# How Intel (INTC) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/intc
> 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 INTC alone. It places INTC (Intel Corp.) 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 INTC stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: INTC'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:** INTC has run far ahead of the market, rising 31.0% over the past 6 months against 8.0% for the S&P 500 and 7.8% for the Nasdaq 100. Even so, the slide is INTC's own: it is 39.3% below its high, against 1.9% for the S&P 500.
- **Stock or market?:** Not a move of its own: the semiconductors ETF SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) fell 10.8% over the past 3 months, with AVGO (Broadcom, down 18.4%) and MU (Micron Technology, down 10.7%), while the S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its semiconductor peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: NVDA (NVIDIA) rose 0.2%, while ARM fell 25.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, INTC rose 132% against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (157% against 88.4%). It took 12 months for INTC to win back the 70.8% it lost from April 2021 to April 2025. the S&P 500 fell 27.7% over those same dates.
- **Long term:** INTC turned $10,000 into $29,900 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. That said, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: INTC rose 87.6% against 80.3% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, INTC has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, INTC fell 54.1%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than AVGO (Broadcom, 34.3%) but less than NVDA (NVIDIA, 60.7%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, INTC has a correlation of 0.48 over 5 years, more closely than 70% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** UMC (United Microelectronics), AVGO (Broadcom) and TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years. UMC returned 18.8% a year at 43.3% volatility, against 13.4% a year at 55.5%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** ASX (ASE Technology Holding, semiconductors) and HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise, computer hardware) earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years. ASX returned 47.3% a year at 43.3% volatility, against 13.4% a year at 55.5%.

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

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

- $10,000 invested in INTC at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $91,990 by September 2026, less than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- All eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of INTC, and LRCX finished highest, at $2,488,626.

## INTC 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.

- INTC is still 39.3% below its all-time high.
- INTC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 82.2%, from August 2000 to October 2002. It took about 15 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, INTC's best was 2003, when it returned 107%, and its worst was 2024, when it lost 59.6%. It lost money in ten of those years.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Semiconductors)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $452B
- Volatility (5 years): 55.5%; Sharpe ratio: 0.50
- Worst decline ever: −82.3%, from August 31, 2000 to October 8, 2002; back at its high by March 6, 2018

| Period | INTC total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −31.0% |
| 3 months | −16.7% |
| 6 months | +31.0% |
| year to date | +117% |
| 1 year | +132% |
| 3 years | +157% |
| 5 years | +87.6% |
| 10 years | +199% |

## INTC against the whole market

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

### How does INTC rank among all stocks?

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

- INTC's 1-year return ranks in the top 3% of the 3,282 stocks worth at least $300 million with 1 year of history.

| Measure | INTC | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +132% | 96 of 3,282 (top 3%) |
| 3-year return | +157% | 558 of 3,016 (top 19%) |
| 5-year return | +87.6% | 782 of 2,897 (top 27%) |
| 10-year return | +199% | 872 of 2,201 (top 40%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 55.5% | 2,136 of 2,897 (top 74%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.50 | 932 of 2,897 (top 33%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −70.8% | 1,317 of 2,184 (top 61%) |

### What has beaten INTC 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).

- 514 stocks and 100 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than INTC over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 17% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half INTC's swings, FIX has the best return for its risk: 73.0% a year at 46.9% volatility, 15% less than INTC's 55.5%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.41 against 0.50 for INTC. BELFB earned the most, 75.9% a year, while still swinging less than INTC (52.3% against 55.5%).
- Among INTC's popular alternatives, NVDA, AVGO and TSM are in the region. NVDA earned 56.5% a year against 13.4% a year for INTC, at 51.9% volatility, 6% less than INTC's 55.5%.

### Is there a better investment than INTC?

The table below lists investments that beat INTC 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 INTC's popular alternatives, UMC, AVGO and TSM earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years. UMC returned 18.8% a year at 43.3% volatility, against 13.4% a year at 55.5%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ASX (semiconductors) and HPE (computer hardware) earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years. ASX returned 47.3% a year at 43.3% volatility, against 13.4% a year at 55.5%.
- Across the whole market, 614 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVDA, AAPL and GOOG.

The 15 strongest of 614 investments that beat INTC 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 INTC | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| INTC: Intel Corp. (this page) |  | +13.4% | 55.5% | 0.50 | −70.8% | +199% |  |  |
| [MRK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mrk): Merck & Co., Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +16.1% | 24.8% | 0.73 | −43.4% | +245% | -0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +41.2% | 32.8% | 1.22 | −34.5% | +1,870% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Health Care Facilities | +31.2% | 28.6% | 1.10 | −35.3% | +385% | 0.30 | 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% | 0.15 | 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% | — | 0.00 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PANW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | Cybersecurity | +33.4% | 43.4% | 0.89 | −48.0% | +1,306% | 0.28 | 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% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; 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% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [FTNT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ftnt): Fortinet, Inc. | Cybersecurity | +20.9% | 44.8% | 0.65 | −38.3% | +2,668% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [URI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | Equipment Rental | +25.7% | 39.1% | 0.78 | −63.3% | +1,407% | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| WSM: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. | Specialty Retail | +24.8% | 44.4% | 0.72 | −59.7% | +1,298% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FFIV: F5, Inc. | Cybersecurity | +16.7% | 30.8% | 0.66 | −54.6% | +279% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FRO: Frontline Plc | Oil & Gas | +53.9% | 49.7% | 1.12 | −52.0% | +1,270% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| RGA: Reinsurance Group of America, Incorporated | Insurance | +20.5% | 27.3% | 0.82 | −65.8% | +206% | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| EXEL: Exelixis, Inc. | Oncology | +25.0% | 35.8% | 0.81 | −57.2% | +478% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## INTC against its popular alternatives

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

### How do INTC'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.

- Nine of the 20 popular alternatives, led by NVDA, DELL and AVGO, were both more rewarding and calmer than INTC over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, INTC returned 13.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (55.5% against 17.2%).

### Has INTC consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Five of the 21 popular alternatives, led by MU, DELL and MRVL, outperformed INTC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- MU, DELL and MRVL outperformed INTC in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- MU, NVDA and AVGO earned more for the risk they took than INTC (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 INTC | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| INTC: Intel Corp. (this page) | +132% | +157% | +87.6% | +199% |  |  | 0.50 |
| [MU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | +332% | +1,193% | +1,199% | +5,050% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.19 |
| [DELL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | +205% | +622% | +761% | +3,613% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.06 |
| [MRVL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | +176% | +360% | +243% | +1,732% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.70 |
| [UMC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/umc): United Microelectronics Corporation | +156% | +185% | +137% | +1,470% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.61 |
| [AMD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | +121% | +408% | +324% | +7,146% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.79 |
| [NVDA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.0% | +395% | +839% | +12,166% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.12 |
| [ASML](https://betterthanspy.com/research/asml): ASML Holding N.V. | +55.3% | +172% | +104% | +1,527% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.55 |
| [TSM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tsm): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | +44.2% | +368% | +285% | +1,440% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [LRCX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lrcx): Lam Research Corporation | +63.7% | +294% | +335% | +2,542% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.84 |
| [AVGO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −4.3% | +287% | +585% | +2,254% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.09 |
| [MPWR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpwr): Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | +17.4% | +189% | +137% | +1,495% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| [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 |
| [ADI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | +62.5% | +147% | +135% | +625% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +0.9% | +61.9% | +75.6% | +862% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| [TXN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | +68.0% | +108% | +61.8% | +413% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [QCOM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qcom): QUALCOMM Incorporated | +4.2% | +69.5% | +46.5% | +230% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | +41.0% | −12.4% | +59.3% | +506% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [ARM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/arm): Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares | +26.8% | +318% | — | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| [MCHP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | +18.5% | +8.0% | +10.5% | +197% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [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 |
| GFS: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. | +26.3% | −19.3% | −6.2% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |

### How did INTC do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, INTC finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in 12. In 2025, it ranked 3 of 22.
- INTC finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, AVGO came out ahead of INTC most often, in 12 of the 16 years both traded.

| Year | INTC | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +84.0% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −59.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +94.5% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −46.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +6.0% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −14.7% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +30.7% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +4.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +30.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +8.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How INTC 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 INTC's worst declines?

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

- In all three of INTC's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: INTC fell 70.8% from April 2021 to April 2025, while the S&P 500 rose 27.7%.
- The slowest recovery came after INTC fell 82.2% from August 2000 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until March 2018, 15 years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −82.3% | August 31, 2000 | October 8, 2002 | March 6, 2018 | −45.7% | dot-com bust |
| −70.8% | April 9, 2021 | April 8, 2025 | April 10, 2026 | +27.7% | 2022 bear market |
| −57.0% | October 5, 1987 | October 26, 1987 | March 16, 1990 | — |  |
| −43.2% | July 16, 1990 | October 11, 1990 | March 5, 1991 | — |  |
| −41.9% | June 22, 2026 | July 29, 2026 | not yet | −2.0% |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, UMC held up best, falling less than INTC in five of the nine crashes they both traded through.
- INTC fell less than the S&P 500 in four of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the late-2018 sell-off, when INTC fell 13.0% and the S&P 500 fell 19.3%.

| Crash | Dates | INTC fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −82.3% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −55.2% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.9% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −16.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −19.7% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −13.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −33.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −54.1% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does INTC 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.

- 15 of the 19 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than INTC's 0.98, led by DELL, UMC and AVGO.
- DELL took just 43% of the S&P 500's losses, against 100% for INTC, while still keeping 154% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, INTC captured 98% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 100% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.43. 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| INTC: Intel Corp. (this page) | 98.0% | 100% | 1.43 |
| [MU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | 204% | 114% | 1.75 |
| [DELL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | 154% | 43.0% | 1.13 |
| [MRVL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | 167% | 116% | 1.68 |
| [UMC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/umc): United Microelectronics Corporation | 133% | 52.0% | 1.33 |
| [AMD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 254% | 179% | 2.25 |
| [NVDA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [ASML](https://betterthanspy.com/research/asml): ASML Holding N.V. | 170% | 132% | 1.44 |
| [TSM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tsm): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | 138% | 75.0% | 1.15 |
| [LRCX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lrcx): Lam Research Corporation | 183% | 104% | 1.56 |
| [AVGO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | 158% | 86.0% | 1.19 |
| [MPWR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpwr): Monolithic Power Systems, Inc. | 156% | 107% | 1.31 |
| [AMAT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amat): Applied Materials, Inc. | 152% | 97.0% | 1.51 |
| [ADI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | 117% | 92.0% | 1.20 |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [TXN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | 113% | 108% | 1.18 |
| [QCOM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qcom): QUALCOMM Incorporated | 115% | 139% | 1.51 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | 161% | 185% | 1.95 |
| [MCHP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | 127% | 170% | 1.72 |
| [NXPI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nxpi): NXP Semiconductors N.V. | 115% | 157% | 1.63 |

### What diversifies INTC?

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 INTC into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+19.6% for INTC alone, +26.6% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of INTC over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.19 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which INTC lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with INTC | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in INTC's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.14 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 10 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.19 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 5 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.17 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 2 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.20 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 3 of 10 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.34 | +83.6% | 13.8% | 0.95 | 4 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.03 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 6 of 10 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.05 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 5 of 10 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.25 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 1 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was INTC's worst drawdown?

INTC's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 82.2%, from August 2000 to October 2002. It took about 15 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, INTC's best year was 2003, when it returned 107%. Its worst was 2024, with a return of -59.6%.

### Is there a better investment than INTC?

Among INTC's popular alternatives, UMC, AVGO and TSM earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years. UMC returned 18.8% a year at 43.3% volatility, against 13.4% a year at 55.5%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ASX (semiconductors) and HPE (computer hardware) earned more than INTC with less volatility over the past 5 years. ASX returned 47.3% a year at 43.3% volatility, against 13.4% a year at 55.5%.

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

Yes. INTC's volatility over the past 5 years was 55.5%, 3.2 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, INTC's return lands within 55.5% 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 INTC's Sharpe ratio?

INTC's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.50, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so INTC 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 INTC with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, INTC'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 INTC instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a INTC holding.

### What are the best alternatives to INTC?

Of the 21 popular alternatives we compared, five outperformed INTC in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MU, DELL and MRVL.

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

INTC finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +84.0%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

INTC fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in three. The clearest case was the late-2018 sell-off, when INTC fell 13.0% and the S&P 500 fell 19.3%.

### What diversifies INTC?

These had a low correlation with INTC over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.14), DXJ (correlation 0.19) and EMLP (correlation 0.17); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.05), CLS (correlation 0.38) and MCK (correlation -0.01). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Micron Technology (MU) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mu)
- [Dell Technologies (DELL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dell)
- [Marvell Technology (MRVL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mrvl)
- [United Microelectronics (UMC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/umc)
- [Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda)
- [ASML Holding (ASML) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/asml)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/tsm)
- [Lam Research (LRCX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lrcx)
- [Broadcom (AVGO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/avgo)
- [Monolithic Power Systems (MPWR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpwr)
- [Applied Materials (AMAT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amat)

## Explore further

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