# How AMETEK (AME) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/ame
> 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 AME alone. It places AME (AMETEK, Inc.) 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 AME stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: AME'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:** Its electronic instrument peers split over the past 6 months: IEX (IDEX) rose 14.1%, while HON (Honeywell International) fell 10.7%. AME has trailed the market, rising 4.8% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** AME held up far better than its industry: it rose 5.3% over the past 3 months while the electronic instruments ETF XLI (State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF) fell 6.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its electronic instrument peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: EMR (Emerson Electric) rose 17.9%, while COHR (Coherent) fell 18.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, AME rose 32.8% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** AME turned $10,000 into $58,100 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. AME's 10-year return of 481% puts it ahead of 85% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, AME has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** AME is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.72 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.73 with the total US market, more closely than 99% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 10 years, AME's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.15: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.1 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.0 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** KEYS (Keysight Technologies) was ahead of AME in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (34.5% volatility against 22.1%).
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** WAB (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, industrial machinery) was ahead of AME in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 34 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AME with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVS (Novartis), RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in AME at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $869,262 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 AME, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## AME 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.

- AME's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 53.3%, from June 2008 to March 2009. It took 19 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, AME's best was 2010, when it returned 54.8%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 35.1%. It lost money in six of those years.
- AME is 4.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Industrials (Electrical Equipment & Parts)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $57B
- Volatility (5 years): 22.1%; Sharpe ratio: 0.72
- Worst decline ever: −53.3%, from June 5, 2008 to March 2, 2009; back at its high by October 26, 2010

| Period | AME total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +2.5% |
| 3 months | +5.3% |
| 6 months | +4.8% |
| year to date | +18.8% |
| 1 year | +32.8% |
| 3 years | +78.1% |
| 5 years | +96.1% |
| 10 years | +481% |

## AME against the whole market

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

### How does AME rank among all stocks?

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

- AME is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 5% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | AME | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +32.8% | 897 of 3,287 (top 28%) |
| 3-year return | +78.1% | 1,152 of 3,017 (top 39%) |
| 5-year return | +96.1% | 705 of 2,893 (top 25%) |
| 10-year return | +481% | 324 of 2,202 (top 15%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 22.1% | 154 of 2,893 (top 6%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.72 | 417 of 2,893 (top 15%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −42.7% | 219 of 2,187 (top 11%) |

### What has beaten AME 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).

- Seven stocks and 27 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than AME over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half AME's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 50% less than AME's 22.1%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.72 for AME. DXJ earned the most, 26.6% a year, while still swinging less than AME (19.1% against 22.1%).

### Is there a better investment than AME?

The table below lists investments that beat AME 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 AME's popular alternatives, KEYS was ahead of AME in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (34.5% volatility against 22.1%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, WAB (industrial machinery) was ahead of AME in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 34 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than AME with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVS, RY and TD.

The 15 strongest of 34 investments that beat AME 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 AME | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AME: AMETEK, Inc. (this page) |  | +14.4% | 22.1% | 0.72 | −42.7% | +481% |  |  |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NXTG: First Trust Indxx NextG ETF | Technology | +16.2% | 19.1% | 0.89 | −33.6% | +330% | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +15.8% | 20.0% | 0.84 | −42.0% | +310% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +226% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SDCI: USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund | Bonds | +20.6% | 18.4% | 1.12 | −45.7% | — | -0.03 | 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% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 18.4% | 0.90 | −39.5% | +286% | 0.61 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | US Momentum Equity | +18.7% | 20.8% | 0.93 | −30.9% | +499% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.63 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| CRAK: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF | Energy | +19.8% | 20.9% | 0.97 | −58.8% | +336% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +23.5% | 18.8% | 1.22 | −75.2% | +350% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FFLC: Fidelity Fundamental Large Cap Core ETF | Broad Market | +15.7% | 16.8% | 0.95 | −19.7% | — | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DBJP: Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | International | +20.9% | 19.2% | 1.09 | −31.3% | +348% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## AME against its popular alternatives

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

### How do AME'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 25 popular alternatives earned more than AME over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 18 of the 25 popular alternatives earned less than AME over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, AME returned 14.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (22.1% against 17.1%).

### Has AME consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares AME 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 25 popular alternatives, KEYS, outperformed AME in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- ETN outperformed AME over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so AME has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of AME | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AME: AMETEK, Inc. (this page) | +32.8% | +78.1% | +96.1% | +481% |  |  | 0.72 |
| [KEYS](https://easycompare.io/research/keys): Keysight Technologies, Inc. | +103% | +172% | +91.9% | +923% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.55 |
| BELFB: Bel Fuse Inc. | +43.7% | +425% | +1,688% | +872% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.37 |
| MTSI: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. | +87.4% | +249% | +302% | +588% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.83 |
| [COHR](https://easycompare.io/research/cohr): Coherent, Inc. | +92.8% | +648% | +295% | +795% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [PH](https://easycompare.io/research/ph): Parker-Hannifin Corporation | +28.7% | +161% | +235% | +789% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.99 |
| [ETN](https://easycompare.io/research/etn): Eaton Corporation plc | +2.3% | +104% | +153% | +657% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| [EMR](https://easycompare.io/research/emr): Emerson Electric Co. | +25.0% | +84.9% | +82.1% | +309% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| TDY: Teledyne Technologies Incorporated | +10.5% | +62.6% | +43.7% | +499% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| MKSI: MKS Inc. | +49.8% | +191% | +50.5% | +371% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| NOVT: Novanta Inc. | +25.0% | +0.2% | −17.3% | +673% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| OSIS: OSI Systems, Inc. | −23.3% | +69.6% | +106% | +194% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| IEX: IDEX Corporation | +41.9% | +26.1% | +14.1% | +205% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| [TMO](https://easycompare.io/research/tmo): Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | +26.8% | +49.5% | +15.1% | +366% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| [DHR](https://easycompare.io/research/dhr): Danaher Corporation | +8.3% | +10.8% | −17.6% | +232% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.01 |
| [ROP](https://easycompare.io/research/rop): Roper Technologies, Inc. | −20.5% | −15.6% | −13.3% | +145% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| CTS: CTS Corporation | +34.6% | +42.6% | +74.1% | +252% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| ST: Sensata Technologies Holding plc | +33.9% | +23.3% | −21.6% | +19.7% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| VNT: Vontier Corporation | −20.8% | +14.1% | +0.4% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.16 |
| BMI: Badger Meter, Inc. | −30.4% | −3.4% | +29.1% | +346% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| DOV: Dover Corporation | +17.9% | +51.3% | +24.2% | +320% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.30 |
| [ITW](https://easycompare.io/research/itw): Illinois Tool Works Inc. | +11.7% | +32.1% | +38.4% | +208% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.41 |
| [HON](https://easycompare.io/research/hon): Honeywell International Inc. | +6.8% | +27.0% | +7.5% | +160% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.18 |
| FTV: Fortive Corporation | +18.9% | +11.7% | +6.3% | +98.0% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.18 |
| [ROK](https://easycompare.io/research/rok): Rockwell Automation, Inc. | +22.9% | +68.9% | +45.6% | +335% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| ITRI: Itron, Inc. | −36.9% | +47.7% | +8.3% | +54.5% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |

### How did AME do year by year?

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

- AME finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, AME finished in the top quarter in ten of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 10 of 26.
- Among its popular alternatives, MTSI came out ahead of AME most often, in nine of the 13 years both traded.

| Year | AME | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +14.7% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +10.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +18.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −4.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +22.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +22.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +48.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −5.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +50.0% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −8.6% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How AME 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 AME's worst declines?

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

- In all four of AME's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: AME fell 47.5% from July 1998 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 17.3%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 19 months, after AME fell 53.3% from June 2008 to March 2009.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −53.3% | June 5, 2008 | March 2, 2009 | October 26, 2010 | −48.9% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −49.6% | October 5, 1987 | September 28, 1990 | February 20, 1992 | — |  |
| −47.5% | July 17, 1998 | March 14, 2000 | June 11, 2001 | +17.3% | dot-com bust |
| −42.7% | January 8, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 18, 2020 | −30.9% | Covid crash |
| −36.2% | March 30, 1993 | November 22, 1993 | September 22, 1994 | +3.1% |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, DHR held up best, falling less than AME in eight of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- AME fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2011 euro debt crisis, when AME fell 30.3% and the S&P 500 fell 17.9%.

| Crash | Dates | AME fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −34.9% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −53.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.2% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −30.3% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −21.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −22.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −42.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −26.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.7% | −3.4% |

### How closely does AME 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.

- KEYS took just 71% of the S&P 500's losses, against 101% for AME, while still keeping 121% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, AME captured 111% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 101% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.15. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Six of the 24 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than AME's 1.10, led by KEYS, BMI and ETN.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AME: AMETEK, Inc. (this page) | 111% | 101% | 1.15 |
| [KEYS](https://easycompare.io/research/keys): Keysight Technologies, Inc. | 121% | 71.0% | 1.08 |
| BELFB: Bel Fuse Inc. | 168% | 160% | 1.61 |
| MTSI: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. | 148% | 157% | 1.93 |
| [COHR](https://easycompare.io/research/cohr): Coherent, Inc. | 162% | 146% | 1.80 |
| [PH](https://easycompare.io/research/ph): Parker-Hannifin Corporation | 141% | 126% | 1.43 |
| [ETN](https://easycompare.io/research/etn): Eaton Corporation plc | 114% | 80.0% | 1.16 |
| [EMR](https://easycompare.io/research/emr): Emerson Electric Co. | 124% | 153% | 1.39 |
| TDY: Teledyne Technologies Incorporated | 101% | 81.0% | 1.02 |
| MKSI: MKS Inc. | 156% | 181% | 1.77 |
| NOVT: Novanta Inc. | 155% | 156% | 1.38 |
| OSIS: OSI Systems, Inc. | 88.0% | 99.0% | 0.97 |
| IEX: IDEX Corporation | 97.0% | 121% | 1.03 |
| [TMO](https://easycompare.io/research/tmo): Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. | 104% | 104% | 0.81 |
| [DHR](https://easycompare.io/research/dhr): Danaher Corporation | 84.0% | 84.0% | 0.75 |
| [ROP](https://easycompare.io/research/rop): Roper Technologies, Inc. | 79.0% | 107% | 0.91 |
| CTS: CTS Corporation | 94.0% | 104% | 0.87 |
| ST: Sensata Technologies Holding plc | 85.0% | 157% | 1.33 |
| BMI: Badger Meter, Inc. | 73.0% | 50.0% | 0.71 |
| DOV: Dover Corporation | 114% | 133% | 1.27 |
| [ITW](https://easycompare.io/research/itw): Illinois Tool Works Inc. | 94.0% | 116% | 1.04 |
| [HON](https://easycompare.io/research/hon): Honeywell International Inc. | 90.0% | 118% | 1.00 |
| FTV: Fortive Corporation | 88.0% | 133% | 1.10 |
| [ROK](https://easycompare.io/research/rok): Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 122% | 138% | 1.46 |
| ITRI: Itron, Inc. | 97.0% | 158% | 1.27 |

### What diversifies AME?

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 AME into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+15.6% for AME alone, +16.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, FDL and EWP have moved largely independently of AME over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and MCK have moved largely independently of AME over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.44 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with AME | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in AME's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.46 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 6 |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | 0.48 | +91.8% | 14.4% | 0.98 | 2 of 6 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.41 | +140% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 1 of 6 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.42 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 2 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.09 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 6 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.25 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 3 of 6 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.35 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 2 of 6 |
| EFV: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF | 0.49 | +89.0% | 15.9% | 0.88 | 1 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was AME's worst drawdown?

AME's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 53.3%, from June 2008 to March 2009. It took 19 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, AME's best year was 2010, when it returned 54.8%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -35.1%.

### Is there a better investment than AME?

Among AME's popular alternatives, KEYS was ahead of AME in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (34.5% volatility against 22.1%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, WAB (industrial machinery) was ahead of AME in most short and long periods.

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

Yes. AME's volatility over the past 5 years was 22.1%, 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, AME's return lands within 22.1% 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 AME's Sharpe ratio?

AME's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.72, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so AME 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 AME with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, AME's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.72 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 AME instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a AME holding.

### What are the best alternatives to AME?

Of the 25 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed AME in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: KEYS.

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

AME finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +14.7%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

AME fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in two of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the 2011 euro debt crisis, when AME fell 30.3% and the S&P 500 fell 17.9%.

### What diversifies AME?

These had a low correlation with AME over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.46), FDL (correlation 0.48) and EWP (correlation 0.41); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.39), CLS (correlation 0.44) and MCK (correlation 0.30). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Keysight Technologies (KEYS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/keys)
- [Coherent (COHR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cohr)
- [Parker-Hannifin (PH) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ph)
- [Eaton (ETN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/etn)
- [Emerson Electric (EMR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/emr)
- [Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tmo)
- [Danaher (DHR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dhr)
- [Roper Technologies (ROP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rop)
- [Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/itw)
- [Honeywell International (HON) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hon)
- [Rockwell Automation (ROK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rok)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)

## Explore further

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