM fell 35.5% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies ADM?

These had a low correlation with ADM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.44), DXJ (correlation 0.18) and DBEF (correlation 0.31); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.19), CLS (correlation 0.14) and MCK (correlation 0.15). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vti)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tsm)
- [Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spcx)
- [Meta Platforms (META) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/meta)
- [Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/voo)

## Explore further

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