# How Amazon.com (AMZN) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/amzn
> 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 AMZN alone. It places AMZN (Amazon.com, 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 AMZN stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: AMZN's full trading record, from May 1997 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Its e-commerce peers split over the past 6 months: SHOP (Shopify) rose 28.4%, while BABA (Alibaba Group Holding) fell 21.7%. AMZN has trailed the market, rising 5.8% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** AMZN rose 5.1% over the past 3 months, 4.1 points ahead of the consumer discretionary sector ETF XLY (State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF), which rose 1.0%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its e-commerce peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: SHOP (Shopify) rose 39.4%, while BABA (Alibaba Group Holding) fell 9.7%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, AMZN rose 21.3% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (110% against 89.3%). Even so, AMZN led its e-commerce peers in 2023, then fell behind TGT (Target) and EBAY in 2025.
- **Long term:** AMZN turned $10,000 into $64,800 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, over 5 years AMZN trailed the index: 53.8% against 81.7%.
- **In a crash:** AMZN fell harder than the S&P 500 in six of seven sell-offs. The Covid crash was the exception: AMZN fell 22.7%, less than the S&P 500's 33.7%.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, AMZN has a correlation of 0.67 over 5 years, more closely than 97% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. Over 10 years, AMZN's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.31: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.3 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.4 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** MSFT (Microsoft), COST (Costco Wholesale) and GOOG (Alphabet) earned more than AMZN with less volatility over the past 5 years. MSFT returned 12.5% a year at 28.2% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 36.6%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** IYW (iShares U.S. Technology ETF, cloud computing theme) and CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) earned more than AMZN with less volatility over the past 5 years. IYW returned 19.0% a year at 26.6% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 36.6%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 12.7% a year at 17.1% volatility, against 9.0% at 36.6% for AMZN.

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

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

- $10,000 invested in AMZN at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $11,484,924 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Over the past 29 years, only two of the 1,042 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million that traded that long, leveraged funds aside, ended ahead of AMZN. Over the past 5 years, 1,528 did, and GOOG turned $10,000 into $25,811, against $15,169 for AMZN.
- Two of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of AMZN, and MNST finished highest, at $45,663,831.

## AMZN 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.

- AMZN's deepest decline since it began trading in 1997 was 94.4%, from December 1999 to September 2001. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 28 full calendar years, AMZN's best was 1998, when it returned 968%, and its worst was 2000, when it lost 79.6%. It lost money in eight of those years.
- AMZN is 7.5% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Discretionary (Specialty Retail)
- Trading since: May 15, 1997
- Market value: $2.8T
- Volatility (5 years): 36.6%; Sharpe ratio: 0.42
- Worst decline ever: −94.4%, from December 10, 1999 to September 28, 2001; back at its high by October 23, 2009

| Period | AMZN total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +1.6% |
| 3 months | +5.1% |
| 6 months | +5.8% |
| year to date | +16.0% |
| 1 year | +21.3% |
| 3 years | +110% |
| 5 years | +53.8% |
| 10 years | +548% |

## AMZN against the whole market

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

### How does AMZN rank among all stocks?

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

- AMZN's 10-year return ranks in the top 12% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | AMZN | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +21.3% | 1,201 of 3,287 (top 37%) |
| 3-year return | +110% | 855 of 3,017 (top 29%) |
| 5-year return | +53.8% | 1,063 of 2,893 (top 37%) |
| 10-year return | +548% | 265 of 2,202 (top 13%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 36.6% | 1,244 of 2,893 (top 44%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.42 | 1,181 of 2,893 (top 41%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −56.1% | 723 of 2,187 (top 34%) |

### What has beaten AMZN 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).

- 412 stocks and 353 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than AMZN over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 21% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half AMZN's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 32% less than AMZN's 36.6%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.42 for AMZN. MPC earned the most, 51.2% a year, while still swinging less than AMZN (33.4% against 36.6%).
- Among AMZN's popular alternatives, WMT, COST and GOOG are in the region. WMT earned 20.8% a year against 9.0% a year for AMZN, at 22.6% volatility, 38% less than AMZN's 36.6%.

### Is there a better investment than AMZN?

The table below lists investments that beat AMZN 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 AMZN's popular alternatives, MSFT, COST and GOOG earned more than AMZN with less volatility over the past 5 years. MSFT returned 12.5% a year at 28.2% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 36.6%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, IYW (cloud computing theme) and CIBR (cybersecurity) earned more than AMZN with less volatility over the past 5 years. IYW returned 19.0% a year at 26.6% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 36.6%.
- Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 12.7% a year at 17.1% volatility, against 9.0% at 36.6% for AMZN.

The 15 strongest of 765 investments that beat AMZN 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 AMZN | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AMZN: Amazon.com, Inc. (this page) |  | +9.0% | 36.6% | 0.42 | −56.1% | +548% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +18.5% | 28.0% | 0.75 | −38.5% | +1,168% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | -0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | Tobacco | +21.0% | 23.4% | 0.94 | −42.9% | +242% | -0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | Communications Equipment | +16.8% | 26.1% | 0.73 | −42.0% | +374% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +38.7% | 25.0% | 1.44 | −38.1% | +586% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GILD](https://easycompare.io/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +200% | -0.16 | 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% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mfg): Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.6% | 30.6% | 1.10 | −45.7% | +345% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VGT](https://easycompare.io/research/vgt): Vanguard Information Technology ETF | Technology Equity | +18.4% | 26.0% | 0.78 | −35.1% | +779% | 0.69 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.7% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −47.6% | +474% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ADI](https://easycompare.io/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | Semiconductors | +19.5% | 34.1% | 0.69 | −33.6% | +652% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## AMZN against its popular alternatives

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

### How do AMZN'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.

- 12 of the 21 popular alternatives earned less than AMZN over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Six of the 21 popular alternatives, led by WMT, GOOG and COST, were both more rewarding and calmer than AMZN over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, AMZN returned 9.0% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (36.6% against 17.1%).

### Has AMZN consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 21 popular alternatives, led by EBAY, SHOP and MSFT, outperformed AMZN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- WMT, COST and GOOG earned more for the risk they took than AMZN (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.
- GOOG outperformed AMZN over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so AMZN has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of AMZN | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AMZN: Amazon.com, Inc. (this page) | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% |  |  | 0.42 |
| [EBAY](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay): eBay Inc. | +28.3% | +213% | +74.2% | +374% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.50 |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | +5.3% | +239% | +16.6% | +3,916% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.38 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.56 |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | +6.9% | +87.2% | +123% | +685% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.82 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.14 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | +31.2% | +148% | +138% | +752% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | +11.0% | +130% | +158% | +508% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.96 |
| W: Wayfair Inc. | +36.6% | +159% | −54.2% | +213% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| [FDX](https://easycompare.io/research/fdx): FedEx Corporation | +56.7% | +63.1% | +76.6% | +156% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | −10.6% | +60.7% | +17.2% | +1,002% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| ETSY: Etsy, Inc. | +22.5% | +34.7% | −62.5% | +511% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| BBY: Best Buy Co., Inc. | +22.1% | +58.2% | +3.5% | +242% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| [TGT](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt): Target Corporation | +75.1% | +58.0% | −28.5% | +207% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| BURL: Burlington Stores, Inc. | −3.1% | +112% | −6.2% | +240% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| [UPS](https://easycompare.io/research/ups): United Parcel Service, Inc. | +20.8% | −23.0% | −36.1% | +35.4% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.17 |
| CHWY: Chewy, Inc. | −42.5% | +28.2% | −67.3% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.07 |
| [PDD](https://easycompare.io/research/pdd): PDD Holdings Inc. | −38.0% | −20.6% | −17.9% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| JD: JD.com, Inc. | −18.0% | +20.2% | −64.3% | +14.4% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| [BABA](https://easycompare.io/research/baba): Alibaba Group Holding Limited | −36.8% | +44.5% | −34.8% | +11.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.08 |
| CPNG: Coupang, Inc. | −54.8% | −18.9% | −50.3% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| [SE](https://easycompare.io/research/se): Sea Limited | −51.5% | +80.3% | −77.7% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |

### How did AMZN do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1998, along with where AMZN ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Among its popular alternatives, SHOP came out ahead of AMZN most often, in eight of the ten years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, AMZN finished in the top quarter in 12 of 28 years and in the bottom quarter in six. In 2025, it ranked 13 of 22.
- AMZN finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 28 full calendar years.

| Year | AMZN | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +5.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +44.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +80.9% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −49.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +2.4% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +76.3% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +23.0% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +28.4% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +56.0% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +10.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How AMZN 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 AMZN's worst declines?

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

- In all five of AMZN's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: AMZN fell 59.2% from April to August 1999, while the S&P 500 slipped only 3.9%.
- The slowest recovery came after AMZN fell 94.4% from December 1999 to September 2001; it did not regain that peak until October 2009, eight years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −94.4% | December 10, 1999 | September 28, 2001 | October 23, 2009 | −24.7% | dot-com bust |
| −59.2% | April 23, 1999 | August 9, 1999 | December 10, 1999 | −3.9% |  |
| −56.1% | July 8, 2021 | December 28, 2022 | April 11, 2024 | −10.6% | 2022 bear market |
| −51.5% | January 11, 1999 | February 18, 1999 | April 5, 1999 | −2.2% |  |
| −47.6% | July 6, 1998 | September 15, 1998 | November 17, 1998 | −10.3% |  |

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

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

- AMZN fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when AMZN fell 91.8% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, WMT held up best, falling less than AMZN in all ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | AMZN fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −91.8% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −65.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.9% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −20.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −30.6% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −33.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −22.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −39.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does AMZN 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.

- MSFT took just 91% of the S&P 500's losses, against 139% for AMZN, while still keeping 127% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, AMZN captured 134% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 139% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.31. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Seven of the 17 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than AMZN's 0.96, led by WMT, COST and NVDA.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| AMZN: Amazon.com, Inc. (this page) | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [EBAY](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay): eBay Inc. | 113% | 133% | 1.23 |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | 233% | 203% | 2.09 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | 93.0% | 50.0% | 0.77 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | 132% | 110% | 1.12 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | 74.0% | 36.0% | 0.53 |
| W: Wayfair Inc. | 230% | 356% | 3.06 |
| [FDX](https://easycompare.io/research/fdx): FedEx Corporation | 116% | 166% | 1.29 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | 135% | 111% | 1.44 |
| ETSY: Etsy, Inc. | 133% | 148% | 1.76 |
| BBY: Best Buy Co., Inc. | 127% | 164% | 1.40 |
| [TGT](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt): Target Corporation | 83.0% | 87.0% | 1.00 |
| BURL: Burlington Stores, Inc. | 103% | 121% | 1.22 |
| [UPS](https://easycompare.io/research/ups): United Parcel Service, Inc. | 85.0% | 149% | 1.08 |
| JD: JD.com, Inc. | 51.0% | 92.0% | 0.57 |
| [BABA](https://easycompare.io/research/baba): Alibaba Group Holding Limited | 74.0% | 140% | 0.65 |

### What diversifies AMZN?

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 AMZN into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+8.7% for AMZN alone, +11.3% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of AMZN over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.28 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in five of the eight calendar years in which AMZN lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with AMZN | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in AMZN's 8 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.13 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 8 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.28 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 8 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.27 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 8 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.10 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 2 of 8 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.39 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 1 of 8 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.04 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 8 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.45 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 0 of 8 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.05 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 8 |

## Common questions

### What was AMZN's worst drawdown?

AMZN's deepest decline since it began trading in 1997 was 94.4%, from December 1999 to September 2001. It took about eight years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 28 full calendar years, AMZN's best year was 1998, when it returned 968%. Its worst was 2000, with a return of -79.6%.

### Is there a better investment than AMZN?

Among AMZN's popular alternatives, MSFT, COST and GOOG earned more than AMZN with less volatility over the past 5 years. MSFT returned 12.5% a year at 28.2% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 36.6%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, IYW (cloud computing theme) and CIBR (cybersecurity) earned more than AMZN with less volatility over the past 5 years. IYW returned 19.0% a year at 26.6% volatility, against 9.0% a year at 36.6%.

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

Yes. AMZN's volatility over the past 5 years was 36.6%, 2.1 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, AMZN's return lands within 36.6% 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 AMZN's Sharpe ratio?

AMZN's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.42, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so AMZN 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 AMZN with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, AMZN's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.67 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 AMZN instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a AMZN holding.

### What are the best alternatives to AMZN?

Of the 21 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed AMZN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: EBAY, SHOP and MSFT.

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

AMZN finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 28 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +5.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

AMZN fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when AMZN fell 91.8% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies AMZN?

These had a low correlation with AMZN over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.13), DXJ (correlation 0.28) and EMLP (correlation 0.27); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.02), CLS (correlation 0.47) and FIX (correlation 0.39). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [EBAY Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay)
- [Shopify (SHOP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/shop)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Costco Wholesale (COST) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cost)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Walmart (WMT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt)
- [FedEx (FDX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/fdx)
- [MercadoLibre (MELI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/meli)
- [Target (TGT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt)
- [United Parcel Service (UPS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ups)
- [PDD Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pdd)

## Explore further

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