# How Comcast (CMCSA) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/cmcsa
> 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 CMCSA alone. It places CMCSA (Comcast Corporation) against 14 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 CMCSA stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CMCSA'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:** CMCSA has gone against the market, falling 22.6% over the past 6 months while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. CMCSA is 57.0% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** CMCSA fell 4.5% over the past 3 months, 3.1 points behind the telecommunications ETF IYZ (iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF), which fell 1.4%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its telecommunication peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: T (AT&T) rose 8.0%, while TMUS (T-Mobile US) fell 18.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, CMCSA fell 20.3% while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (41.4% against 89.3%). The last two calendar years both went the same way: CMCSA fell 22.6% in 2025, while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%.
- **Long term:** CMCSA turned $10,000 into $9,010 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. CMCSA's 10-year loss of 9.9% puts it behind 85% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** The 2022 bear market took 43.4% off CMCSA, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than VZ (Verizon Communications, 33.2%) but less than CHTR (Charter Communications, 52.7%).
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years, CMCSA's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.87: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 65% as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.4 times as much. When the S&P 500 had a down month, CMCSA usually fell with it (17 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CHT (Chunghwa Telecom, integrated telecommunications) and MSI (Motorola Solutions, communications equipment) earned more than CMCSA with less volatility over the past 5 years. CHT returned 7.7% a year at 13.3% volatility, against a loss of 13.5% a year at 27.7%.
  - **Whole market:** 1,337 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CMCSA 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 CMCSA have grown?

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

- $10,000 invested in CMCSA at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $75,723 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 CMCSA, and RY finished highest, at $442,765.

## CMCSA 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.

- CMCSA is still 57.0% below its all-time high.
- CMCSA's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 68.0%, from December 1999 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, CMCSA's best was 1997, when it returned 81.0%, and its worst was 2007, when it lost 35.3%. It lost money in 12 of those years.

- Type: Stock, Communication (Telecommunications Services)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $79B
- Volatility (5 years): 27.7%; Sharpe ratio: -0.39
- Worst decline ever: −68.0%, from December 23, 1999 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by August 1, 2012

| Period | CMCSA total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −1.0% |
| 3 months | −4.5% |
| 6 months | −22.6% |
| year to date | −14.9% |
| 1 year | −20.3% |
| 3 years | −41.4% |
| 5 years | −51.6% |
| 10 years | −9.9% |

## CMCSA against the whole market

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

### How does CMCSA rank among all stocks?

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

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), CMCSA ranks in the bottom 2% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million.
- CMCSA is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 18% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | CMCSA | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −20.3% | 2,645 of 3,287 (top 81%) |
| 3-year return | −41.4% | 2,789 of 3,017 (top 93%) |
| 5-year return | −51.6% | 2,409 of 2,893 (top 84%) |
| 10-year return | −9.9% | 1,869 of 2,202 (top 85%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 27.7% | 532 of 2,893 (top 19%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | -0.39 | 2,834 of 2,893 (top 98%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −60.3% | 889 of 2,187 (top 41%) |

### What has beaten CMCSA 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).

- 417 stocks and 920 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CMCSA over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 37% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half CMCSA's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 11% less than CMCSA's 27.7%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against -0.39 for CMCSA.
- Among CMCSA's popular alternatives, CSCO, T and TMUS are in the region. CSCO earned 16.8% a year against a loss of 13.5% a year for CMCSA, at 26.1% volatility, 6% less than CMCSA's 27.7%.

### Is there a better investment than CMCSA?

The table below lists investments that beat CMCSA 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 CMCSA's popular alternatives, VZ, CSCO and T earned more than CMCSA with less volatility over the past 5 years. VZ returned 2.7% a year at 22.9% volatility, against a loss of 13.5% a year at 27.7%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CHT (integrated telecommunications) and MSI (communications equipment) earned more than CMCSA with less volatility over the past 5 years. CHT returned 7.7% a year at 13.3% volatility, against a loss of 13.5% a year at 27.7%.
- Across the whole market, 1,337 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CMCSA with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VTI, VOO and BRK-B.

The 15 strongest of 1,337 investments that beat CMCSA 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 CMCSA | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CMCSA: Comcast Corporation (this page) |  | −13.5% | 27.7% | -0.39 | −60.3% | −9.9% |  |  |
| [BIL](https://easycompare.io/research/bil): State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | Treasury Bonds | +3.7% | 0.3% | 14.05 | −0.2% | +25.8% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +213% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [PG](https://easycompare.io/research/pg): The Procter & Gamble Company | Household & Personal Products | +5.1% | 18.3% | 0.37 | −23.8% | +145% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| FLRT: Pacer Aristotle Pacific Floating Rate High Income ETF | Financials | +6.0% | 2.3% | 2.55 | −21.0% | +58.0% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [BND](https://easycompare.io/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Investment Grade Bonds | −0.4% | 6.1% | -0.03 | −18.6% | +13.2% | 0.56 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [VTIP](https://easycompare.io/research/vtip): Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF | Treasury Bonds | +2.7% | 2.9% | 0.94 | −6.3% | +32.7% | 0.44 | 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% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BSV](https://easycompare.io/research/bsv): Vanguard Short-Term Bond ETF | Short-Term Bonds | +1.7% | 2.8% | 0.63 | −8.5% | +20.5% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| FLOT: iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF | Floating Rate Bonds | +4.5% | 1.8% | 2.48 | −13.5% | +35.9% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [BNDX](https://easycompare.io/research/bndx): Vanguard Total International Bond ETF | International Bonds | +0.2% | 4.9% | 0.06 | −16.2% | +15.0% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| SHY: iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Treasury Bonds | +1.8% | 2.0% | 0.89 | −5.7% | +17.7% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| SPSB: State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF | Investment Grade Bonds | +2.8% | 2.0% | 1.38 | −11.8% | +29.2% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| JAAA: Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF | CLO Bonds | +5.1% | 1.7% | 2.98 | −2.6% | — | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MUB](https://easycompare.io/research/mub): iShares National Muni Bond ETF | Municipal Bonds | +0.3% | 4.2% | 0.09 | −13.7% | +17.8% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## CMCSA against its popular alternatives

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

### How do CMCSA'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.

- Eight of the 14 popular alternatives, led by CSCO, T and TMUS, were both more rewarding and calmer than CMCSA over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, CMCSA returned -13.5% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (27.7% against 17.1%).

### Has CMCSA consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Seven of the 14 popular alternatives, led by AMT, DIS and CSCO, outperformed CMCSA in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- AMT, DIS and CSCO outperformed CMCSA in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- CSCO, T and TMUS earned more for the risk they took than CMCSA (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of CMCSA | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CMCSA: Comcast Corporation (this page) | −20.3% | −41.4% | −51.6% | −9.9% |  |  | -0.39 |
| [AMT](https://easycompare.io/research/amt): American Tower Corporation | −1.1% | +27.5% | −21.8% | +107% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | -0.04 |
| [DIS](https://easycompare.io/research/dis): The Walt Disney Company | +1.2% | +39.3% | −32.5% | +31.7% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | -0.12 |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | +53.8% | +118% | +118% | +374% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.73 |
| [T](https://easycompare.io/research/t): AT&T Inc. | −5.9% | +77.2% | +59.7% | +60.7% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.50 |
| [VZ](https://easycompare.io/research/vz): Verizon Communications Inc. | +16.4% | +71.5% | +14.4% | +55.8% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.23 |
| RCI: Rogers Communications Inc. | −8.4% | −1.3% | −21.7% | +12.2% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | -0.09 |
| BCE: BCE Inc. | −11.4% | −32.5% | −45.2% | −20.1% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | -0.51 |
| [NFLX](https://easycompare.io/research/nflx): Netflix, Inc. | −44.5% | +71.3% | +9.9% | +457% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [TMUS](https://easycompare.io/research/tmus): T-Mobile US, Inc. | −30.0% | +21.1% | +36.1% | +253% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| TU: TELUS Corporation | −38.9% | −34.4% | −48.2% | −8.4% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | -0.55 |
| ROKU: Roku, Inc. | +63.7% | +163% | −53.5% | — | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| LBTYK: Liberty Global plc | −31.2% | −15.8% | −50.3% | −51.9% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.29 |
| LUMN: Lumen Technologies, Inc. | −37.4% | +222% | −61.5% | −71.8% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |
| CHTR: Charter Communications, Inc. | −56.3% | −74.4% | −85.0% | −57.4% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.71 |

### How did CMCSA do year by year?

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

- CMCSA finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 14 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, NFLX came out ahead of CMCSA most often, in 15 of the 23 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CMCSA finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 14 of 15.

| Year | CMCSA | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −22.6% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −12.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +28.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −28.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −2.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +19.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +33.9% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −12.8% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +17.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +24.8% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CMCSA 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 CMCSA's worst declines?

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

- In all three of CMCSA's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: CMCSA fell 60.2% from September 2021 to October 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 84.3%.
- The slowest recovery came after CMCSA fell 68.0% from December 1999 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until August 2012, three years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −68.0% | December 23, 1999 | March 9, 2009 | August 1, 2012 | −45.9% | dot-com bust |
| −60.3% | September 2, 2021 | October 9, 2026 | not yet | +84.3% | 2022 bear market |
| −58.3% | October 9, 1989 | October 11, 1990 | December 11, 1992 | — |  |
| −50.2% | October 29, 1993 | April 25, 1995 | October 20, 1997 | +14.0% |  |
| −38.7% | July 27, 1987 | October 28, 1987 | February 24, 1988 | — |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, VZ held up best, falling less than CMCSA in eight of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- CMCSA fell less than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when CMCSA fell 27.5% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

| Crash | Dates | CMCSA fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −61.6% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −53.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.8% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −21.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.7% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −16.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −27.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −43.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CMCSA 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.

- Eight of the 13 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CMCSA's 0.47, led by TMUS, NFLX and CSCO.
- TMUS took just 37% of the S&P 500's losses, against 139% for CMCSA, while still keeping 63% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, CMCSA captured 65% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 139% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.87. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CMCSA: Comcast Corporation (this page) | 65.0% | 139% | 0.87 |
| [AMT](https://easycompare.io/research/amt): American Tower Corporation | 61.0% | 79.0% | 0.60 |
| [DIS](https://easycompare.io/research/dis): The Walt Disney Company | 90.0% | 162% | 1.32 |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | 101% | 96.0% | 0.97 |
| [T](https://easycompare.io/research/t): AT&T Inc. | 47.0% | 62.0% | 0.50 |
| [VZ](https://easycompare.io/research/vz): Verizon Communications Inc. | 44.0% | 60.0% | 0.36 |
| RCI: Rogers Communications Inc. | 53.0% | 104% | 0.59 |
| BCE: BCE Inc. | 43.0% | 100% | 0.50 |
| [NFLX](https://easycompare.io/research/nflx): Netflix, Inc. | 122% | 105% | 1.18 |
| [TMUS](https://easycompare.io/research/tmus): T-Mobile US, Inc. | 63.0% | 37.0% | 0.46 |
| TU: TELUS Corporation | 42.0% | 93.0% | 0.67 |
| LBTYK: Liberty Global plc | 63.0% | 168% | 1.12 |
| LUMN: Lumen Technologies, Inc. | 99.0% | 255% | 1.44 |
| CHTR: Charter Communications, Inc. | 41.0% | 141% | 0.88 |

### What diversifies CMCSA?

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 CMCSA into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (-14.6% for CMCSA alone, -6.9% for the mix).
- FIX made money in nine of the 12 calendar years in which CMCSA lost money.
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and DBEF have moved largely independently of CMCSA over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with CMCSA | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CMCSA's 12 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.37 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 5 of 12 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.23 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 5 of 12 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.48 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 4 of 12 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.32 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 5 of 12 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.21 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 3 of 12 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.47 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 7 of 12 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.43 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 3 of 12 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.33 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 6 of 12 |

## Common questions

### What was CMCSA's worst drawdown?

CMCSA's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 68.0%, from December 1999 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, CMCSA's best year was 1997, when it returned 81.0%. Its worst was 2007, with a return of -35.3%.

### Is there a better investment than CMCSA?

Among CMCSA's popular alternatives, VZ, CSCO and T earned more than CMCSA with less volatility over the past 5 years. VZ returned 2.7% a year at 22.9% volatility, against a loss of 13.5% a year at 27.7%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CHT (integrated telecommunications) and MSI (communications equipment) earned more than CMCSA with less volatility over the past 5 years. CHT returned 7.7% a year at 13.3% volatility, against a loss of 13.5% a year at 27.7%.

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

Yes. CMCSA's volatility over the past 5 years was 27.7%, 1.6 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, CMCSA's return lands within 27.7% 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 CMCSA's Sharpe ratio?

CMCSA's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was -0.39, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so CMCSA 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 CMCSA with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CMCSA's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.41 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 CMCSA instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CMCSA holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CMCSA?

Of the 14 popular alternatives we compared, seven outperformed CMCSA in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: AMT, DIS and CSCO.

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

CMCSA finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 14 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -22.6%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

CMCSA 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 Covid crash, when CMCSA fell 27.5% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies CMCSA?

These had a low correlation with CMCSA over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.37), SMH (correlation 0.23) and DBEF (correlation 0.48); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.16), CLS (correlation 0.01) and FIX (correlation 0.01). 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/cmcsa
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against CMCSA live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=CMCSA&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research