# How BHP Group (BHP) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/bhp
> 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 BHP alone. It places BHP (BHP Group Limited) 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 BHP stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: BHP'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 metals & mining peers split over the past 6 months: ERO (Ero Copper) rose 15.9%, while VALE fell 24.9%. BHP has trailed the market, rising 5.1% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** BHP rose 3.9% over the past 3 months, in line with the metals & mining ETF XME (State Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF), which rose 2.7%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its metals & mining peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: TECK (Teck Resources) rose 18.2%, while VALE fell 5.5%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, BHP rose 50.2% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. That said, BHP led its metals & mining peers in 2023, then fell behind SCCO (Southern Copper) and FCX (Freeport-McMoRan) in 2025.
- **Long term:** BHP turned $10,000 into $49,800 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. BHP's 10-year return of 398% puts it ahead of 81% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** BHP fell harder than the S&P 500 in five of seven sell-offs. The late-2018 sell-off was the exception: BHP fell 12.8%, less than the S&P 500's 19.3%.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years BHP amplified the market in both directions: 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, with a beta of 0.87. On the flip side, the S&P 500 explains about 15% of BHP's monthly moves over 5 years: mostly its own path.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** CAT (Caterpillar) earned more than BHP over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 31.1% a year at 31.9% volatility, against 16.6% a year at 31.4%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** RS (Reliance Steel & Aluminum, metals & mining) and GLD (SPDR Gold Shares, gold) earned more than BHP with less volatility over the past 5 years. RS returned 24.8% a year at 28.1% volatility, against 16.6% a year at 31.4%.
  - **Whole market:** 124 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BHP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), WMT (Walmart) and XOM (Exxonmobil).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in BHP at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $430,670 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 BHP, and SCCO finished highest, at $2,677,967.

## BHP 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.

- BHP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 75.7%, from April 2011 to January 2016. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, BHP's best was 1999, when it returned 91.5%, and its worst was 2015, when it lost 38.1%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- BHP is 15.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Materials (Industrial Materials)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $208B
- Volatility (5 years): 31.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.65
- Worst decline ever: −75.7%, from April 11, 2011 to January 20, 2016; back at its high by December 4, 2020

| Period | BHP total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −4.9% |
| 3 months | +3.9% |
| 6 months | +5.1% |
| year to date | +38.1% |
| 1 year | +50.2% |
| 3 years | +71.0% |
| 5 years | +115% |
| 10 years | +398% |

## BHP against the whole market

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

### How does BHP rank among all stocks?

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

- BHP's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 12% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | BHP | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +50.2% | 549 of 3,287 (top 17%) |
| 3-year return | +71.0% | 1,234 of 3,017 (top 41%) |
| 5-year return | +115% | 603 of 2,893 (top 21%) |
| 10-year return | +398% | 420 of 2,202 (top 20%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 31.4% | 852 of 2,893 (top 30%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.65 | 567 of 2,893 (top 20%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −44.3% | 270 of 2,187 (top 13%) |

### What has beaten BHP 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).

- 85 stocks and 39 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than BHP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 3% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half BHP's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 21% less than BHP's 31.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.65 for BHP.
- None of BHP's popular alternatives made it, but CW (aerospace & defense) did: 30.8% a year at 28.7% volatility, 8% less than BHP's 31.4%.

### Is there a better investment than BHP?

The table below lists investments that beat BHP 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 BHP's popular alternatives, CAT earned more than BHP over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 31.1% a year at 31.9% volatility, against 16.6% a year at 31.4%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RS (metals & mining) and GLD (gold) earned more than BHP with less volatility over the past 5 years. RS returned 24.8% a year at 28.1% volatility, against 16.6% a year at 31.4%.
- Across the whole market, 124 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BHP with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, WMT and XOM.

The 15 strongest of 124 investments that beat BHP 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 BHP | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BHP: BHP Group Limited (this page) |  | +16.6% | 31.4% | 0.65 | −44.3% | +398% |  |  |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Medical - Care Facilities | +32.0% | 28.5% | 1.12 | −35.3% | +394% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.34 | 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% | 0.01 | 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% | 0.21 | 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% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [COR](https://easycompare.io/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +24.2% | 22.8% | 1.07 | −32.4% | +406% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | International Equity | +20.4% | 24.2% | 0.89 | −38.9% | +468% | 0.57 | 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 return in most periods |
| FLTW: Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF | Technology | +21.8% | 24.3% | 0.94 | −38.0% | — | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [XOM](https://easycompare.io/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | Integrated Oil & Gas | +27.1% | 26.5% | 1.04 | −61.0% | +214% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| CASY: Casey's General Stores, Inc. | Convenience Stores | +29.9% | 29.3% | 1.04 | −36.1% | +537% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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 return in most periods |
| [SHEL](https://easycompare.io/research/shel): Shell plc | Integrated Oil & Gas | +21.0% | 24.8% | 0.90 | −67.2% | +233% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## BHP against its popular alternatives

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

### How do BHP'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 BHP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, BHP returned 16.6% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (31.4% against 17.1%).

### Has BHP consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 19 popular alternatives, led by STLD, SCCO and NUE, outperformed BHP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- STLD, SCCO and NUE outperformed BHP in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- CAT earned more for the risk it took than BHP (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of BHP | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BHP: BHP Group Limited (this page) | +50.2% | +71.0% | +115% | +398% |  |  | 0.65 |
| STLD: Steel Dynamics, Inc. | +68.9% | +157% | +304% | +1,018% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.93 |
| [SCCO](https://easycompare.io/research/scco): Southern Copper Corporation | +56.5% | +233% | +301% | +1,017% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.89 |
| [NUE](https://easycompare.io/research/nue): Nucor Corporation | +93.7% | +92.9% | +167% | +569% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.72 |
| [FCX](https://easycompare.io/research/fcx): Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | +64.8% | +111% | +89.6% | +650% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.51 |
| HBM: Hudbay Minerals Inc. | +44.2% | +445% | +221% | +493% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| CCJ: Cameco Corporation | −6.1% | +112% | +203% | +961% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | +37.7% | +203% | +288% | +936% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.01 |
| [DE](https://easycompare.io/research/de): Deere & Company | +38.3% | +75.4% | +96.1% | +755% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| HL: Hecla Mining Company | +3.8% | +256% | +165% | +161% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| CDE: Coeur Mining, Inc. | −31.3% | +480% | +131% | +33.9% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| TECK: Teck Resources Limited | +46.2% | +68.6% | +141% | +259% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| ERO: Ero Copper Corp. | +45.0% | +138% | +59.8% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| SBSW: Sibanye Stillwater Limited | −9.8% | +89.7% | −22.5% | +11.3% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.22 |
| NXE: NexGen Energy Ltd. | −2.5% | +51.2% | +33.8% | +542% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [RIO](https://easycompare.io/research/rio): Rio Tinto Group | +30.1% | +69.2% | +77.9% | +464% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.54 |
| UUUU: Energy Fuels Inc. | −63.6% | +6.9% | −5.6% | +433% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| MP: MP Materials Corp. | −52.9% | +127% | +7.8% | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| [VALE](https://easycompare.io/research/vale): Vale S.A. | +23.6% | +37.8% | +42.6% | +334% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| NTR: Nutrien Ltd. | +23.9% | +30.4% | +13.9% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |

### How did BHP do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, BHP finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 18 of 20.
- BHP finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, NXE came out ahead of BHP most often, in nine of the 12 years both traded.

| Year | BHP | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +28.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −24.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +16.4% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +29.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +2.0% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +25.3% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +24.6% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +10.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +33.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +41.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How BHP 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 BHP's worst declines?

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

- In all four of BHP's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: BHP fell 75.7% from April 2011 to January 2016, while the S&P 500 rose 54.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after BHP fell 75.7% from April 2011 to January 2016; it did not regain that peak until December 2020, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −75.7% | April 11, 2011 | January 20, 2016 | December 4, 2020 | +54.6% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −73.7% | May 16, 2008 | November 20, 2008 | November 4, 2010 | −46.5% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −54.5% | May 7, 1996 | December 14, 1998 | January 7, 2000 | +85.0% |  |
| −41.6% | September 18, 1987 | December 10, 1987 | May 31, 1988 | — |  |
| −38.5% | January 7, 2000 | September 21, 2001 | February 14, 2002 | −31.9% | dot-com bust |

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

This section measures how far BHP, 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 BHP in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- BHP fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when BHP fell 49.4% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

| Crash | Dates | BHP fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −32.6% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −73.7% | −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 | −30.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −49.4% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −12.8% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −38.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −31.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.2% | −3.4% |

### How closely does BHP 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.

- DE took just 66% of the S&P 500's losses, against 97% for BHP, while still keeping 110% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, BHP captured 106% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 97% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.87. Its share of the market's gains was slightly larger than its share of the losses.
- Seven of the 16 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than BHP's 1.10, led by DE, CCJ and SCCO.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BHP: BHP Group Limited (this page) | 106% | 97.0% | 0.87 |
| STLD: Steel Dynamics, Inc. | 150% | 129% | 1.48 |
| [SCCO](https://easycompare.io/research/scco): Southern Copper Corporation | 139% | 103% | 1.13 |
| [NUE](https://easycompare.io/research/nue): Nucor Corporation | 154% | 176% | 1.65 |
| [FCX](https://easycompare.io/research/fcx): Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | 164% | 181% | 1.74 |
| HBM: Hudbay Minerals Inc. | 193% | 234% | 1.95 |
| CCJ: Cameco Corporation | 124% | 81.0% | 1.04 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | 148% | 122% | 1.27 |
| [DE](https://easycompare.io/research/de): Deere & Company | 110% | 66.0% | 0.98 |
| HL: Hecla Mining Company | 160% | 227% | 1.76 |
| CDE: Coeur Mining, Inc. | 126% | 213% | 1.56 |
| TECK: Teck Resources Limited | 115% | 128% | 1.10 |
| SBSW: Sibanye Stillwater Limited | 89.0% | 172% | 1.25 |
| NXE: NexGen Energy Ltd. | 165% | 194% | 1.80 |
| [RIO](https://easycompare.io/research/rio): Rio Tinto Group | 98.0% | 72.0% | 0.63 |
| UUUU: Energy Fuels Inc. | 153% | 164% | 1.66 |
| [VALE](https://easycompare.io/research/vale): Vale S.A. | 100% | 88.0% | 0.74 |

### What diversifies BHP?

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 BHP into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+19.3% for BHP alone, +23.6% for the mix).
- CAH made money in eight of the nine calendar years in which BHP lost money.
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and HDV have moved largely independently of BHP over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.43 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with BHP | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in BHP's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.34 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 9 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.37 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 9 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.43 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 3 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.37 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 9 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.48 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 4 of 9 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.21 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.27 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 9 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 0.46 | +76.6% | 13.7% | 0.90 | 4 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was BHP's worst drawdown?

BHP's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 75.7%, from April 2011 to January 2016. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, BHP's best year was 1999, when it returned 91.5%. Its worst was 2015, with a return of -38.1%.

### Is there a better investment than BHP?

Among BHP's popular alternatives, CAT earned more than BHP over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 31.1% a year at 31.9% volatility, against 16.6% a year at 31.4%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, RS (metals & mining) and GLD (gold) earned more than BHP with less volatility over the past 5 years. RS returned 24.8% a year at 28.1% volatility, against 16.6% a year at 31.4%.

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

Yes. BHP's volatility over the past 5 years was 31.4%, 1.8 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, BHP's return lands within 31.4% 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 BHP's Sharpe ratio?

BHP's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.65, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so BHP 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 BHP with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, BHP's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.39 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They are only loosely linked, which makes it a real diversifier next to an index fund. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against BHP instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a BHP holding.

### What are the best alternatives to BHP?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed BHP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: STLD, SCCO and NUE.

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

BHP finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +28.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

BHP fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when BHP fell 49.4% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies BHP?

These had a low correlation with BHP over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.34), EMLP (correlation 0.37) and HDV (correlation 0.43); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.02), CLS (correlation -0.03) and FIX (correlation 0.06). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

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