# How Estée Lauder Companies (EL) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/el
> 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 EL alone. It places EL (The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.) against 17 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 EL stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: EL's full trading record, from November 1995 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** EL has run far ahead of the market, rising 41.6% over the past 6 months against 8.0% for the S&P 500 and 7.8% for the Nasdaq 100. On the flip side, it is 68.8% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.9% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** More than an industry move: EL rose 30.8% over the past 3 months, against 7.3% for the household & personal products ETF XLP (State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF). The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its household & personal product peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: ELF (e.l.f. Beauty) rose 45.5%, while KVUE (Kenvue) rose 6.3%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** EL lagged its household & personal product peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025. Even so, over the past year, EL rose 10.8% against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (16.9% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** EL turned $10,000 into $14,100 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, EL has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500. The 2022 bear market took 42.0% off EL, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than PG (Procter & Gamble, 23.8%) but less than BBWI (Bath & Body Works, 62.8%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, EL has a correlation of 0.48 over 5 years, more closely than 68% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** BBY (Best Buy, specialty retail) and ACU (Acme United, household & personal products) earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years. BBY returned 1.3% a year at 38.2% volatility, against a loss of 18.7% a year at 44.5%.
  - **Whole market:** 2,461 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), GOOG (Alphabet) and MSFT (Microsoft).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in EL at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $109,782 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 EL, and AMZN finished highest, at $11,484,924.

## EL 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.

- EL is still 68.8% below its all-time high.
- EL's deepest decline since it began trading in 1995 was 85.8%, from January 2022 to April 2025. It has not yet climbed back to that peak.
- Over 29 full calendar years, EL's best was 2017, when it returned 68.7%, and its worst was 2024, when it lost 47.6%. It lost money in nine of those years.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Staples (Household & Personal Products)
- Trading since: November 17, 1995
- Market value: $39B
- Volatility (5 years): 44.5%; Sharpe ratio: -0.24
- Worst decline ever: −85.8%, from January 4, 2022 to April 8, 2025; not yet back at its high

| Period | EL total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +7.4% |
| 3 months | +30.8% |
| 6 months | +41.6% |
| year to date | +2.0% |
| 1 year | +10.8% |
| 3 years | −16.9% |
| 5 years | −64.5% |
| 10 years | +41.4% |

## EL against the whole market

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

### How does EL rank among all stocks?

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

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), EL ranks in the bottom 5% of the 2,897 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | EL | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +10.8% | 1,608 of 3,282 (top 49%) |
| 3-year return | −16.9% | 2,578 of 3,016 (top 86%) |
| 5-year return | −64.5% | 2,565 of 2,897 (top 89%) |
| 10-year return | +41.4% | 1,623 of 2,201 (top 74%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 44.5% | 1,684 of 2,897 (top 59%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | -0.24 | 2,743 of 2,897 (top 95%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −85.8% | 1,804 of 2,184 (top 83%) |

### What has beaten EL 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).

- 1,471 stocks and 990 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than EL over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 68% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half EL's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 44% less than EL's 44.5%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against -0.24 for EL. INSW earned the most, 58.7% a year, while still swinging less than EL (40.6% against 44.5%).
- Among EL's popular alternatives, TPR, IPAR and CL are in the region. TPR earned 27.3% a year against a loss of 18.7% a year for EL, at 40.8% volatility, 8% less than EL's 44.5%.

### Is there a better investment than EL?

The table below lists investments that beat EL 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 EL's popular alternatives, PG, CL and CHD earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years. PG returned 5.8% a year at 18.4% volatility, against a loss of 18.7% a year at 44.5%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, BBY (specialty retail) and ACU (household & personal products) earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years. BBY returned 1.3% a year at 38.2% volatility, against a loss of 18.7% a year at 44.5%.
- Across the whole market, 2,461 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, GOOG and MSFT.

The 15 strongest of 2,461 investments that beat EL 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 EL | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EL: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (this page) |  | −18.7% | 44.5% | -0.24 | −85.8% | +41.4% |  |  |
| [PBR-A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pbr-a): Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras | Integrated Oil & Gas | +53.5% | 37.4% | 1.34 | −71.7% | +733% | 0.03 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil Refining | +50.0% | 33.4% | 1.39 | −79.7% | +1,314% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| SJM: The J. M. Smucker Company | Packaged Foods | +5.2% | 25.1% | 0.33 | −38.1% | +41.0% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [ABBV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Specialty Pharmaceuticals | +25.5% | 23.4% | 1.09 | −45.1% | +600% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PBR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pbr): Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras | Integrated Oil & Gas | +52.4% | 37.4% | 1.32 | −75.3% | +647% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| INSW: International Seaways, Inc. | Oil & Gas | +58.7% | 40.6% | 1.35 | −57.4% | — | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VLO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vlo): Valero Energy Corporation | Oil Refining | +43.8% | 36.9% | 1.18 | −71.9% | +1,014% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PSX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/psx): Phillips 66 | Oil Refining | +32.7% | 32.9% | 1.03 | −64.2% | +413% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| SAFT: Safety Insurance Group, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +9.9% | 28.5% | 0.46 | −32.8% | +134% | 0.03 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | Software | +11.9% | 28.2% | 0.54 | −37.1% | +862% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [HPE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | Computer Hardware | +32.8% | 42.3% | 0.89 | −56.9% | +481% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ADP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adp): Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | Business Services | +9.6% | 23.0% | 0.52 | −40.8% | +337% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BRK-A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/brk-a): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.5% | 17.2% | 0.83 | −30.4% | +281% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [NTAP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ntap): NetApp, Inc. | Computer Hardware | +20.6% | 35.3% | 0.71 | −58.1% | +696% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DINO: HF Sinclair Corporation | Oil Refining | +31.8% | 38.8% | 0.91 | −77.3% | +596% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## EL against its popular alternatives

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

### How do EL'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.

- Eight of the 15 popular alternatives, led by TPR, IPAR and ULTA, were both more rewarding and calmer than EL over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, EL returned -18.7% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (44.5% against 17.2%).

### Has EL consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 17 popular alternatives, led by ELF, CHD and PG, outperformed EL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- ELF outperformed EL in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- TPR, ELF and IPAR earned more for the risk they took than EL (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 EL | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EL: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (this page) | +10.8% | −16.9% | −64.5% | +41.4% |  |  | -0.24 |
| ELF: e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | −7.0% | +9.0% | +276% | +329% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.75 |
| CHD: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | +25.1% | +24.0% | +36.5% | +162% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.40 |
| [PG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pg): The Procter & Gamble Company | +12.0% | +20.2% | +32.9% | +156% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.40 |
| [CL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cl): Colgate-Palmolive Company | +24.9% | +45.1% | +45.3% | +73.7% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.48 |
| [AMZN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +14.9% | +97.8% | +50.1% | +498% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| IPAR: Inter Parfums, Inc. | +21.2% | +0.8% | +71.0% | +338% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [TGT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tgt): Target Corporation | +75.0% | +64.3% | −27.8% | +213% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| ULTA: Ulta Beauty, Inc. | +22.3% | +70.2% | +71.0% | +152% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| TPR: Tapestry, Inc. | +0.1% | +336% | +235% | +314% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.80 |
| M: Macy's, Inc. | +34.8% | +141% | +10.2% | +1.8% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.29 |
| HLF: Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. | +57.5% | +1.3% | −70.8% | −54.9% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.10 |
| KVUE: Kenvue Inc. | +38.8% | +15.8% | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| COTY: Coty Inc. | −22.8% | −66.0% | −60.3% | −83.9% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.18 |
| ODD: Oddity Tech Ltd. | −52.4% | −16.8% | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| BBWI: Bath & Body Works, Inc. | −13.5% | −20.1% | −64.7% | −49.2% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.15 |
| USNA: USANA Health Sciences, Inc. | −30.6% | −73.4% | −85.5% | −80.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.74 |
| NUS: Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. | −53.1% | −71.6% | −85.6% | −89.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.58 |

### How did EL do year by year?

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

- EL finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, ULTA came out ahead of EL most often, in 12 of the 18 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, EL finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in six. In 2025, it ranked 4 of 18.

| Year | EL | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +42.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −47.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −40.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −32.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +40.0% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +29.8% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +60.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +3.4% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +68.7% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −11.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How EL 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 EL's worst declines?

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

- In all five of EL's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: EL fell 85.8% from January 2022 to April 2025, while the S&P 500 rose 9.0%.
- The slowest recovery came after EL fell 53.3% from July 1999 to December 2002; it did not regain that peak until September 2008, six years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −85.8% | January 4, 2022 | April 8, 2025 | not yet | +9.0% | 2022 bear market |
| −62.1% | September 8, 2008 | March 9, 2009 | January 21, 2010 | −45.6% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −53.3% | July 16, 1999 | December 27, 2002 | September 5, 2008 | −35.6% | dot-com bust |
| −34.2% | January 17, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 28, 2020 | −32.4% | Covid crash |
| −33.0% | April 16, 1998 | October 7, 1998 | November 12, 1998 | −11.8% |  |

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

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

- EL fell further than the S&P 500 in seven of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when EL fell 42.0% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, CHD held up best, falling less than EL in all ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | EL fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −50.7% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −62.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −3.7% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −21.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −16.1% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −19.8% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −32.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −42.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does EL 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.

- Nine of the 15 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than EL's 0.55, led by CHD, PG and IPAR.
- TGT took just 87% of the S&P 500's losses, against 188% for EL, while still keeping 83% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, EL captured 103% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 188% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.14. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EL: The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (this page) | 103% | 188% | 1.14 |
| ELF: e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | 133% | 171% | 1.81 |
| CHD: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | 47.0% | 38.0% | 0.44 |
| [PG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pg): The Procter & Gamble Company | 46.0% | 41.0% | 0.41 |
| [CL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cl): Colgate-Palmolive Company | 39.0% | 52.0% | 0.46 |
| [AMZN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| IPAR: Inter Parfums, Inc. | 105% | 108% | 1.02 |
| [TGT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tgt): Target Corporation | 83.0% | 87.0% | 1.00 |
| ULTA: Ulta Beauty, Inc. | 101% | 141% | 1.25 |
| TPR: Tapestry, Inc. | 119% | 136% | 1.46 |
| M: Macy's, Inc. | 93.0% | 183% | 1.75 |
| HLF: Herbalife Nutrition Ltd. | 32.0% | 126% | 0.89 |
| COTY: Coty Inc. | 39.0% | 212% | 1.70 |
| BBWI: Bath & Body Works, Inc. | 62.0% | 184% | 1.59 |
| USNA: USANA Health Sciences, Inc. | 2.0% | 110% | 0.78 |
| NUS: Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. | 18.0% | 191% | 1.09 |

### What diversifies EL?

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 EL into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (-19.7% for EL alone, -9.0% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of EL over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.36 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in six of the nine calendar years in which EL lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with EL | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in EL's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.36 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 3 of 9 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.35 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 9 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.18 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 4 of 9 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.27 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 4 of 9 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.35 | +141% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 3 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.36 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 4 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.08 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 5 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.32 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 5 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was EL's worst drawdown?

EL's deepest decline since it began trading in 1995 was 85.8%, from January 2022 to April 2025. It has not yet climbed back to that peak.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, EL's best year was 2017, when it returned 68.7%. Its worst was 2024, with a return of -47.6%.

### Is there a better investment than EL?

Among EL's popular alternatives, PG, CL and CHD earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years. PG returned 5.8% a year at 18.4% volatility, against a loss of 18.7% a year at 44.5%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, BBY (specialty retail) and ACU (household & personal products) earned more than EL with less volatility over the past 5 years. BBY returned 1.3% a year at 38.2% volatility, against a loss of 18.7% a year at 44.5%.

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

Yes. EL's volatility over the past 5 years was 44.5%, 2.6 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, EL's return lands within 44.5% 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 EL's Sharpe ratio?

EL's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was -0.24, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so EL 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 EL with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, EL's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.48 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 EL instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a EL holding.

### What are the best alternatives to EL?

Of the 17 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed EL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: ELF, CHD and PG.

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

EL finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +42.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

EL fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in two of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in seven. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when EL fell 42.0% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies EL?

These had a low correlation with EL over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.36), DXJ (correlation 0.35) and EMLP (correlation 0.18); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.13), CLS (correlation 0.11) and MCK (correlation -0.02). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Procter & Gamble (PG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pg)
- [Colgate-Palmolive (CL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cl)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn)
- [Target (TGT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tgt)
- [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)
- [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)

## Explore further

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