# How Keysight Technologies (KEYS) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/keys
> 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 KEYS alone. It places KEYS (Keysight Technologies, 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 KEYS stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: KEYS's full trading record, from October 2014 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** KEYS has gone against the market, falling 8.1% over the past 6 months while the S&P 500 rose 8.0%. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, NOVT (Novanta) rose 2.6% and TTMI (TTM Technologies) fell 41.7%.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is KEYS's own: it fell 4.9% over the past 3 months while the electronic equipment ETF VGT (Vanguard Information Technology ETF) rose 2.7%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. Its electronic equipment peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: BMI (Badger Meter) rose 18.5%, while TTMI (TTM Technologies) fell 48.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, KEYS rose 89.2% against 15.6% for the S&P 500 and 16.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (156% against 88.4%).
- **Long term:** KEYS turned $10,000 into $94,300 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years only trailed the S&P 500 (76.8% against 80.3%), after a much stronger decade (843% against 316%).
- **In a crash:** Across four sell-offs, KEYS has typically fallen 1.4 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, KEYS has a correlation of 0.53 over 5 years, more closely than 78% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, KEYS's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.08: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.2 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 71% as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** CSCO (Cisco Systems) earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 16.9% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 12.1% a year at 34.8%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** FSS (Federal Signal, industrial machinery) and APH (Amphenol, electronic components) earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years. FSS returned 23.2% a year at 31.7% volatility, against 12.1% a year at 34.8%.
  - **Whole market:** 397 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), GOOG (Alphabet) and LLY (Eli Lilly and Company).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in KEYS over the past 11 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of KEYS over the same span and KEYS's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in KEYS at the end of September 2015 would have grown to $118,043 by September 2026, more than the $47,605 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Six of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of KEYS, and NVDA finished highest, at $3,837,604.

## KEYS 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.

- KEYS's deepest decline since it began trading in 2014 was 45.5%, from March 2015 to February 2016. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 11 full calendar years, KEYS's best was 2019, when it returned 65.3%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 17.2%. It lost money in three of those years.
- KEYS is 19.7% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Hardware, Equipment & Parts)
- Trading since: October 20, 2014
- Market value: $53B
- Volatility (5 years): 34.8%; Sharpe ratio: 0.50
- Worst decline ever: −45.5%, from March 23, 2015 to February 9, 2016; back at its high by March 15, 2017

| Period | KEYS total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −10.3% |
| 3 months | −4.9% |
| 6 months | −8.1% |
| year to date | +50.8% |
| 1 year | +89.2% |
| 3 years | +156% |
| 5 years | +76.8% |
| 10 years | +843% |

## KEYS against the whole market

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

### How does KEYS rank among all stocks?

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

- KEYS's 10-year return ranks in the top 6% of the 2,201 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | KEYS | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +89.2% | 223 of 3,282 (top 7%) |
| 3-year return | +156% | 567 of 3,016 (top 19%) |
| 5-year return | +76.8% | 849 of 2,897 (top 30%) |
| 10-year return | +843% | 141 of 2,201 (top 7%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 34.8% | 1,129 of 2,897 (top 39%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.50 | 937 of 2,897 (top 33%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −42.6% | 215 of 2,184 (top 10%) |

### What has beaten KEYS 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).

- 265 stocks and 132 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than KEYS over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 11% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half KEYS's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 29% less than KEYS's 34.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.50 for KEYS. HWM earned the most, 45.1% a year, while still swinging less than KEYS (32.7% against 34.8%).
- Among KEYS's popular alternatives, CSCO is in the region. CSCO earned 16.9% a year against 12.1% a year for KEYS, at 26.1% volatility, 25% less than KEYS's 34.8%.

### Is there a better investment than KEYS?

The table below lists investments that beat KEYS 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 KEYS's popular alternatives, CSCO earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 16.9% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 12.1% a year at 34.8%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, FSS (industrial machinery) and APH (electronic components) earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years. FSS returned 23.2% a year at 31.7% volatility, against 12.1% a year at 34.8%.
- Across the whole market, 397 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, GOOG and LLY.

The 15 strongest of 397 investments that beat KEYS 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 KEYS | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| KEYS: Keysight Technologies, Inc. (this page) |  | +12.1% | 34.8% | 0.50 | −42.6% | +843% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +41.2% | 32.8% | 1.22 | −34.5% | +1,870% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.5% | 18.2% | 0.98 | −40.0% | +361% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WELL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/well): Welltower Inc. | Healthcare REITs | +27.0% | 23.8% | 1.13 | −63.3% | +378% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +19.1% | 28.0% | 0.77 | −38.5% | +1,194% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Health Care Facilities | +31.2% | 28.6% | 1.10 | −35.3% | +385% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRGP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +41.8% | 31.7% | 1.27 | −90.8% | +829% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FSS: Federal Signal Corporation | Industrial Machinery | +23.2% | 31.7% | 0.82 | −33.0% | +899% | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MUFG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.5% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −54.9% | +485% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [RTX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rtx): RTX Corporation | Aerospace & Defense | +18.7% | 24.4% | 0.83 | −52.0% | +319% | -0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +21.1% | 22.6% | 0.97 | −25.7% | +521% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [BRK-A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/brk-a): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.5% | 17.2% | 0.83 | −30.4% | +281% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [PSX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/psx): Phillips 66 | Oil Refining | +32.7% | 32.9% | 1.03 | −64.2% | +413% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [CM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cm): Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce | Banks | +19.5% | 21.6% | 0.94 | −47.3% | +409% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [JNJ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +13.5% | 18.0% | 0.80 | −27.4% | +209% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## KEYS against its popular alternatives

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

### How do KEYS's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only CSCO and OSIS were both more rewarding and calmer than KEYS over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, KEYS returned 12.1% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (34.8% against 17.2%).

### Has KEYS consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Only one of the 17 popular alternatives, NVDA, outperformed KEYS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- CSCO earned more for the risk it took than KEYS (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.
- AVGO outperformed KEYS over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so KEYS has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of KEYS | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| KEYS: Keysight Technologies, Inc. (this page) | +89.2% | +156% | +76.8% | +843% |  |  | 0.50 |
| [NVDA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.0% | +395% | +839% | +12,166% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.12 |
| [ANET](https://betterthanspy.com/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | +16.7% | +267% | +601% | +3,158% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.04 |
| [TER](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ter): Teradyne, Inc. | +123% | +243% | +171% | +1,379% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| [AVGO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −4.3% | +287% | +585% | +2,254% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.09 |
| VIAV: Viavi Solutions Inc. | +129% | +302% | +97.3% | +316% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| CAMT: Camtek Ltd. | +3.1% | +139% | +209% | +4,182% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.68 |
| TTMI: TTM Technologies, Inc. | +32.7% | +525% | +450% | +518% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [CSCO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | +51.2% | +117% | +118% | +361% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| OSIS: OSI Systems, Inc. | −17.6% | +75.1% | +111% | +197% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| MKSI: MKS Inc. | +46.5% | +174% | +40.7% | +329% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| BMI: Badger Meter, Inc. | −17.1% | +13.1% | +49.2% | +411% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| COHU: Cohu, Inc. | +113% | +45.0% | +49.7% | +339% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| FTV: Fortive Corporation | +22.9% | +15.3% | +9.4% | +104% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| ITRI: Itron, Inc. | −33.4% | +55.2% | +14.3% | +60.8% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| VNT: Vontier Corporation | −18.1% | +16.8% | +2.1% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| NOVT: Novanta Inc. | +17.3% | −0.2% | −18.8% | +672% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| [QCOM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qcom): QUALCOMM Incorporated | +4.2% | +69.5% | +46.5% | +230% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |

### How did KEYS do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2015, along with where KEYS ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Among its popular alternatives, NVDA came out ahead of KEYS most often, in nine of the 11 years both traded.
- KEYS finished ahead of the S&P 500 in seven of its 11 full calendar years.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, KEYS finished in the top quarter in three of 11 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 10 of 18.

| Year | KEYS | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +26.5% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +1.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −7.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −17.2% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +56.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +28.7% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +65.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +49.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +13.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +29.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How KEYS 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 KEYS's worst declines?

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

- In all five of KEYS's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: KEYS fell 23.0% from April to May 2019, while the S&P 500 slipped only 4.8%.
- The slowest recovery came after KEYS fell 42.6% from December 2021 to October 2023; it did not regain that peak until December 2025, two years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −45.5% | March 23, 2015 | February 9, 2016 | March 15, 2017 | −10.3% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −42.6% | December 27, 2021 | October 27, 2023 | December 4, 2025 | −11.6% | 2022 bear market |
| −28.2% | November 15, 2019 | March 27, 2020 | November 5, 2020 | −17.8% | Covid crash |
| −23.0% | April 24, 2019 | May 29, 2019 | July 1, 2019 | −4.8% |  |
| −20.5% | June 22, 2026 | July 29, 2026 | October 1, 2026 | −2.0% |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, CSCO held up best, falling less than KEYS in four of the six crashes they both traded through.
- KEYS began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but 13 of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was QCOM's 48.0%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.
- KEYS fell less than the S&P 500 in three of the six crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when KEYS fell 17.7% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

| Crash | Dates | KEYS fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | not trading | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −37.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −18.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −17.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −33.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does KEYS 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.

- Over the past 10 years, KEYS captured 121% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 71% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.08. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- Four of the 16 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than KEYS's 1.70, led by CAMT, ANET and AVGO.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| KEYS: Keysight Technologies, Inc. (this page) | 121% | 71.0% | 1.08 |
| [NVDA](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [ANET](https://betterthanspy.com/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | 174% | 91.0% | 1.40 |
| [TER](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ter): Teradyne, Inc. | 167% | 121% | 1.53 |
| [AVGO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | 158% | 86.0% | 1.19 |
| VIAV: Viavi Solutions Inc. | 98.0% | 76.0% | 0.97 |
| CAMT: Camtek Ltd. | 191% | 96.0% | 1.60 |
| TTMI: TTM Technologies, Inc. | 155% | 140% | 1.87 |
| [CSCO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | 101% | 96.0% | 0.97 |
| OSIS: OSI Systems, Inc. | 88.0% | 99.0% | 0.97 |
| MKSI: MKS Inc. | 156% | 181% | 1.77 |
| BMI: Badger Meter, Inc. | 73.0% | 50.0% | 0.71 |
| COHU: Cohu, Inc. | 122% | 116% | 1.65 |
| FTV: Fortive Corporation | 88.0% | 133% | 1.10 |
| ITRI: Itron, Inc. | 97.0% | 158% | 1.27 |
| NOVT: Novanta Inc. | 155% | 156% | 1.38 |
| [QCOM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qcom): QUALCOMM Incorporated | 115% | 139% | 1.51 |

### What diversifies KEYS?

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 KEYS into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+17.2% for KEYS alone, +18.6% for the mix).
- MPC made money in three of the three calendar years in which KEYS lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of KEYS over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.44 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with KEYS | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in KEYS's 3 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.37 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 3 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.33 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 3 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.44 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 2 of 3 |
| FJAN: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January | 0.45 | +68.3% | 10.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 3 |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | 0.46 | +61.5% | 10.5% | 0.97 | 2 of 3 |
| FDVV: Fidelity High Dividend ETF | 0.43 | +87.9% | 14.6% | 0.94 | 1 of 3 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.11 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 1 of 3 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.13 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 1 of 3 |

## Common questions

### What was KEYS's worst drawdown?

KEYS's deepest decline since it began trading in 2014 was 45.5%, from March 2015 to February 2016. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because KEYS launched in October 2014, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or two other sell-offs.

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

Over 11 full calendar years, KEYS's best year was 2019, when it returned 65.3%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -17.2%.

### Is there a better investment than KEYS?

Among KEYS's popular alternatives, CSCO earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 16.9% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 12.1% a year at 34.8%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, FSS (industrial machinery) and APH (electronic components) earned more than KEYS with less volatility over the past 5 years. FSS returned 23.2% a year at 31.7% volatility, against 12.1% a year at 34.8%.

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

Yes. KEYS's volatility over the past 5 years was 34.8%, about twice the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, KEYS's return lands within 34.8% 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 KEYS's Sharpe ratio?

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

Over the past 5 years, KEYS's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.53 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 KEYS instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a KEYS holding.

### What are the best alternatives to KEYS?

Of the 17 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed KEYS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: NVDA.

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

KEYS finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in seven of 11 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +26.5%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

KEYS fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the six major crashes it has traded through, and further in two. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when KEYS fell 17.7% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies KEYS?

These had a low correlation with KEYS over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.37), DXJ (correlation 0.33) and EMLP (correlation 0.44); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.25), CLS (correlation 0.30) and MCK (correlation 0.27). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda)
- [Arista Networks (ANET) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/anet)
- [Teradyne (TER) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ter)
- [Broadcom (AVGO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/avgo)
- [Cisco Systems (CSCO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/csco)
- [QUALCOMM (QCOM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qcom)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schd)
- [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)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vti)

## Explore further

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