# How Cencora (COR) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/cor
> 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 COR alone. It places COR (Cencora, Inc.) against 16 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 COR stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: COR's full trading record, from April 1995 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** COR has outpaced the market, rising 13.1% over the past 3 months against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 3 months, OPCH (Option Care Health) rose 44.2% and BTSG (BrightSpring Health Services) fell 11.5%.
- **Stock or market?:** COR's 13.1% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the health care distribution ETF IHF (iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF) rose 7.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its health care distribution peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: OPCH (Option Care Health) rose 44.2%, while BTSG (BrightSpring Health Services) fell 11.5%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, COR rose 5.7% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (86.5% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** COR turned $10,000 into $50,600 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. COR's 10-year return of 406% 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:** COR fell less than the S&P 500 in five of seven sell-offs, but the late-2018 sell-off broke the pattern: it fell 24.2%, more than the S&P 500's 19.3%.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years COR kept more of the market's gains than of its losses: 80% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 58% of its losses in falling ones, with a beta of 0.56. COR is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.38 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.38 with the total US market, less closely than 54% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** CAH (Cardinal Health) and MCK (McKesson) earned more than COR over the past 5 years with similar volatility: CAH returned 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, against 24.2% a year at 22.8%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** ABBV (AbbVie, pharmaceuticals) was ahead of COR in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only one of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than COR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them DXJ (WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in COR at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $574,137 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 COR, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## COR 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.

- COR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1995 was 70.9%, from January to December 1999. It took nine months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, COR's best was 2000, when it returned 233%, and its worst was 1999, when it lost 53.3%. It lost money in five of those years.
- COR is 7.8% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Healthcare (Medical - Distribution)
- Trading since: April 4, 1995
- Market value: $66B
- Volatility (5 years): 22.8%; Sharpe ratio: 1.07
- Worst decline ever: −70.9%, from January 21, 1999 to December 3, 1999; back at its high by September 22, 2000

| Period | COR total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +8.5% |
| 3 months | +13.1% |
| 6 months | +6.7% |
| year to date | +1.9% |
| 1 year | +5.7% |
| 3 years | +86.5% |
| 5 years | +195% |
| 10 years | +406% |

## COR against the whole market

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

### How does COR rank among all stocks?

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

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

| Measure | COR | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +5.7% | 1,751 of 3,287 (top 54%) |
| 3-year return | +86.5% | 1,053 of 3,017 (top 35%) |
| 5-year return | +195% | 328 of 2,893 (top 12%) |
| 10-year return | +406% | 412 of 2,202 (top 19%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 22.8% | 196 of 2,893 (top 7%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 1.07 | 63 of 2,893 (top 3%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −32.4% | 38 of 2,187 (top 2%) |

### What has beaten COR 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 ETF worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than COR 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 COR's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 16% less than COR's 22.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 1.07 for COR.

### Is there a better investment than COR?

The table below lists investments that beat COR 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 COR's popular alternatives, CAH and MCK earned more than COR over the past 5 years with similar volatility: CAH returned 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, against 24.2% a year at 22.8%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ABBV (pharmaceuticals) was ahead of COR in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only one of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than COR with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them DXJ.

The 1 strongest of 1 investments that beat COR 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 COR | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| COR: Cencora, Inc. (this page) |  | +24.2% | 22.8% | 1.07 | −32.4% | +406% |  |  |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## COR against its popular alternatives

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

### How do COR'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 15 popular alternatives earned more than COR over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 12 of the 15 popular alternatives earned less than COR over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, COR returned 24.2% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (22.8% against 17.1%).

### Has COR consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 16 popular alternatives, led by MCK, LLY and CAH, outperformed COR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- MCK and LLY outperformed COR in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of COR | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| COR: Cencora, Inc. (this page) | +5.7% | +86.5% | +195% | +406% |  |  | 1.07 |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | +31.3% | +131% | +413% | +586% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.44 |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | +59.7% | +124% | +451% | +1,807% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.21 |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | +65.3% | +191% | +479% | +349% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.55 |
| [HCA](https://easycompare.io/research/hca): HCA Healthcare, Inc. | +8.3% | +97.6% | +93.6% | +513% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.59 |
| WST: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | +41.9% | +7.8% | −5.0% | +455% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| LFST: LifeStance Health Group, Inc. | +137% | +128% | +3.6% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.33 |
| [UNH](https://easycompare.io/research/unh): UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | +18.1% | −15.3% | +5.5% | +241% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| OPCH: Option Care Health, Inc. | +10.5% | −2.8% | +24.1% | +165% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [PFE](https://easycompare.io/research/pfe): Pfizer Inc. | +30.5% | +19.2% | −8.3% | +55.0% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| BTSG: BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. Common Stock | +105% | — | — | — | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| CHE: Chemed Corporation | +16.6% | +2.0% | +18.1% | +273% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| [SYY](https://easycompare.io/research/syy): Sysco Corporation | +6.7% | +37.6% | +18.7% | +126% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [CVS](https://easycompare.io/research/cvs): CVS Health Corp. | +18.5% | +52.5% | +29.2% | +47.0% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.32 |
| HSIC: Henry Schein, Inc. | +32.5% | +24.0% | +7.9% | +41.3% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| PRVA: Privia Health Group, Inc. | −13.1% | +0.3% | −7.4% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| OSIS: OSI Systems, Inc. | −23.3% | +69.6% | +106% | +194% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |

### How did COR do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, COR finished in the top quarter in nine of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 6 of 17.
- COR finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, OSIS came out ahead of COR most often, in 17 of the 28 years both traded.

| Year | COR | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +51.5% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +10.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +25.3% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +26.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +38.0% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +17.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +18.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −16.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +20.6% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −23.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How COR 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 COR's worst declines?

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

- In all five of COR's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: COR fell 70.9% from January to December 1999, while the S&P 500 rose 18.1%.
- The slowest recovery came after COR fell 38.8% from July 2015 to November 2016; it did not regain that peak until June 2020, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −70.9% | January 21, 1999 | December 3, 1999 | September 22, 2000 | +18.1% |  |
| −49.1% | April 24, 2007 | November 20, 2008 | January 13, 2010 | −47.5% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −43.2% | June 19, 2002 | March 14, 2003 | December 16, 2005 | −16.9% | dot-com bust |
| −40.8% | July 27, 1998 | September 3, 1998 | January 12, 1999 | −14.2% |  |
| −38.8% | July 22, 2015 | November 8, 2016 | June 8, 2020 | +4.0% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, LLY held up best, falling less than COR in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- COR fell less than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when COR fell 29.7% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | COR fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −29.7% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −41.9% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.8% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −14.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −21.4% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −24.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −23.8% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −17.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does COR 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, COR captured 80% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 58% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.56. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- LLY took just 6% of the S&P 500's losses, against 58% for COR, while still keeping 101% of its gains.
- Four of the 13 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than COR's 1.39, led by LLY, MCK and CHE.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| COR: Cencora, Inc. (this page) | 80.0% | 58.0% | 0.56 |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | 72.0% | 27.0% | 0.56 |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | 101% | 6.0% | 0.37 |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | 71.0% | 51.0% | 0.75 |
| [HCA](https://easycompare.io/research/hca): HCA Healthcare, Inc. | 135% | 140% | 1.37 |
| WST: West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. | 107% | 99.0% | 1.08 |
| [UNH](https://easycompare.io/research/unh): UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | 81.0% | 82.0% | 0.70 |
| OPCH: Option Care Health, Inc. | 75.0% | 102% | 0.89 |
| [PFE](https://easycompare.io/research/pfe): Pfizer Inc. | 52.0% | 81.0% | 0.54 |
| CHE: Chemed Corporation | 70.0% | 50.0% | 0.50 |
| [SYY](https://easycompare.io/research/syy): Sysco Corporation | 76.0% | 100% | 1.02 |
| [CVS](https://easycompare.io/research/cvs): CVS Health Corp. | 59.0% | 99.0% | 0.70 |
| HSIC: Henry Schein, Inc. | 72.0% | 124% | 0.85 |
| OSIS: OSI Systems, Inc. | 88.0% | 99.0% | 0.97 |

### What diversifies COR?

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 COR into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 15% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+21.4% for COR alone, +23.0% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and DBEF have moved largely independently of COR over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CLS, FIX and MPC have moved largely independently of COR over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.32 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with COR | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in COR's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.42 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 5 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.06 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 1 of 5 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.48 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 1 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.38 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.20 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 5 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.42 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 2 of 5 |
| FDVV: Fidelity High Dividend ETF | 0.49 | +85.9% | 14.6% | 0.92 | 0 of 5 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.32 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 1 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was COR's worst drawdown?

COR's deepest decline since it began trading in 1995 was 70.9%, from January to December 1999. It took nine months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, COR's best year was 2000, when it returned 233%. Its worst was 1999, with a return of -53.3%.

### Is there a better investment than COR?

Among COR's popular alternatives, CAH and MCK earned more than COR over the past 5 years with similar volatility: CAH returned 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, against 24.2% a year at 22.8%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ABBV (pharmaceuticals) was ahead of COR in most short and long periods.

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

Yes. COR's volatility over the past 5 years was 22.8%, 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, COR's return lands within 22.8% 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 COR's Sharpe ratio?

COR's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 1.07, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so COR 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 COR with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, COR's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.38 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 COR instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a COR holding.

### What are the best alternatives to COR?

Of the 16 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed COR in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MCK, LLY and CAH.

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

COR finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +51.5%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

COR fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in six of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when COR fell 29.7% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies COR?

These had a low correlation with COR over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.42), SMH (correlation 0.06) and DBEF (correlation 0.48); among large stocks, CLS (correlation 0.15), FIX (correlation 0.18) and MPC (correlation 0.32). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [McKesson (MCK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mck)
- [Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/lly)
- [Cardinal Health (CAH) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cah)
- [HCA Healthcare (HCA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hca)
- [UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/unh)
- [Pfizer (PFE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pfe)
- [Sysco (SYY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/syy)
- [CVS Health (CVS) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cvs)
- [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)
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## Explore further

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