# How British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BTI) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/bti
> 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 BTI alone. It places BTI (British American Tobacco p.l.c.) against 9 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 BTI stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: BTI'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:** BTI has gone against the market, falling 3.9% over the past 3 months while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its tobacco peers split over the past 3 months: PM (Philip Morris International) rose 4.6%, while UVV (Universal) fell 24.1%.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is BTI's own: it fell 3.9% over the past 3 months while the tobacco ETF KXI (iShares Global Consumer Staples ETF) rose 3.0%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its tobacco peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: PM (Philip Morris International) rose 4.6%, while UVV (Universal) fell 24.1%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** The past 3 years (ahead of 80% of the stocks worth at least $300 million) have been far stronger than the record over 10 years (behind 61% of them). Over the past year, BTI rose 22.5% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (148% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** BTI turned $10,000 into $19,800 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: BTI rose 136% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, BTI held up better than its tobacco peers, including PM (Philip Morris International), MO and TPB. On the flip side, BTI fell further than the S&P 500 in three of the last four sell-offs, including the late-2018 sell-off (33.0% against 19.3%).
- **Diversification:** BTI is a real diversifier: a correlation of 0.20 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.21 with the total US market, less closely than 86% of stocks worth at least $300 million. That said, over 10 years, BTI's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.55: 51% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 67% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CCEP (Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, food & beverages) and KOF (Coca-Cola FEMSA, S.A.B. de C.V., food & beverages) were ahead of BTI in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only five of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BTI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them MPLX, DXJ (WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund) and SDCI (USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in BTI at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $388,024 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 BTI, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## BTI 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.

- BTI's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 60.8%, from January 1999 to March 2000. It took 17 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, BTI's best was 2000, when it returned 70.2%, and its worst was 2018, when it lost 49.5%. It lost money in five of those years.
- BTI is 8.7% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Staples (Tobacco)
- Trading since: October 20, 1986
- Market value: $128B
- Volatility (5 years): 22.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.90
- Worst decline ever: −60.8%, from January 15, 1999 to March 13, 2000; back at its high by August 23, 2001

| Period | BTI total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +7.7% |
| 3 months | −3.9% |
| 6 months | +6.7% |
| year to date | +9.2% |
| 1 year | +22.5% |
| 3 years | +148% |
| 5 years | +136% |
| 10 years | +98.2% |

## BTI against the whole market

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

### How does BTI rank among all stocks?

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

- BTI 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 | BTI | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +22.5% | 1,169 of 3,287 (top 36%) |
| 3-year return | +148% | 616 of 3,017 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +136% | 502 of 2,893 (top 18%) |
| 10-year return | +98.2% | 1,346 of 2,202 (top 62%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 22.0% | 148 of 2,893 (top 6%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.90 | 174 of 2,893 (top 7%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −56.1% | 719 of 2,187 (top 33%) |

### What has beaten BTI 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).

- One stock and four ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than BTI 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 BTI's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 13% less than BTI's 22.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.90 for BTI.

### Is there a better investment than BTI?

The table below lists investments that beat BTI 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 BTI's popular alternatives, PM was ahead of BTI in most short and long periods.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CCEP (food & beverages) and KOF (food & beverages) were ahead of BTI in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only five of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than BTI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them MPLX, DXJ and SDCI.

The 4 strongest of 5 investments that beat BTI 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 BTI | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BTI: British American Tobacco p.l.c. (this page) |  | +18.7% | 22.0% | 0.90 | −56.1% | +98.2% |  |  |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; 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% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DBJP: Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | International | +20.9% | 19.2% | 1.09 | −31.3% | +348% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| SDCI: USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund | Bonds | +20.6% | 18.4% | 1.12 | −45.7% | — | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## BTI against its popular alternatives

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

### How do BTI'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 nine popular alternatives earned more than BTI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Six of the nine popular alternatives earned less than BTI over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, BTI returned 18.7% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (22.0% against 17.1%).

### Has BTI consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares BTI 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 nine popular alternatives, PM, outperformed BTI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- PM earned more for the risk it took than BTI (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 BTI | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BTI: British American Tobacco p.l.c. (this page) | +22.5% | +148% | +136% | +98.2% |  |  | 0.90 |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | +30.9% | +144% | +159% | +242% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.94 |
| TPB: Turning Point Brands, Inc. | −26.2% | +206% | +43.2% | +441% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [MO](https://easycompare.io/research/mo): Altria Group, Inc. | +23.7% | +118% | +126% | +140% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.88 |
| XLP: State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF | +13.2% | +41.5% | +41.4% | +121% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| [DEO](https://easycompare.io/research/deo): Diageo plc | −2.4% | −32.5% | −46.8% | +11.7% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.37 |
| [BUD](https://easycompare.io/research/bud): Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | +36.7% | +66.6% | +58.7% | −20.0% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| STZ: Constellation Brands, Inc. | −3.3% | −38.5% | −33.2% | −6.6% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.19 |
| TAP: Molson Coors Beverage Company | −9.9% | −23.7% | +4.6% | −51.6% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| UVV: Universal Corporation | −20.6% | +4.0% | +10.5% | +25.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |

### How did BTI do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, BTI finished in the top quarter in 13 of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in five. In 2025, it ranked 2 of 10.
- BTI finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 18 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, TPB came out ahead of BTI most often, in six of the nine years both traded.

| Year | BTI | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +66.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +35.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −19.9% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +14.2% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +7.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −4.7% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +42.8% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −49.5% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +24.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +5.8% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How BTI 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 BTI's worst declines?

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

- In all three of BTI's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: BTI fell 60.8% from January 1999 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 12.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after BTI fell 56.1% from June 2017 to March 2020; it did not regain that peak until February 2025, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −60.8% | January 15, 1999 | March 13, 2000 | August 23, 2001 | +12.6% | dot-com bust |
| −56.1% | June 7, 2017 | March 23, 2020 | February 10, 2025 | −3.0% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −42.7% | April 18, 2008 | March 27, 2009 | September 9, 2010 | −39.5% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −42.5% | July 11, 1989 | September 26, 1990 | April 1, 1993 | — |  |
| −39.4% | October 5, 1987 | January 20, 1988 | July 10, 1989 | — |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, XLP held up best, falling less than BTI in nine of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- BTI fell less than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when BTI fell 20.5% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | BTI fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −20.5% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −41.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −11.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.5% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −8.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −33.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −36.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −21.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does BTI 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.

- Over the past 10 years, BTI captured 51% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 67% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.55. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.
- MO took just 51% of the S&P 500's losses, against 67% for BTI, while still keeping 51% of its gains.
- Four of the nine popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than BTI's 0.76, led by PM, TPB and MO.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| BTI: British American Tobacco p.l.c. (this page) | 51.0% | 67.0% | 0.55 |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | 70.0% | 60.0% | 0.58 |
| TPB: Turning Point Brands, Inc. | 102% | 89.0% | 0.78 |
| [MO](https://easycompare.io/research/mo): Altria Group, Inc. | 51.0% | 51.0% | 0.53 |
| XLP: State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF | 53.0% | 60.0% | 0.55 |
| [DEO](https://easycompare.io/research/deo): Diageo plc | 46.0% | 94.0% | 0.61 |
| [BUD](https://easycompare.io/research/bud): Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | 51.0% | 125% | 1.04 |
| STZ: Constellation Brands, Inc. | 48.0% | 111% | 0.79 |
| TAP: Molson Coors Beverage Company | 23.0% | 103% | 0.75 |
| UVV: Universal Corporation | 51.0% | 86.0% | 0.66 |

### What diversifies BTI?

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 BTI into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+17.1% for BTI alone, +19.5% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and SMH have moved largely independently of BTI over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- GLD made money in three of the five calendar years in which BTI lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with BTI | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in BTI's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.22 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 5 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.46 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 5 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | -0.07 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 5 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.27 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.13 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.22 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 5 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.39 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 5 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 0.48 | +76.6% | 13.7% | 0.90 | 2 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was BTI's worst drawdown?

BTI's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 60.8%, from January 1999 to March 2000. It took 17 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, BTI's best year was 2000, when it returned 70.2%. Its worst was 2018, with a return of -49.5%.

### Is there a better investment than BTI?

Among BTI's popular alternatives, PM was ahead of BTI in most short and long periods. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CCEP (food & beverages) and KOF (food & beverages) were ahead of BTI in most short and long periods.

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

Yes. BTI's volatility over the past 5 years was 22.0%, 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, BTI's return lands within 22.0% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is BTI's Sharpe ratio?

BTI's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.90, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so BTI earned more 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 BTI with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, BTI's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.20 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 BTI instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a BTI holding.

### What are the best alternatives to BTI?

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

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

BTI finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 18 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +66.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

BTI fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in five of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when BTI fell 20.5% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies BTI?

These had a low correlation with BTI over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.22), EMLP (correlation 0.46) and SMH (correlation -0.07); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.29), CLS (correlation 0.12) and FIX (correlation 0.20). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Philip Morris International (PM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pm)
- [Altria Group (MO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mo)
- [Diageo (DEO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/deo)
- [Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bud)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
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## Explore further

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