# How Danaher (DHR) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/dhr
> 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 DHR alone. It places DHR (Danaher Corporation) against 19 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 DHR stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: DHR'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:** Over the past 3 months, DHR rose 28.5% against 2.5% for the S&P 500. Its life sciences tool peers were far apart over the past 3 months, from ILMN (Illumina, up 41.1%) to TECH (Bio-Techne, up 1.3%).
- **Stock or market?:** DHR's 28.5% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the life sciences tools ETF IHI (iShares U.S. Medical Devices ETF) rose 11.2%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its life sciences tool peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: ILMN (Illumina) rose 41.1%, while TECH (Bio-Techne) rose 1.3%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** A ahead of 67% of stocks worth at least $300 million over 10 years, but behind 70% of the stocks worth at least $300 million over 3 years. DHR has trailed the market, rising 6.1% 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 (14.6% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** DHR turned $10,000 into $34,000 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. On the flip side, year by year, DHR has outpaced the S&P 500 69% of the time since 1997.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, DHR held up better than A (Agilent Technologies), WAT and ILMN; only TMO (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and QGEN fell less. DHR fell less than the S&P 500 in three of the last four sell-offs, including the Covid crash (25.9% against 33.7%).
- **Diversification:** DHR is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.54 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.55 with the total US market, more closely than 81% of stocks worth at least $300 million. When the S&P 500 had a down month, DHR usually fell with it (18 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** AMGN (Amgen, biotechnology) and FBT (First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund, biotechnology) earned more than DHR with less volatility over the past 5 years. AMGN returned 20.1% a year at 24.9% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 29.2%.
  - **Whole market:** 1,353 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than DHR 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 DHR have grown?

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

- $10,000 invested in DHR at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $777,394 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 DHR, and MNST finished highest, at $45,663,831.

## DHR 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.

- DHR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 60.9%, from September to December 1987. It took six months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, DHR's best was 2016, when it returned 73.2%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 35.4%. It lost money in eight of those years.
- DHR is 20.0% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Healthcare (Medical - Diagnostics & Research)
- Trading since: October 22, 1986
- Market value: $161B
- Volatility (5 years): 29.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.03
- Worst decline ever: −60.9%, from September 28, 1987 to December 4, 1987; back at its high by June 8, 1988

| Period | DHR total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +4.1% |
| 3 months | +28.5% |
| 6 months | +25.3% |
| year to date | +0.3% |
| 1 year | +6.1% |
| 3 years | +14.6% |
| 5 years | −15.2% |
| 10 years | +240% |

## DHR against the whole market

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

### How does DHR rank among all stocks?

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

- DHR's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 12% of the 2,184 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.
- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), DHR ranks in the bottom 21% of the 2,897 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | DHR | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +6.1% | 1,766 of 3,282 (top 54%) |
| 3-year return | +14.6% | 2,112 of 3,016 (top 71%) |
| 5-year return | −15.2% | 1,952 of 2,897 (top 68%) |
| 10-year return | +240% | 737 of 2,201 (top 34%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 29.2% | 653 of 2,897 (top 23%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.03 | 2,294 of 2,897 (top 80%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −43.8% | 252 of 2,184 (top 12%) |

### What has beaten DHR 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).

- 441 stocks and 912 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than DHR over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 37% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half DHR's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 15% less than DHR's 29.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.03 for DHR.
- Among DHR's popular alternatives, DGX, LH and QGEN are in the region. DGX earned 13.0% a year against a loss of 3.2% a year for DHR, at 22.5% volatility, 23% less than DHR's 29.2%.

### Is there a better investment than DHR?

The table below lists investments that beat DHR 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 DHR's popular alternatives, QGEN, DGX and ABT earned more than DHR with less volatility over the past 5 years. QGEN returned 0.8% a year at 26.9% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 29.2%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AMGN (biotechnology) and FBT (biotechnology) earned more than DHR with less volatility over the past 5 years. AMGN returned 20.1% a year at 24.9% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 29.2%.
- Across the whole market, 1,353 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than DHR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-A.

The 15 strongest of 1,353 investments that beat DHR 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 DHR | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DHR: Danaher Corporation (this page) |  | −3.2% | 29.2% | 0.03 | −43.8% | +240% |  |  |
| [V](https://betterthanspy.com/research/v): Visa Inc. | Payment Processing | +13.2% | 22.9% | 0.66 | −36.4% | +435% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [KO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Nonalcoholic Beverages | +15.2% | 16.8% | 0.93 | −37.0% | +205% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [KDP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/kdp): Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Nonalcoholic Beverages | +3.0% | 22.1% | 0.25 | −36.9% | +282% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AMGN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +20.1% | 24.9% | 0.86 | −24.9% | +280% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| EXPD: Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. | Freight & Logistics | +11.1% | 27.1% | 0.53 | −35.6% | +338% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| CIBR: First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF | Cybersecurity | +14.5% | 26.2% | 0.65 | −33.9% | +461% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| SJM: The J. M. Smucker Company | Packaged Foods | +5.2% | 25.1% | 0.33 | −38.1% | +41.0% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SGOV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sgov): iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | Treasury Bills | +3.8% | 0.3% | 13.25 | −0.3% | — | 0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 15.5% | 0.96 | −36.9% | — | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| JAAA: Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF | AAA CLO Debt | +5.1% | 1.7% | 2.98 | −2.6% | — | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FBT: First Trust NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index Fund | Biotechnology | +10.8% | 22.2% | 0.58 | −33.3% | +205% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FTXH: First Trust Nasdaq Pharmaceuticals ETF | Pharmaceuticals | +12.3% | 16.9% | 0.77 | −32.1% | +155% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| IHAK: iShares Cybersecurity and Tech ETF | Cybersecurity | +9.0% | 25.0% | 0.47 | −34.4% | — | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| IHF: iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF | Health Care Services | +2.9% | 19.3% | 0.25 | −35.2% | +175% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## DHR against its popular alternatives

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

### How do DHR'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.

- Five of the 19 popular alternatives, led by DGX, LH and TMO, were both more rewarding and calmer than DHR over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, DHR returned -3.2% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (29.2% against 17.2%).

### Has DHR consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Nine of the 19 popular alternatives, led by MTD, A and IQV, outperformed DHR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- MTD, A and IQV outperformed DHR in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- DGX, MTD and A earned more for the risk they took than DHR (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 DHR | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DHR: Danaher Corporation (this page) | +6.1% | +14.6% | −15.2% | +240% |  |  | 0.03 |
| MTD: Mettler-Toledo International Inc. | +21.9% | +67.0% | +14.6% | +307% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.25 |
| [A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/a): Agilent Technologies, Inc. | +20.1% | +62.6% | +14.1% | +310% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.24 |
| [IQV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iqv): IQVIA Holdings Inc. | +27.8% | +51.5% | +8.3% | +273% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.22 |
| [TMO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tmo): Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | +19.7% | +47.9% | +12.1% | +355% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.22 |
| RVTY: Revvity, Inc. | +64.8% | +55.0% | −9.8% | +205% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.12 |
| [WAT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wat): Waters Corporation | +30.7% | +78.2% | +25.0% | +189% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.30 |
| QGEN: Qiagen N.V. | +9.3% | +50.5% | +4.2% | +118% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.16 |
| RGEN: Repligen Corporation | +13.5% | +24.3% | −35.0% | +511% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.09 |
| LH: Labcorp Holdings Inc. | +17.8% | +72.6% | +43.6% | +190% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.42 |
| DGX: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | +36.7% | +112% | +84.0% | +256% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| [ILMN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ilmn): Illumina, Inc. | +177% | +132% | −32.2% | +94.8% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| TXG: 10x Genomics, Inc. | +469% | +75.0% | −57.5% | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| TECH: Bio-Techne Corporation | +14.5% | +16.3% | −41.2% | +192% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.07 |
| BIO: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | +8.8% | +20.4% | −51.8% | +123% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.20 |
| [ABT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abt): Abbott Laboratories | −17.9% | +14.0% | −10.6% | +206% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.02 |
| AVTR: Avantor, Inc. | +13.1% | −16.6% | −55.4% | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.19 |
| PACB: Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. | +12.0% | −71.6% | −91.9% | −77.1% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.03 |
| SDGR: Schrödinger, Inc. | +8.7% | +2.8% | −57.1% | — | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| BRKR: Bruker Corporation | +47.8% | −2.8% | −25.5% | +171% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.09 |

### How did DHR do year by year?

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

- DHR finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 19 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last four.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, DHR finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 13 of 20.
- Among its popular alternatives, IQV came out ahead of DHR most often, in seven of the 12 years both traded.

| Year | DHR | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +0.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −0.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −1.2% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −19.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +48.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +45.4% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +49.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +11.8% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +20.0% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +73.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How DHR 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 DHR's worst declines?

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

- Not every decline was the market's doing: DHR fell 45.9% from April 1999 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 0.6%.
- In two of DHR's three worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 20 months, after DHR fell 45.7% from December 2007 to March 2009.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −60.9% | September 28, 1987 | December 4, 1987 | June 8, 1988 | — |  |
| −45.9% | April 27, 1999 | March 8, 2000 | December 11, 2000 | +0.6% |  |
| −45.7% | December 24, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | November 4, 2010 | −53.3% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −43.8% | September 3, 2021 | May 15, 2026 | not yet | +74.1% | 2022 bear market |
| −38.6% | July 30, 1990 | November 1, 1990 | June 6, 1991 | — |  |

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

This section measures how far DHR, 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 DHR in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- DHR fell less than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when DHR fell 33.7% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | DHR fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −33.7% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −45.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.6% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −21.8% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −9.8% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −13.4% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −25.9% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −22.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.2% | −3.4% |

### How closely does DHR 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.

- Only DGX and RGEN had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than DHR's 1.01, out of 16 popular alternatives with the same record.
- DGX took just 54% of the S&P 500's losses, against 84% for DHR, while still keeping 69% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, DHR captured 84% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 84% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.75. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DHR: Danaher Corporation (this page) | 84.0% | 84.0% | 0.75 |
| MTD: Mettler-Toledo International Inc. | 118% | 143% | 1.13 |
| [A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/a): Agilent Technologies, Inc. | 120% | 141% | 1.13 |
| [IQV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iqv): IQVIA Holdings Inc. | 128% | 167% | 1.31 |
| [TMO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tmo): Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 104% | 104% | 0.81 |
| RVTY: Revvity, Inc. | 111% | 146% | 1.10 |
| [WAT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wat): Waters Corporation | 107% | 139% | 1.01 |
| QGEN: Qiagen N.V. | 62.0% | 83.0% | 0.45 |
| RGEN: Repligen Corporation | 119% | 108% | 0.99 |
| LH: Labcorp Holdings Inc. | 81.0% | 91.0% | 0.97 |
| DGX: Quest Diagnostics Incorporated | 69.0% | 54.0% | 0.80 |
| [ILMN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ilmn): Illumina, Inc. | 120% | 200% | 1.19 |
| TECH: Bio-Techne Corporation | 120% | 162% | 1.23 |
| BIO: Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. | 104% | 146% | 0.99 |
| [ABT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abt): Abbott Laboratories | 76.0% | 79.0% | 0.64 |
| PACB: Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. | 76.0% | 234% | 1.70 |
| BRKR: Bruker Corporation | 121% | 160% | 1.27 |

### What diversifies DHR?

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 DHR into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (-3.4% for DHR alone, +0.8% for the mix).
- MCK made money in six of the eight calendar years in which DHR lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of DHR over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.31 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with DHR | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in DHR's 8 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.31 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 3 of 8 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.30 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 8 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.26 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 3 of 8 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.34 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 3 of 8 |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | 0.46 | +61.5% | 10.5% | 0.97 | 2 of 8 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.46 | +83.6% | 13.8% | 0.95 | 2 of 8 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.43 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 4 of 8 |
| FFLC: Fidelity Fundamental Large Cap Core ETF | 0.43 | +105% | 16.8% | 0.94 | 2 of 8 |

## Common questions

### What was DHR's worst drawdown?

DHR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 60.9%, from September to December 1987. It took six months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, DHR's best year was 2016, when it returned 73.2%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -35.4%.

### Is there a better investment than DHR?

Among DHR's popular alternatives, QGEN, DGX and ABT earned more than DHR with less volatility over the past 5 years. QGEN returned 0.8% a year at 26.9% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 29.2%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AMGN (biotechnology) and FBT (biotechnology) earned more than DHR with less volatility over the past 5 years. AMGN returned 20.1% a year at 24.9% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 29.2%.

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

Yes. DHR's volatility over the past 5 years was 29.2%, 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, DHR's return lands within 29.2% 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 DHR's Sharpe ratio?

DHR's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.03, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so DHR 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 DHR with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, DHR's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.54 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 DHR instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a DHR holding.

### What are the best alternatives to DHR?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, nine outperformed DHR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MTD, A and IQV.

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

DHR finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 19 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +0.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

DHR fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in six of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in three. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when DHR fell 33.7% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies DHR?

These had a low correlation with DHR over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.31), DXJ (correlation 0.30) and EMLP (correlation 0.26); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.23), CLS (correlation 0.10) and MCK (correlation 0.08). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Agilent Technologies (A) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/a)
- [IQVIA (IQV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iqv)
- [Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tmo)
- [Waters (WAT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wat)
- [Illumina (ILMN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ilmn)
- [Abbott Laboratories (ABT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abt)
- [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)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/goog)
- [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)

## Explore further

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