# How Colgate-Palmolive (CL) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/cl
> 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 CL alone. It places CL (Colgate-Palmolive Company) 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 CL stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CL'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 household & personal product peers were far apart over the past 6 months, from EL (Estée Lauder Companies, up 37.3%) to CHD (Church & Dwight, up 10.4%). Over the past 6 months, CL rose 14.5% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** CL rose 3.4% over the past 3 months, in line with the household & personal products ETF XLP (State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF), which rose 4.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Last month cut against the tape: CL rose 10.2% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** CL has outpaced the market, rising 22.9% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. On the flip side, the last two calendar years both went the same way: CL fell 11.0% in 2025, against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** CL turned $10,000 into $16,900 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, CL has typically lost about 69% as much as the S&P 500. In the 2022 bear market, CL held up better than its household & personal product peers, including PG (Procter & Gamble), EL and KMB.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, CL has a correlation of 0.28 over 5 years, less closely than 74% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is a real diversifier. Even so, over 10 years, CL's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.46: 39% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 52% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** TGT (Target) was ahead of CL in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (36.1% volatility against 19.2%).
  - **Whole market:** 294 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CL with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF), VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF) and BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in CL at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $89,873 by September 2026, less 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 CL, and IDXX finished highest, at $1,246,340.

## CL 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.

- CL's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 34.0%, from December 1999 to March 2000. It took nine months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, CL's best was 1997, when it returned 62.3%, and its worst was 2018, when it lost 19.2%. It lost money in eight of those years.
- CL is 8.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Staples (Household & Personal Products)
- Trading since: October 20, 1986
- Market value: $75B
- Volatility (5 years): 19.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.46
- Worst decline ever: −34.0%, from December 31, 1999 to March 10, 2000; back at its high by December 27, 2000

| Period | CL total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +10.2% |
| 3 months | +3.4% |
| 6 months | +14.5% |
| year to date | +24.6% |
| 1 year | +22.9% |
| 3 years | +38.3% |
| 5 years | +41.8% |
| 10 years | +68.8% |

## CL against the whole market

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

### How does CL rank among all stocks?

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

- CL's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 1% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | CL | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +22.9% | 1,157 of 3,287 (top 36%) |
| 3-year return | +38.3% | 1,725 of 3,017 (top 58%) |
| 5-year return | +41.8% | 1,190 of 2,893 (top 42%) |
| 10-year return | +68.8% | 1,482 of 2,202 (top 68%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 19.2% | 74 of 2,893 (top 3%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.46 | 1,044 of 2,893 (top 37%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −29.0% | 12 of 2,187 (top 1%) |

### What has beaten CL 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 287 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CL over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 8% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half CL's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 42% less than CL's 19.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.46 for CL. RY earned the most, 17.3% a year, while still swinging less than CL (18.2% against 19.2%).

### Is there a better investment than CL?

The table below lists investments that beat CL 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 CL's popular alternatives, TGT was ahead of CL in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (36.1% volatility against 19.2%).
- Across the whole market, 294 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CL with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-B.

The 15 strongest of 294 investments that beat CL 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 CL | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CL: Colgate-Palmolive Company (this page) |  | +7.2% | 19.2% | 0.46 | −29.0% | +68.8% |  |  |
| [JNJ](https://easycompare.io/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +12.7% | 17.9% | 0.76 | −27.4% | +196% | 0.43 | 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% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.75 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | US Dividend Equity | +9.7% | 14.3% | 0.72 | −33.4% | +252% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [IWD](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd): iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +11.4% | 14.7% | 0.81 | −38.5% | +205% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [XLV](https://easycompare.io/research/xlv): State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF | Health Care Equity | +8.4% | 15.3% | 0.60 | −28.4% | +202% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +12.9% | 13.0% | 1.00 | −37.0% | +172% | 0.57 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| AVDV: Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF | International Equity | +13.9% | 17.4% | 0.84 | −43.0% | — | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| COWZ: Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +11.4% | 17.7% | 0.70 | −38.7% | — | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [DFAC](https://easycompare.io/research/dfac): Dimensional - US Core Equity 2 ETF | US Total Market | +11.4% | 17.0% | 0.72 | −23.1% | — | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | Broad Market | +10.5% | 8.6% | 1.20 | −18.2% | — | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FJAN: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January | Multi-Asset | +11.1% | 10.5% | 1.05 | −13.6% | — | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| JQUA: JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF | US Quality Equity | +13.6% | 15.7% | 0.89 | −32.9% | — | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +14.0% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| IWX: iShares Russell Top 200 Value ETF | Broad Market | +12.7% | 13.8% | 0.94 | −35.8% | +221% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## CL against its popular alternatives

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

### How do CL'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 20 popular alternatives earned more than CL over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 17 of the 20 popular alternatives earned less than CL over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, CL returned 7.2% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (19.2% against 17.1%).

### Has CL consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares CL 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 20 popular alternatives, TGT, outperformed CL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- WMT earned more for the risk it took than CL (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.
- WMT outperformed CL over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so CL has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of CL | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CL: Colgate-Palmolive Company (this page) | +22.9% | +38.3% | +41.8% | +68.8% |  |  | 0.46 |
| [TGT](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt): Target Corporation | +75.1% | +58.0% | −28.5% | +207% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.00 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | +11.0% | +130% | +158% | +508% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.96 |
| IPAR: Inter Parfums, Inc. | +21.2% | +1.3% | +72.8% | +350% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| CHD: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | +21.9% | +21.9% | +34.6% | +154% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [PG](https://easycompare.io/research/pg): The Procter & Gamble Company | +8.0% | +15.8% | +28.3% | +145% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| [UL](https://easycompare.io/research/ul): Unilever PLC | −4.7% | +32.9% | +30.5% | +89.8% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| [IDXX](https://easycompare.io/research/idxx): IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | −13.3% | +30.7% | −13.1% | +398% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| WD: Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | −57.2% | −43.6% | −69.0% | +74.8% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.43 |
| HELE: Helen of Troy Limited | +53.8% | −71.6% | −87.1% | −63.6% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.51 |
| NWL: Newell Brands Inc. | +25.1% | −5.5% | −68.7% | −83.2% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| EPC: Edgewell Personal Care Company | +45.3% | −14.0% | −11.5% | −58.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| COTY: Coty Inc. | −22.0% | −66.1% | −58.3% | −84.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.16 |
| ZTS: Zoetis Inc. | −43.8% | −50.1% | −59.0% | +70.3% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.45 |
| [EL](https://easycompare.io/research/el): The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | +5.0% | −18.3% | −62.3% | +39.8% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.21 |
| SPB: Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | +48.9% | +12.7% | −5.2% | +4.9% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |
| KMB: Kimberly-Clark Corporation | −5.7% | −0.4% | 0.0% | +29.9% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| ENR: Energizer Holdings, Inc. | −2.5% | −19.5% | −26.5% | −35.4% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.01 |
| CLX: The Clorox Company | −23.5% | −20.1% | −35.3% | −3.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.19 |
| NUS: Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. | −52.3% | −71.8% | −85.5% | −89.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.58 |
| CHWY: Chewy, Inc. | −42.5% | +28.2% | −67.3% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.07 |

### How did CL do year by year?

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

- CL finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 12 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Among its popular alternatives, IDXX came out ahead of CL most often, in 20 of the 29 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CL finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in five. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 21.

| Year | CL | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −11.0% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +16.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +3.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −5.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +2.1% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +27.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +18.6% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −19.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +17.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +0.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CL 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 CL's worst declines?

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

- Not every decline was the market's doing: CL fell 34.0% from December 1999 to March 2000, while the S&P 500 slipped only 4.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after CL fell 30.0% from December 2000 to July 2002; it did not regain that peak until April 2006, four years later.
- In two of CL's four worst declines, it fell less than the S&P 500 did over the same dates.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −34.0% | December 31, 1999 | March 10, 2000 | December 27, 2000 | −4.6% | dot-com bust |
| −32.4% | July 23, 1998 | September 21, 1998 | April 21, 1999 | −10.3% |  |
| −32.3% | August 10, 1987 | December 4, 1987 | April 18, 1989 | — |  |
| −31.1% | September 12, 2008 | October 27, 2008 | October 8, 2009 | −33.0% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −30.0% | December 29, 2000 | July 19, 2002 | April 26, 2006 | −34.2% | dot-com bust |

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

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

- CL fell less than the S&P 500 in nine of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when CL fell 31.1% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.
- Among its popular alternatives, KMB held up best, falling less than CL in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | CL fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −30.8% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −31.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.9% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −8.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −12.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.8% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −15.7% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −20.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −18.2% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −0.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CL 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, CL captured 39% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 52% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.46. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.
- WMT took just 36% of the S&P 500's losses, against 52% for CL, while still keeping 74% of its gains.
- Seven of the 19 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CL's 0.75, led by WMT, CHD and PG.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CL: Colgate-Palmolive Company (this page) | 39.0% | 52.0% | 0.46 |
| [TGT](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt): Target Corporation | 83.0% | 87.0% | 1.00 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | 74.0% | 36.0% | 0.53 |
| IPAR: Inter Parfums, Inc. | 105% | 108% | 1.02 |
| CHD: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | 47.0% | 38.0% | 0.44 |
| [PG](https://easycompare.io/research/pg): The Procter & Gamble Company | 46.0% | 41.0% | 0.41 |
| [UL](https://easycompare.io/research/ul): Unilever PLC | 46.0% | 60.0% | 0.45 |
| [IDXX](https://easycompare.io/research/idxx): IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. | 128% | 145% | 1.27 |
| WD: Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | 108% | 170% | 1.42 |
| HELE: Helen of Troy Limited | 52.0% | 177% | 1.11 |
| NWL: Newell Brands Inc. | 5.0% | 135% | 0.92 |
| EPC: Edgewell Personal Care Company | 13.0% | 93.0% | 0.68 |
| COTY: Coty Inc. | 39.0% | 212% | 1.70 |
| ZTS: Zoetis Inc. | 64.0% | 101% | 0.72 |
| [EL](https://easycompare.io/research/el): The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | 103% | 188% | 1.14 |
| SPB: Spectrum Brands Holdings, Inc. | 68.0% | 130% | 1.23 |
| KMB: Kimberly-Clark Corporation | 27.0% | 48.0% | 0.39 |
| ENR: Energizer Holdings, Inc. | 46.0% | 126% | 0.99 |
| CLX: The Clorox Company | 31.0% | 73.0% | 0.40 |
| NUS: Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. | 18.0% | 191% | 1.09 |

### What diversifies CL?

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 CL into DBEF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 14% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+4.9% for CL alone, +6.9% for the mix).
- FIX made money in six of the eight calendar years in which CL lost money.
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and SMH have moved largely independently of CL over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.41 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with CL | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CL's 8 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.39 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 8 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.41 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 8 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.10 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 8 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.44 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 8 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.31 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 8 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.27 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 8 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.18 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 3 of 8 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.44 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 1 of 8 |

## Common questions

### What was CL's worst drawdown?

CL's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 34.0%, from December 1999 to March 2000. It took nine months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, CL's best year was 1997, when it returned 62.3%. Its worst was 2018, with a return of -19.2%.

### Is there a better investment than CL?

Among CL's popular alternatives, TGT was ahead of CL in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (36.1% volatility against 19.2%). Across the whole market, 294 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CL with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-B.

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

Yes. CL's volatility over the past 5 years was 19.2%, 1.1 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, CL's return lands within 19.2% 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 CL's Sharpe ratio?

CL's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.46, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so CL 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 CL with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CL's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.28 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 CL instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CL holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CL?

Of the 20 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed CL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: TGT.

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

CL finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 12 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -11.0%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

CL fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in no. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when CL fell 31.1% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies CL?

These had a low correlation with CL over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.39), EMLP (correlation 0.41) and SMH (correlation 0.10); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.39), CLS (correlation -0.21) and FIX (correlation 0.16). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Target (TGT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt)
- [Walmart (WMT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt)
- [Procter & Gamble (PG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pg)
- [Unilever (UL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ul)
- [IDEXX Laboratories (IDXX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/idxx)
- [Estée Lauder Companies (EL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/el)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)

## Explore further

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