# How Spotify Technology (SPOT) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/spot
> 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 SPOT alone. It places SPOT (Spotify Technology S.A.) against 18 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 SPOT stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: SPOT's full trading record, from April 2018 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:** SPOT has run far ahead of the market, rising 23.1% over the past 3 months against 2.5% for the S&P 500. That said, the slide is SPOT's own: it is 24.8% below its high, against 1.9% for the S&P 500.
- **Stock or market?:** SPOT held up far better than its industry: it rose 23.1% over the past 3 months while the streaming media ETF XLC (State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF) fell 1.3%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%. SPOT rose 16.4% 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, SPOT fell 13.6% while the S&P 500 rose 15.6%. SPOT led its streaming media peers in 2023, then fell behind AAPL (Apple) and GOOG (Alphabet) in 2025.
- **Long term:** SPOT turned $10,000 into $23,100 over the past 5 years, against $18,000 in the S&P 500. SPOT's 5-year return of 131% puts it ahead of 82% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 80.3%.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, SPOT fell 65.7%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than AAPL (Apple, 27.4%) but less than NFLX (Netflix, 71.9%). SPOT fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the last three sell-offs, including the 2022 bear market (65.7% against 24.5%).
- **Diversification:** SPOT is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.55 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.56 with the total US market, more closely than 83% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 5 years, SPOT's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.61: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.5 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.7 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** TKO (entertainment) earned more than SPOT with less volatility over the past 5 years: 26.1% a year at 32.7% volatility, against 18.2% a year at 48.0%.
  - **Whole market:** 289 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than SPOT with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing), AVGO (Broadcom) and LLY (Eli Lilly and Company).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in SPOT over the past 8 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of SPOT over the same span and SPOT's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in SPOT at the end of September 2018 would have grown to $26,953 by September 2026, less than the $29,568 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of SPOT, and ASX finished highest, at $127,030.

## SPOT 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.

- SPOT is still 24.8% below its all-time high.
- SPOT's deepest decline since it began trading in 2018 was 80.5%, from February 2021 to November 2022. It took 22 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over seven full calendar years, SPOT's best was 2024, when it returned 138%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 66.3%. It lost money in two of those years.

- Type: Stock, Communication (Internet Content & Information)
- Trading since: April 3, 2018
- Market value: $120B
- Volatility (5 years): 48.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.59
- Worst decline ever: −80.5%, from February 19, 2021 to November 4, 2022; back at its high by September 20, 2024

| Period | SPOT total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +16.4% |
| 3 months | +23.1% |
| 6 months | +11.6% |
| year to date | +1.5% |
| 1 year | −13.6% |
| 3 years | +278% |
| 5 years | +131% |

## SPOT against the whole market

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

### How does SPOT rank among all stocks?

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

- SPOT's 3-year return ranks in the top 8% of the 3,016 stocks worth at least $300 million with 3 years of history.
- SPOT's 1-year return ranks in the bottom 24% of the 3,282 stocks worth at least $300 million with 1 year of history.

| Measure | SPOT | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −13.6% | 2,497 of 3,282 (top 77%) |
| 3-year return | +278% | 249 of 3,016 (top 9%) |
| 5-year return | +131% | 532 of 2,897 (top 19%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 48.0% | 1,843 of 2,897 (top 64%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.59 | 715 of 2,897 (top 25%) |

### What has beaten SPOT 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).

- 258 stocks and 31 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than SPOT over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 8% of the 3,641 screened.
- Among those with at least half SPOT's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 41.7% a year at 24.7% volatility, 48% less than SPOT's 48.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.54 against 0.59 for SPOT. ATI earned the most, 58.9% a year, while still swinging less than SPOT (43.2% against 48.0%).
- None of SPOT's popular alternatives made it, but TKO (entertainment) did: 26.1% a year at 32.7% volatility, 32% less than SPOT's 48.0%.

### Is there a better investment than SPOT?

The table below lists investments that beat SPOT 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 SPOT's popular alternatives, AAPL matched SPOT's return over the past 5 years (19.1% a year against 18.2%) with 42% less volatility.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, TKO (entertainment) earned more than SPOT with less volatility over the past 5 years: 26.1% a year at 32.7% volatility, against 18.2% a year at 48.0%.
- Across the whole market, 289 of the 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than SPOT with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them TSM, AVGO and LLY.

The 15 strongest of 289 investments that beat SPOT 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) | 5Y return | Correlation with SPOT | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPOT: Spotify Technology S.A. (this page) |  | +18.2% | 48.0% | 0.59 | −80.5% | +131% |  |  |
| [ASX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/asx): ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | Semiconductors | +47.3% | 43.3% | 1.11 | −52.5% | +592% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +41.2% | 32.8% | 1.22 | −34.5% | +461% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [HPE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | Computer Hardware | +32.8% | 42.3% | 0.89 | −56.9% | +313% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +21.1% | 22.6% | 0.97 | −25.7% | +161% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| CIB: Grupo Cibest S.A. | Banks | +33.5% | 32.9% | 1.04 | −70.4% | +324% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| THC: Tenet Healthcare Corporation | Health Care Facilities | +30.8% | 45.0% | 0.83 | −71.7% | +283% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| IDCC: InterDigital, Inc. | Intellectual Property Licensing | +39.4% | 36.9% | 1.09 | −64.9% | +427% | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AMGN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +20.1% | 24.9% | 0.86 | −24.9% | +150% | -0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [GILD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +179% | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| VCTR: Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. | Asset Management | +27.7% | 35.0% | 0.88 | −45.2% | +240% | 0.37 | 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% | +289% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PGR](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.8% | 25.7% | 0.90 | −30.3% | +168% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [VRTX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vrtx): Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Rare Disease Therapeutics | +23.9% | 29.1% | 0.89 | −41.6% | +192% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [PBR-A](https://betterthanspy.com/research/pbr-a): Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras | Integrated Oil & Gas | +53.5% | 37.4% | 1.34 | −71.7% | +751% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [WELL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/well): Welltower Inc. | Healthcare REITs | +27.0% | 23.8% | 1.13 | −63.3% | +230% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## SPOT against its popular alternatives

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

### How do SPOT'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 AAPL and GOOG were both more rewarding and calmer than SPOT over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, SPOT returned 18.2% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (48.0% against 17.2%).

### Has SPOT consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares SPOT with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over seven periods from one month to five years.

- None of the 18 popular alternatives outperformed SPOT in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes. The closest was AAPL.
- AAPL and GOOG earned more for the risk they took than SPOT (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | Periods ahead of SPOT | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPOT: Spotify Technology S.A. (this page) | −13.6% | +278% | +131% |  |  | 0.59 |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | +35.2% | +104% | +140% | 3/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [LYV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lyv): Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. | +11.8% | +121% | +73.2% | 3/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [SONY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sony): Sony Group Corporation | −8.5% | +60.2% | +19.5% | 3/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| ROKU: Roku, Inc. | +66.7% | +162% | −50.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [AMZN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +14.9% | +97.8% | +50.1% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| WMG: Warner Music Group Corp. | −2.1% | +7.1% | −25.8% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| SIRI: Sirius XM Holdings Inc. | +32.3% | −30.8% | −45.3% | 2/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.05 |
| [GOOG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | +27.4% | +135% | +134% | 1/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| [DIS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dis): The Walt Disney Company | +1.5% | +40.4% | −31.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.11 |
| PINS: Pinterest, Inc. | −30.5% | −13.9% | −60.5% | 1/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| [NTES](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ntes): NetEase, Inc. | −16.2% | +26.9% | +29.5% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| TME: Tencent Music Entertainment Group | −61.2% | +32.7% | +6.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [NFLX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nflx): Netflix, Inc. | −39.9% | +64.8% | +0.9% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| HUYA: HUYA Inc. | −22.0% | +105% | −37.9% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| TTD: The Trade Desk, Inc. | −75.6% | −82.1% | −82.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.17 |
| BILI: Bilibili Inc. | −53.1% | +6.6% | −83.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.09 |
| IQ: iQIYI, Inc. | −58.3% | −80.1% | −90.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.21 |
| FUBO: fuboTV Inc. | −80.4% | −71.3% | −97.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/2 long-term |  | -0.06 |

### How did SPOT do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2019, along with where SPOT ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- SPOT finished ahead of the S&P 500 in four of its seven full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Among its popular alternatives, NTES came out ahead of SPOT most often, in four of the seven years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, SPOT finished in the top quarter in two of seven years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 8 of 19.

| Year | SPOT | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +29.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +138% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +138% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −66.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −25.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +110% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +31.8% | +31.2% |

## Risk and diversification

How SPOT 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 SPOT's worst declines?

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

- In all five of SPOT's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: SPOT fell 80.5% from February 2021 to November 2022, while the S&P 500 slipped only 1.1%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 22 months, after SPOT fell 80.5% from February 2021 to November 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −80.5% | February 19, 2021 | November 4, 2022 | September 20, 2024 | −1.1% | 2022 bear market |
| −46.8% | June 26, 2025 | February 5, 2026 | not yet | +11.4% |  |
| −45.6% | July 26, 2018 | December 21, 2018 | June 17, 2020 | −14.2% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −24.5% | February 13, 2025 | March 10, 2025 | May 7, 2025 | −8.1% |  |
| −20.7% | September 1, 2020 | September 24, 2020 | December 2, 2020 | −7.9% |  |

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

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

- SPOT fell further than the S&P 500 in three of the four crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when SPOT fell 65.7% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, AAPL held up best, falling less than SPOT in three of the four crashes they both traded through.
- SPOT began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but nine of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was NTES's 41.8%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | SPOT 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 | not trading | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | not trading | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −42.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −20.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −65.7% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.2% | −3.4% |

### How closely does SPOT 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.

- GOOG took just 132% of the S&P 500's losses, against 170% for SPOT, while still keeping 140% of its gains.
- Over the past 5 years, SPOT captured 151% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 170% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.61. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Four of the 18 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than SPOT's 0.89, led by AAPL, GOOG and NTES.

Measured over the past 5 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPOT: Spotify Technology S.A. (this page) | 151% | 170% | 1.61 |
| [AAPL](https://betterthanspy.com/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | 109% | 87.0% | 1.07 |
| [LYV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lyv): Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. | 101% | 104% | 1.17 |
| [SONY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/sony): Sony Group Corporation | 83.0% | 137% | 0.99 |
| ROKU: Roku, Inc. | 123% | 297% | 2.06 |
| [AMZN](https://betterthanspy.com/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 125% | 170% | 1.45 |
| WMG: Warner Music Group Corp. | 81.0% | 184% | 1.40 |
| SIRI: Sirius XM Holdings Inc. | 36.0% | 148% | 0.98 |
| [GOOG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | 140% | 132% | 1.20 |
| [DIS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/dis): The Walt Disney Company | 77.0% | 190% | 1.42 |
| PINS: Pinterest, Inc. | 14.0% | 147% | 0.90 |
| [NTES](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ntes): NetEase, Inc. | 72.0% | 73.0% | 0.67 |
| TME: Tencent Music Entertainment Group | 64.0% | 99.0% | 0.79 |
| [NFLX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nflx): Netflix, Inc. | 114% | 186% | 1.61 |
| HUYA: HUYA Inc. | 55.0% | 140% | 0.69 |
| TTD: The Trade Desk, Inc. | −12.0% | 192% | 0.99 |
| BILI: Bilibili Inc. | 9.0% | 197% | 0.65 |
| IQ: iQIYI, Inc. | −61.0% | 144% | 0.14 |
| FUBO: fuboTV Inc. | 60.0% | 498% | 2.39 |

### What diversifies SPOT?

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 SPOT into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+16.7% for SPOT alone, +18.5% for the mix).
- MPC made money in two of the two calendar years in which SPOT lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of SPOT over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.36 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with SPOT | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in SPOT's 2 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.27 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 2 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.26 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 2 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.36 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 2 of 2 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.25 | +86.8% | 13.0% | 1.03 | 2 of 2 |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | 0.48 | +61.5% | 10.5% | 0.97 | 1 of 2 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.47 | +83.6% | 13.8% | 0.95 | 1 of 2 |
| FDEC: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - December | 0.49 | +64.8% | 11.3% | 0.94 | 1 of 2 |
| [SMH](https://betterthanspy.com/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.35 | +304% | 37.0% | 0.94 | 1 of 2 |

## Common questions

### What was SPOT's worst drawdown?

SPOT's deepest decline since it began trading in 2018 was 80.5%, from February 2021 to November 2022. It took 22 months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because SPOT launched in April 2018, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or four other sell-offs.

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

Over seven full calendar years, SPOT's best year was 2024, when it returned 138%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -66.3%.

### Is there a better investment than SPOT?

Among SPOT's popular alternatives, AAPL matched SPOT's return over the past 5 years (19.1% a year against 18.2%) with 42% less volatility. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, TKO (entertainment) earned more than SPOT with less volatility over the past 5 years: 26.1% a year at 32.7% volatility, against 18.2% a year at 48.0%.

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

Yes. SPOT's volatility over the past 5 years was 48.0%, 2.8 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, SPOT's return lands within 48.0% 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 SPOT's Sharpe ratio?

SPOT's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.59, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so SPOT 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 SPOT with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, SPOT's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.55 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 SPOT instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a SPOT holding.

### What are the best alternatives to SPOT?

None of the 18 popular alternatives we compared outperformed SPOT in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes, which says more about SPOT's strength than about its alternatives.

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

SPOT finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of seven full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +29.8%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

SPOT fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the four major crashes it has traded through, and further in three. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when SPOT fell 65.7% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies SPOT?

These had a low correlation with SPOT over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.27), DXJ (correlation 0.26) and EMLP (correlation 0.36); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.11), CLS (correlation 0.20) and MCK (correlation 0.23). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

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- [NetEase (NTES) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ntes)
- [Netflix (NFLX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nflx)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/nvda)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/msft)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vti)

## Explore further

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