# How SAP compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/sap
> 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 SAP alone. It places SAP (SAP SE) 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 SAP stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

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

## Key findings

- **Right now:** SAP has run far ahead of the market, rising 61.7% over the past 3 months against 2.5% for the S&P 500. Even so, the slide is SAP's own: it is 21.9% below its high, against 1.9% for the S&P 500.
- **Stock or market?:** More than an industry move: SAP rose 61.7% over the past 3 months, against 22.1% for the enterprise software ETF IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF). The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. SAP rose 14.2% last month as the S&P 500 fell 1.2% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 5.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, SAP fell 11.8% while the S&P 500 rose 15.6%. Even so, SAP lagged its enterprise software peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025.
- **Long term:** SAP turned $10,000 into $31,700 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: SAP rose 83.7% against 80.3% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, SAP has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, SAP fell 41.9%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than MSFT (Microsoft, 31.0%) but less than ADBE (Adobe, 50.3%).
- **Diversification:** SAP is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.57 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.56 with the total US market, more closely than 86% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** IBM (International Business Machines) earned more for the risk it took than SAP over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 41.1%, against 52.5% for SAP.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) earned more than SAP with less volatility over the past 5 years: 14.5% a year at 26.2% volatility, against 12.9% a year at 30.0%.
  - **Whole market:** 199 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than SAP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), WMT (Walmart) and JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in SAP at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $136,626 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Seven of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of SAP, and INTU finished highest, at $591,451.

## SAP 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.

- SAP is still 21.9% below its all-time high.
- SAP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1995 was 87.9%, from March 2000 to October 2002. It took about ten years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, SAP's best was 1997, when it returned 138%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 38.7%. It lost money in ten of those years.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Application)
- Trading since: September 18, 1995
- Market value: $280B
- Volatility (5 years): 30.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.56
- Worst decline ever: −87.9%, from March 10, 2000 to October 7, 2002; back at its high by November 1, 2012

| Period | SAP total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +14.2% |
| 3 months | +61.7% |
| 6 months | +40.0% |
| year to date | +2.8% |
| 1 year | −11.8% |
| 3 years | +88.3% |
| 5 years | +83.7% |
| 10 years | +217% |

## SAP against the whole market

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

### How does SAP rank among all stocks?

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

- SAP is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 25% of the 2,897 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | SAP | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −11.8% | 2,436 of 3,282 (top 75%) |
| 3-year return | +88.3% | 1,062 of 3,016 (top 36%) |
| 5-year return | +83.7% | 803 of 2,897 (top 28%) |
| 10-year return | +217% | 808 of 2,201 (top 37%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 30.0% | 721 of 2,897 (top 25%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.56 | 786 of 2,897 (top 28%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −52.5% | 552 of 2,184 (top 26%) |

### What has beaten SAP 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).

- 117 stocks and 82 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than SAP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 5% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half SAP's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 18% less than SAP's 30.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.56 for SAP.
- None of SAP's popular alternatives made it, but CIBR (cybersecurity) did: 14.5% a year at 26.2% volatility, 13% less than SAP's 30.0%.

### Is there a better investment than SAP?

The table below lists investments that beat SAP 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 SAP's popular alternatives, IBM earned more for the risk it took than SAP over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 41.1%, against 52.5% for SAP.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) earned more than SAP with less volatility over the past 5 years: 14.5% a year at 26.2% volatility, against 12.9% a year at 30.0%.
- Across the whole market, 199 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than SAP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, WMT and JPM.

The 15 strongest of 199 investments that beat SAP 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 SAP | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SAP: SAP SE (this page) |  | +12.9% | 30.0% | 0.56 | −52.5% | +217% |  |  |
| [ABBV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Specialty Pharmaceuticals | +25.5% | 23.4% | 1.09 | −45.1% | +600% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [IAU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iau): iShares Gold Trust | Gold | +17.2% | 18.9% | 0.94 | −26.4% | +211% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [RY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.5% | 18.2% | 0.98 | −40.0% | +361% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [CAH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +41.7% | 24.7% | 1.54 | −46.1% | +345% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +19.1% | 28.0% | 0.77 | −38.5% | +1,194% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| OEF: iShares S&P 100 ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +14.1% | 17.8% | 0.83 | −31.4% | +360% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [WMT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +21.1% | 22.6% | 0.97 | −25.7% | +521% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [JPM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Banks | +17.3% | 24.3% | 0.78 | −43.6% | +534% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | Japan Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +415% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [KO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Nonalcoholic Beverages | +15.2% | 16.8% | 0.93 | −37.0% | +205% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Dividend Equity | +16.9% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [COST](https://betterthanspy.com/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +692% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [QQQ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | US Large-Cap Growth | +14.2% | 23.0% | 0.69 | −35.1% | +531% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [PM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | Tobacco | +21.3% | 23.4% | 0.94 | −42.9% | +240% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [CSCO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | Communications Equipment | +16.9% | 26.1% | 0.73 | −42.0% | +361% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## SAP against its popular alternatives

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

### How do SAP'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.

- None of the 20 popular alternatives earned more than SAP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 15 of the 20 popular alternatives earned less than SAP over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, SAP returned 12.9% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (30.0% against 17.2%).

### Has SAP consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 20 popular alternatives outperformed SAP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was IBM.
- IBM earned more for the risk it took than SAP (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of SAP | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SAP: SAP SE (this page) | −11.8% | +88.3% | +83.7% | +217% |  |  | 0.56 |
| [IBM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | −10.0% | +103% | +150% | +163% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| PAYC: Paycom Software, Inc. | +36.0% | +8.4% | −47.7% | +434% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| MANH: Manhattan Associates, Inc. | +24.5% | +31.3% | +43.6% | +359% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| PCTY: Paylocity Holding Corporation | +16.9% | −5.1% | −39.6% | +286% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| [NOW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | −16.1% | +45.0% | +14.3% | +869% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.29 |
| [ADP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adp): Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | +11.6% | +37.2% | +58.1% | +337% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| [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 |
| APPF: AppFolio Inc. | −8.7% | +20.9% | +63.5% | +1,032% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.44 |
| [INTU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | −46.3% | −27.7% | −37.5% | +251% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| [CRM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | −1.6% | +26.3% | −12.8% | +240% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.13 |
| [ORCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −53.4% | +25.4% | +36.7% | +281% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| [ACN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/acn): Accenture plc | +7.5% | −5.8% | −19.2% | +167% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| [PAYX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/payx): Paychex, Inc. | −2.0% | +12.8% | +12.1% | +189% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.22 |
| BSY: Bentley Systems, Incorporated | −23.7% | −19.4% | −31.6% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.02 |
| [WDAY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | −13.5% | +0.2% | −25.2% | +137% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| [INFY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/infy): Infosys Limited | −21.5% | −13.4% | −34.0% | +116% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.13 |
| WIT: Wipro Limited | −18.6% | +1.9% | −50.8% | +31.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.26 |
| OTEX: Open Text Corporation | −25.6% | −6.2% | −34.9% | +10.2% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.10 |
| [ADBE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | −23.6% | −49.9% | −58.0% | +144% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.26 |
| PEGA: Pegasystems Inc. | −43.8% | +90.5% | −42.2% | +142% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.05 |

### How did SAP do year by year?

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

- SAP finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, APPF came out ahead of SAP most often, in seven of the ten years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, SAP finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in six. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 21.

| Year | SAP | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −0.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +61.3% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +52.3% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −24.2% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +9.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −1.3% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +36.4% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −10.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +31.7% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +11.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How SAP 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 SAP's worst declines?

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

- In all five of SAP's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: SAP fell 61.3% from July 1998 to March 1999, while the S&P 500 rose 13.9%.
- The slowest recovery came after SAP fell 87.9% from March 2000 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until November 2012, ten years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −87.9% | March 10, 2000 | October 7, 2002 | November 1, 2012 | −41.6% | dot-com bust |
| −61.3% | July 31, 1998 | March 23, 1999 | January 13, 2000 | +13.9% |  |
| −52.5% | July 9, 2025 | July 23, 2026 | not yet | +19.6% |  |
| −51.0% | September 2, 2020 | September 27, 2022 | November 30, 2023 | +5.0% | 2022 bear market |
| −32.9% | July 3, 2019 | March 19, 2020 | June 22, 2020 | −18.7% | Covid crash |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, ADP held up best, falling less than SAP in six of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- SAP fell further than the S&P 500 in four of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when SAP fell 87.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | SAP fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −87.9% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −49.6% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.4% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −25.0% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −13.3% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.9% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −25.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −32.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −41.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does SAP 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.

- 12 of the 19 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than SAP's 0.74, led by NOW, MSFT and APPF.
- NOW took just 79% of the S&P 500's losses, against 152% for SAP, while still keeping 114% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, SAP captured 112% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 152% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.10. 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SAP: SAP SE (this page) | 112% | 152% | 1.10 |
| [IBM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | 89.0% | 121% | 0.95 |
| PAYC: Paycom Software, Inc. | 110% | 114% | 1.12 |
| MANH: Manhattan Associates, Inc. | 129% | 166% | 1.44 |
| PCTY: Paylocity Holding Corporation | 94.0% | 106% | 0.88 |
| [NOW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | 114% | 79.0% | 0.97 |
| [ADP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adp): Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | 89.0% | 88.0% | 0.79 |
| [MSFT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| APPF: AppFolio Inc. | 137% | 108% | 0.97 |
| [INTU](https://betterthanspy.com/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | 99.0% | 126% | 1.03 |
| [CRM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| [ORCL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| [ACN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/acn): Accenture plc | 117% | 186% | 1.12 |
| [PAYX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/payx): Paychex, Inc. | 87.0% | 114% | 0.89 |
| [WDAY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | 96.0% | 139% | 1.19 |
| [INFY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/infy): Infosys Limited | 85.0% | 126% | 0.90 |
| WIT: Wipro Limited | 62.0% | 122% | 0.82 |
| OTEX: Open Text Corporation | 76.0% | 157% | 1.00 |
| [ADBE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | 123% | 184% | 1.24 |
| PEGA: Pegasystems Inc. | 87.0% | 113% | 1.05 |

### What diversifies SAP?

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 SAP into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+10.8% for SAP alone, +12.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of SAP over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.41 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which SAP lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with SAP | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in SAP's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.41 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 10 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.37 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.26 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 3 of 10 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.37 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 3 of 10 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.47 | +141% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 2 of 10 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.24 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 4 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.12 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 4 of 10 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.30 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 4 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was SAP's worst drawdown?

SAP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1995 was 87.9%, from March 2000 to October 2002. It took about ten years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, SAP's best year was 1997, when it returned 138%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -38.7%.

### Is there a better investment than SAP?

Among SAP's popular alternatives, IBM earned more for the risk it took than SAP over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 41.1%, against 52.5% for SAP. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) earned more than SAP with less volatility over the past 5 years: 14.5% a year at 26.2% volatility, against 12.9% a year at 30.0%.

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

Yes. SAP's volatility over the past 5 years was 30.0%, 1.7 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, SAP's return lands within 30.0% 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 SAP's Sharpe ratio?

SAP's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.56, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so SAP 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 SAP with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, SAP's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.57 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 SAP instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a SAP holding.

### What are the best alternatives to SAP?

None of the 20 popular alternatives we compared outperformed SAP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about SAP's strength than about its alternatives.

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

SAP finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -0.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

SAP fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when SAP fell 87.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies SAP?

These had a low correlation with SAP over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.41), DXJ (correlation 0.37) and EMLP (correlation 0.26); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.17), CLS (correlation 0.15) and MCK (correlation 0.20). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

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