# How Automatic Data Processing (ADP) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/adp
> Data as of October 20, 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 ADP alone. It places ADP (Automatic Data Processing, Inc.) against 19 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 ADP stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: ADP's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** ADP has run far ahead of the market, rising 46.7% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. After a 40.8% loss from June 2025 to April 2026, ADP has bounced 57.2% off the low.
- **Stock or market?:** ADP held up far better than its industry: it rose 15.4% over the past 3 months while the business services ETF IYJ (iShares U.S. Industrials ETF) fell 2.8%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its business services peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: PAYC (Paycom Software) rose 75.5%, while KFY (Korn Ferry) fell 5.7%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** A ahead of 76% of stocks worth at least $300 million over 10 years, but behind 61% of the stocks worth at least $300 million over 3 years. Over the past year, ADP rose 6.4% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (30.2% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** ADP's 10-year return of 320% puts it ahead of 76% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%. Over the past decade, only PAYC (Paycom Software) of its business services peers outpaced ADP.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, ADP held up better than ORCL (Oracle), SAP and WDAY; only BBSI (Barrett Business Services) fell less. Even so, ADP fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the last three sell-offs, including the Covid crash (39.5% against 33.7%).
- **Diversification:** ADP is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.55 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.54 with the total US market, more closely than 82% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** NOW (ServiceNow) was ahead of ADP in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (45.5% volatility against 22.9%).
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** GD (General Dynamics, aerospace & defense) and ITA (iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF, aerospace & defense) earned more than ADP with less volatility over the past 5 years. GD returned 12.9% a year at 20.8% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 22.9%.
  - **Whole market:** 311 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ADP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF), VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) and BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in ADP at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $235,442 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of ADP, and CACI finished highest, at $609,098.

## ADP 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.

- ADP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 59.6%, from November 2000 to March 2003. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, ADP's best was 2013, when it returned 45.6%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 32.7%. It lost money in six of those years.
- ADP is 6.9% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Application)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $116B
- Volatility (5 years): 22.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.49
- Worst decline ever: −59.6%, from November 20, 2000 to March 13, 2003; back at its high by March 9, 2011

| Period | ADP total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +8.5% |
| 3 months | +15.4% |
| 6 months | +46.7% |
| year to date | +18.4% |
| 1 year | +6.4% |
| 3 years | +30.2% |
| 5 years | +53.6% |
| 10 years | +320% |

## ADP against the whole market

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

### How does ADP rank among all stocks?

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

- ADP is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 7% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | ADP | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +6.4% | 1,721 of 3,287 (top 53%) |
| 3-year return | +30.2% | 1,849 of 3,017 (top 62%) |
| 5-year return | +53.6% | 1,066 of 2,893 (top 37%) |
| 10-year return | +320% | 536 of 2,202 (top 25%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 22.9% | 206 of 2,893 (top 8%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.49 | 956 of 2,893 (top 34%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −40.8% | 169 of 2,187 (top 8%) |

### What has beaten ADP 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).

- 36 stocks and 275 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than ADP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 9% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half ADP's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 17% less than ADP's 22.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.49 for ADP.
- None of ADP's popular alternatives made it, but PPA (aerospace & defense) did: 16.3% a year at 18.9% volatility, 18% less than ADP's 22.9%.

### Is there a better investment than ADP?

The table below lists investments that beat ADP 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 ADP's popular alternatives, NOW was ahead of ADP in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (45.5% volatility against 22.9%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, GD (aerospace & defense) and ITA (aerospace & defense) earned more than ADP with less volatility over the past 5 years. GD returned 12.9% a year at 20.8% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 22.9%.
- Across the whole market, 311 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ADP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-B.

The 15 strongest of 311 investments that beat ADP over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with ADP | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADP: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (this page) |  | +9.0% | 22.9% | 0.49 | −40.8% | +320% |  |  |
| [RSG](https://easycompare.io/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | Environmental Services | +13.9% | 18.5% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +446% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [VTI](https://easycompare.io/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | US Total Market | +11.5% | 17.5% | 0.71 | −35.0% | +302% | 0.54 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +12.8% | 16.9% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +324% | 0.54 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [JNJ](https://easycompare.io/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +12.7% | 17.9% | 0.76 | −27.4% | +196% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [CME](https://easycompare.io/research/cme): CME Group Inc. | Capital Markets | +11.2% | 20.8% | 0.62 | −37.4% | +319% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +226% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [TAK](https://easycompare.io/research/tak): Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited | Pharmaceuticals | +11.9% | 19.4% | 0.68 | −54.4% | +30.4% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +213% | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [LIN](https://easycompare.io/research/lin): Linde plc | Chemicals | +11.5% | 20.9% | 0.63 | −32.6% | +394% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EQL: ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF | Broad Market | +13.5% | 14.5% | 0.94 | −34.2% | +387% | 0.56 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [VIG](https://easycompare.io/research/vig): Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | US Dividend Equity | +10.4% | 14.1% | 0.78 | −31.7% | +258% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [VT](https://easycompare.io/research/vt): Vanguard Total World Stock ETF | Global Equity | +10.3% | 16.2% | 0.69 | −34.2% | +223% | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | Broad Market | +10.5% | 8.6% | 1.20 | −18.2% | — | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## ADP against its popular alternatives

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

### How do ADP'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 19 popular alternatives earned more than ADP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 17 of the 19 popular alternatives earned less than ADP over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, ADP returned 9.0% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (22.9% against 17.1%).

### Has ADP consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 19 popular alternatives outperformed ADP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was NOW.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of ADP | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADP: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (this page) | +6.4% | +30.2% | +53.6% | +320% |  |  | 0.49 |
| [NOW](https://easycompare.io/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | −18.5% | +37.8% | +9.8% | +848% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | −16.6% | +81.3% | +72.6% | +205% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| BBSI: Barrett Business Services, Inc. | −22.2% | +46.9% | +65.4% | +227% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| PAYC: Paycom Software, Inc. | +31.7% | +3.8% | −47.4% | +453% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| KFY: Korn Ferry | +9.2% | +68.7% | +9.3% | +312% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −52.1% | +33.3% | +45.1% | +300% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| PCTY: Paylocity Holding Corporation | +12.1% | −10.2% | −41.4% | +288% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| TNET: TriNet Group, Inc. | +18.5% | −34.7% | −23.6% | +277% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.05 |
| NSP: Insperity, Inc. | +13.3% | −41.8% | −49.3% | +81.0% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.07 |
| TBI: TrueBlue, Inc. | +51.8% | −40.4% | −73.6% | −55.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.21 |
| BR: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. | −20.2% | +9.7% | +8.7% | +234% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| [ACN](https://easycompare.io/research/acn): Accenture plc | +2.2% | −13.6% | −23.6% | +146% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| [WDAY](https://easycompare.io/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | −15.4% | −3.4% | −26.4% | +132% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| RHI: Robert Half Inc. | +19.3% | −46.2% | −62.2% | +19.6% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.32 |
| MAN: ManpowerGroup Inc. | +32.9% | −30.1% | −49.8% | −19.8% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.13 |
| [INTU](https://easycompare.io/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | −48.9% | −32.1% | −38.8% | +237% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| [PAYX](https://easycompare.io/research/payx): Paychex, Inc. | −7.1% | +7.5% | +7.9% | +173% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| ASUR: Asure Software, Inc. | −17.1% | −15.7% | −20.8% | +4.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |
| FIS: Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | −44.3% | −21.6% | −66.6% | −41.3% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.47 |

### How did ADP do year by year?

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

- ADP finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, NOW came out ahead of ADP most often, in nine of the 13 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, ADP finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 20.

| Year | ADP | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −10.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +28.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −0.3% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −1.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +42.6% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +5.9% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +32.7% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +14.3% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +16.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +24.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How ADP 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 ADP's worst declines?

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

- In all three of ADP's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: ADP fell 40.8% from June 2025 to April 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 14.7%.
- The slowest recovery came after ADP fell 59.6% from November 2000 to March 2003; it did not regain that peak until March 2011, eight years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −59.6% | November 20, 2000 | March 13, 2003 | March 9, 2011 | −35.7% | dot-com bust |
| −40.8% | June 6, 2025 | April 10, 2026 | not yet | +14.7% |  |
| −39.9% | August 21, 1987 | October 19, 1987 | March 6, 1990 | — |  |
| −39.5% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | December 17, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −23.6% | July 17, 1990 | October 11, 1990 | January 31, 1991 | — |  |

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

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

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than ADP in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- ADP fell less than the S&P 500 in four of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when ADP fell 35.7% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

| Crash | Dates | ADP fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −53.6% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −35.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −15.8% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.1% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −8.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −19.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −39.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −19.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does ADP 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.

- Only NOW had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than ADP's 1.01, out of 19 popular alternatives with the same record.
- NOW took just 79% of the S&P 500's losses, against 88% for ADP, while still keeping 114% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, ADP captured 89% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 88% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.79. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ADP: Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (this page) | 89.0% | 88.0% | 0.79 |
| [NOW](https://easycompare.io/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | 114% | 79.0% | 0.97 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | 112% | 152% | 1.10 |
| BBSI: Barrett Business Services, Inc. | 106% | 136% | 1.25 |
| PAYC: Paycom Software, Inc. | 110% | 114% | 1.12 |
| KFY: Korn Ferry | 129% | 157% | 1.41 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| PCTY: Paylocity Holding Corporation | 94.0% | 106% | 0.88 |
| TNET: TriNet Group, Inc. | 122% | 161% | 1.20 |
| NSP: Insperity, Inc. | 83.0% | 126% | 1.01 |
| TBI: TrueBlue, Inc. | 90.0% | 231% | 1.70 |
| BR: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. | 90.0% | 105% | 0.90 |
| [ACN](https://easycompare.io/research/acn): Accenture plc | 117% | 186% | 1.12 |
| [WDAY](https://easycompare.io/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | 96.0% | 139% | 1.19 |
| RHI: Robert Half Inc. | 92.0% | 160% | 1.21 |
| MAN: ManpowerGroup Inc. | 101% | 191% | 1.39 |
| [INTU](https://easycompare.io/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | 99.0% | 126% | 1.03 |
| [PAYX](https://easycompare.io/research/payx): Paychex, Inc. | 87.0% | 114% | 0.89 |
| ASUR: Asure Software, Inc. | 71.0% | 128% | 0.86 |
| FIS: Fidelity National Information Services, Inc. | 54.0% | 150% | 0.82 |

### What diversifies ADP?

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 ADP into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+7.6% for ADP alone, +10.4% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and PJUL have moved largely independently of ADP over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in four of the six calendar years in which ADP lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with ADP | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in ADP's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.30 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 3 of 6 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.10 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 6 |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | 0.49 | +64.4% | 8.6% | 1.20 | 2 of 6 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.42 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 6 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.49 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 3 of 6 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.19 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 6 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.40 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.01 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was ADP's worst drawdown?

ADP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 59.6%, from November 2000 to March 2003. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, ADP's best year was 2013, when it returned 45.6%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -32.7%.

### Is there a better investment than ADP?

Among ADP's popular alternatives, NOW was ahead of ADP in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (45.5% volatility against 22.9%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, GD (aerospace & defense) and ITA (aerospace & defense) earned more than ADP with less volatility over the past 5 years. GD returned 12.9% a year at 20.8% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 22.9%.

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

Yes. ADP's volatility over the past 5 years was 22.9%, 1.3 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, ADP's return lands within 22.9% 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 ADP's Sharpe ratio?

ADP's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.49, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so ADP 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 ADP with the S&P 500?

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

### What are the best alternatives to ADP?

None of the 19 popular alternatives we compared outperformed ADP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about ADP's strength than about its alternatives.

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

ADP finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -10.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

ADP fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when ADP fell 35.7% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies ADP?

These had a low correlation with ADP over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.30), DXJ (correlation 0.10) and PJUL (correlation 0.49); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.14), CLS (correlation 0.10) and FIX (correlation 0.16). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/adp
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against ADP live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=ADP&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research