# ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed TSLA (Tesla)

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

TSLA (Tesla, Inc.) screened against the entire market of over 10,000 stocks and ETFs over 8 periods from 1 month to 10 years, with dividends reinvested. To make the list, an investment had to outperform TSLA in at least 3 of 5 short-term periods and 2 of 3 long-term periods. "All-weather" means outperforming in every long-term period and all but one short-term period. Returns in the tables are total returns over each period; volatility and Sharpe ratio cover 5 years.

## Key findings

- How hard it was to top TSLA: Outperforming Tesla was possible but not common. Of over 10,000 stocks and ETFs screened, 250 of 958 eligible ETFs (26%) and 404 of 1,501 eligible stocks (27%) outperformed in a majority of both the short-term and long-term timeframes. No ETFs were all-weather, while 2 stocks were all-weather and 1 outperformed in every period.
- Who came out ahead across the three groups:
  - Popular alternatives: NVDA, AAPL, VGT, XLK, and SPY cleared the bar. NVDA outperformed in 3 of 5 short-term and 3 of 3 long-term periods, while AAPL outperformed in 5 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term periods. MSFT fell short with 5 of 5 short-term but 1 of 3 long-term periods, and ARKK had 4 of 5 short-term and 1 of 3 long-term periods.
  - Top ETFs: Broad-market funds led the top group, accounting for 10 of the 15 shown. CIBR and HACK, both cybersecurity funds, and the broad-market ETFs ESG and WTV stood out for outperforming in 5 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term periods. No ETFs met the all-weather rule.
  - Top stocks: 404 stocks made the cut. The top stocks shown include NTRA in healthcare, DELL in technology, and NVDA and AMD in semiconductors. NTRA and DELL were among the 2 all-weather stocks.
- The risk trade-off: Over the 5 years measured, all 15 top ETFs were less volatile than TSLA and had higher Sharpe ratios, a measure of return per unit of risk. Among the top 10 stocks shown, 9 were less volatile and all 10 had higher Sharpe ratios. The median volatility was 16.7% for the ETFs and 53.3% for the stocks, compared with 60.0% for TSLA.

## How popular alternatives compare

| Investment | Status | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TSLA: Tesla, Inc. (benchmark) |  |  | −1.1% | +0.2% | −3.3% | −14.5% | −14.7% | +76.6% | +23.5% | +2,671% | 60.0% | 0.37 |
| [NVDA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | Made the list | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −7.3% | +0.2% | +5.0% | +12.6% | +18.0% | +395% | +839% | +12,166% | 51.9% | 1.12 |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Made the list | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +2.5% | +6.9% | +27.7% | +28.8% | +35.2% | +104% | +140% | +1,194% | 28.0% | 0.77 |
| [VGT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vgt): Vanguard Information Technology ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 2/3 long | −6.1% | +2.7% | +15.4% | +25.9% | +26.7% | +135% | +130% | +753% | 26.1% | 0.77 |
| [XLK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 2/3 long | −7.1% | +1.3% | +15.6% | +26.8% | +28.4% | +126% | +139% | +741% | 26.1% | 0.80 |
| [AMZN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | Made the list | 4/5 short, 2/3 long | −1.8% | +2.3% | −1.9% | +10.5% | +14.9% | +97.8% | +50.1% | +498% | 36.6% | 0.41 |
| [SPY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 2/3 long | −1.2% | +2.5% | +8.0% | +12.7% | +15.6% | +88.4% | +80.3% | +316% | 17.2% | 0.78 |
| [QQQ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | Made the list | 3/5 short, 2/3 long | −5.8% | 0.0% | +7.8% | +15.3% | +16.9% | +101% | +94.0% | +531% | 23.0% | 0.69 |
| [GM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gm): General Motors Company | Made the list | 3/5 short, 2/3 long | −7.5% | −5.8% | −1.9% | −4.0% | +15.7% | +172% | +39.5% | +182% | 36.7% | 0.36 |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | Fell short | 5/5 short, 1/3 long | +4.6% | +33.7% | +20.9% | +10.9% | +0.9% | +61.9% | +75.6% | +862% | 28.2% | 0.54 |
| ARKK: ARK Innovation ETF | Fell short | 4/5 short, 1/3 long | −10.6% | +7.7% | +3.2% | +4.5% | −4.1% | +127% | −29.3% | +329% | 46.9% | 0.09 |
| XLY: State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF | Fell short | 4/5 short, 1/3 long | +2.4% | +1.1% | −2.9% | −2.2% | −2.3% | +55.3% | +24.5% | +218% | 24.1% | 0.30 |
| [PYPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pypl): PayPal Holdings, Inc. | Fell short | 4/5 short, 0/3 long | +8.8% | +3.9% | +13.0% | −0.2% | −14.5% | +8.8% | −75.8% | +32.6% | 43.2% | -0.44 |
| [F](https://betterthanspy.com/research/f): Ford Motor Company | Fell short | 2/5 short, 0/3 long | −8.9% | −16.3% | −3.3% | −7.4% | +0.5% | +25.4% | −0.3% | +65.8% | 39.2% | 0.20 |
| RIVN: Rivian Automotive, Inc. | Fell short | 1/5 short, 0/3 long | −20.3% | −29.8% | −32.0% | −37.9% | −6.7% | −29.3% | — | — | — | — |

## ETFs that consistently outperformed TSLA

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Expense | Assets |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TSLA: Tesla, Inc. (benchmark) |  | −1.1% | +0.2% | −3.3% | −14.5% | −14.7% | +76.6% | +23.5% | +2,671% | 60.0% | 0.37 |  |  |
| [GBTC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gbtc): Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −5.7% | +23.0% | +2.4% | −10.4% | −25.7% | +154% | +28.9% | +6,992% | 59.6% | 0.38 | 1.50% | $10B |
| CIBR: First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.2% | +15.1% | +49.3% | +45.8% | +35.2% | +134% | +96.7% | +461% | 26.2% | 0.65 | 0.58% | $17B |
| HACK: Amplify Cybersecurity ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.6% | +15.7% | +51.5% | +54.8% | +42.0% | +142% | +87.4% | +381% | 25.8% | 0.62 | 0.60% | $3.3B |
| BNO: United States Brent Oil Fund LP | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +19.0% | +34.0% | +36.4% | +144% | +139% | +118% | +205% | +359% | 37.1% | 0.79 | 1.15% | $768M |
| CRAK: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.5% | +15.8% | +36.4% | +69.7% | +74.3% | +118% | +143% | +325% | 20.9% | 0.96 | 0.61% | $810M |
| ESG: Northern Trust STOXX US ESG Select ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | −0.1% | +3.8% | +11.5% | +15.9% | +18.9% | +82.3% | +73.9% | +312% | 16.7% | 0.75 | 0.33% | $136M |
| WTV: WisdomTree U.S. Value Fund | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +2.9% | +3.5% | +11.1% | +16.8% | +20.7% | +92.0% | +89.0% | +306% | 17.0% | 0.84 | 0.12% | $3.2B |
| EQWL: Invesco S&P 100 Equal Weight ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.9% | +3.1% | +10.2% | +13.4% | +16.1% | +83.1% | +73.9% | +294% | 15.0% | 0.82 | 0.30% | $2.8B |
| GSLC: Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | −0.6% | +3.1% | +7.8% | +11.3% | +13.9% | +82.8% | +71.7% | +293% | 16.7% | 0.73 | 0.09% | $15B |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +2.3% | +4.2% | +12.3% | +21.0% | +26.2% | +90.0% | +89.3% | +292% | 14.9% | 0.93 | 0.25% | $28B |
| FVAL: Fidelity Value Factor ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.5% | +4.2% | +11.4% | +15.7% | +21.7% | +87.0% | +80.7% | +290% | 16.4% | 0.81 | 0.15% | $1.4B |
| FQAL: Fidelity Quality Factor ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.2% | +3.7% | +9.2% | +12.9% | +15.6% | +80.7% | +71.2% | +288% | 16.2% | 0.75 | 0.15% | $1.4B |
| RWL: Invesco S&P 500 Revenue ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +3.2% | +4.5% | +12.2% | +18.9% | +23.3% | +85.7% | +90.3% | +287% | 14.4% | 0.97 | 0.39% | $10B |
| FNDB: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Broad Market Index ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +2.2% | +3.5% | +11.5% | +20.3% | +25.4% | +88.0% | +85.4% | +285% | 15.1% | 0.90 | 0.25% | $1.5B |
| VLU: State Street SPDR S&P 1500 Value Tilt ETF | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +1.2% | +2.5% | +8.7% | +17.9% | +22.9% | +86.3% | +79.5% | +274% | 15.2% | 0.85 | 0.12% | $781M |

## Stocks that consistently outperformed TSLA

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Market cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TSLA: Tesla, Inc. (benchmark) |  | −1.1% | +0.2% | −3.3% | −14.5% | −14.7% | +76.6% | +23.5% | +2,671% | 60.0% | 0.37 |  |
| [NTRA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ntra): Natera, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +2.7% | +51.9% | +93.2% | +75.4% | +113% | +901% | +249% | +3,934% | 57.6% | 0.73 | $58B |
| [DELL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −17.4% | +2.7% | +112% | +258% | +205% | +622% | +761% | +3,613% | 54.5% | 1.06 | $288B |
| [NVDA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −7.3% | +0.2% | +5.0% | +12.6% | +18.0% | +395% | +839% | +12,166% | 51.9% | 1.12 | $5.1T |
| [AMD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −18.6% | −8.0% | +67.4% | +127% | +121% | +408% | +324% | +7,146% | 57.7% | 0.79 | $829B |
| [MU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −21.9% | −10.7% | +75.8% | +172% | +332% | +1,193% | +1,199% | +5,050% | 57.1% | 1.19 | $969B |
| [SHOP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +14.3% | +42.6% | +27.9% | +7.4% | +4.2% | +231% | +18.4% | +3,745% | 66.9% | 0.38 | $219B |
| BWLP: BW LPG Limited | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +1.2% | +20.7% | +46.1% | +116% | +129% | +232% | +966% | +2,648% | 50.9% | 1.19 | $3.8B |
| MEDP: Medpace Holdings, Inc. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +3.8% | +23.8% | +28.6% | +14.5% | +19.6% | +187% | +250% | +2,003% | 52.1% | 0.73 | $18B |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +11.7% | +12.5% | +42.3% | +21.5% | +61.9% | +131% | +461% | +1,870% | 32.8% | 1.22 | $1.2T |
| COKE: Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +12.5% | +16.7% | +15.1% | +44.1% | +67.4% | +257% | +468% | +1,564% | 38.0% | 1.11 | $14B |

## What stands out

The winners came from a mix of areas, but technology was prominent among the stocks, including semiconductor companies NVDA, AMD, and MU. The ETF leaders were more varied: broad-market funds made up most of the top group, alongside technology, crypto, commodities, and energy funds. This was not just a recent pattern for every standout. NVDA outperformed in all 3 long-term periods, while CIBR and HACK cleared the consistency bar with 2 of 3 long-term periods.

The results also show how few investments stayed ahead in every window: no ETF did, and only 2 stocks were all-weather. In the 5-year risk comparison, the top ETFs had lower median volatility and higher median Sharpe ratios than TSLA. The top stocks also had a lower median volatility, and all had higher Sharpe ratios. These figures suggest that the selected winners generally delivered stronger risk-adjusted returns over that period, though past performance does not establish what comes next.

## More research

- [ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed NVDA (Nvidia)](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-nvda)
- [ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed AAPL (Apple)](https://betterthanspy.com/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-aapl)
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## Explore further

- Full page: https://betterthanspy.com/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-tsla
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt