# How CRH compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/crh
> 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 CRH alone. It places CRH (CRH plc) against 19 popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where CRH stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CRH's full trading record, from July 1989 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** CRH has gone against the market, falling 27.6% over the past 6 months while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. The slide is CRH's own: it is 34.4% below its high, against 1.3% for the S&P 500.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is CRH's own: it fell 14.4% over the past 3 months while the construction materials ETF XLB (State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF) rose 2.9%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its construction materials peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: JHX (James Hardie Industries) rose 5.9%, while KNF (Knife River) fell 34.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, CRH fell 26.4% while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (64.2% against 89.3%). That said, CRH finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** CRH turned $10,000 into $33,600 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. On the flip side, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: CRH rose 103% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, CRH has typically fallen 1.4 times as far as the S&P 500. The Covid crash took 49.8% off CRH, against 33.7% for the S&P 500. That was more than VMC (Vulcan Materials, 43.4%) but less than JHX (James Hardie Industries, 54.3%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, CRH has a correlation of 0.67 over 5 years, more closely than 97% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** CAT (Caterpillar) earned more for the risk it took than CRH over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 43.4%, against 53.3% for CRH.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** TT (Trane Technologies, building products) and CMI (Cummins, industrial machinery) earned more than CRH with less volatility over the past 5 years. TT returned 22.7% a year at 27.7% volatility, against 15.2% a year at 31.4%.
  - **Whole market:** 154 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CRH with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), WMT (Walmart) and JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in CRH at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $159,236 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Six of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of CRH, and USLM finished highest, at $876,790.

## CRH 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.

- CRH is still 34.4% below its all-time high.
- CRH's deepest decline since it began trading in 1989 was 65.6%, from July 2007 to August 2010. It took about six years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, CRH's best was 2023, when it returned 81.3%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 27.7%. It lost money in ten of those years.

- Type: Stock, Materials (Construction Materials)
- Trading since: July 13, 1989
- Market value: $57B
- Volatility (5 years): 31.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.61
- Worst decline ever: −65.6%, from July 9, 2007 to August 24, 2010; back at its high by January 24, 2017

| Period | CRH total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −2.2% |
| 3 months | −14.4% |
| 6 months | −27.6% |
| year to date | −31.8% |
| 1 year | −26.4% |
| 3 years | +64.2% |
| 5 years | +103% |
| 10 years | +236% |

## CRH against the whole market

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

### How does CRH rank among all stocks?

This section ranks CRH 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), CRH ranks in the top 22% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million.
- CRH's 1-year return ranks in the bottom 16% of the 3,287 stocks worth at least $300 million with 1 year of history.

| Measure | CRH | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −26.4% | 2,778 of 3,287 (top 85%) |
| 3-year return | +64.2% | 1,341 of 3,017 (top 45%) |
| 5-year return | +103% | 668 of 2,893 (top 24%) |
| 10-year return | +236% | 757 of 2,202 (top 35%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 31.4% | 854 of 2,893 (top 30%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.61 | 647 of 2,893 (top 23%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −53.3% | 584 of 2,187 (top 27%) |

### What has beaten CRH 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).

- 104 stocks and 50 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CRH over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 4% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half CRH's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 21% less than CRH's 31.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.61 for CRH.
- None of CRH's popular alternatives made it, but WAB (industrial machinery) did: 25.6% a year at 26.2% volatility, 16% less than CRH's 31.4%.

### Is there a better investment than CRH?

The table below lists investments that beat CRH 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 CRH's popular alternatives, CAT earned more for the risk it took than CRH over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 43.4%, against 53.3% for CRH.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, TT (building products) and CMI (industrial machinery) earned more than CRH with less volatility over the past 5 years. TT returned 22.7% a year at 27.7% volatility, against 15.2% a year at 31.4%.
- Across the whole market, 154 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CRH with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, WMT and JPM.

The 15 strongest of 154 investments that beat CRH 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 CRH | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CRH: CRH plc (this page) |  | +15.2% | 31.4% | 0.61 | −53.3% | +236% |  |  |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +685% | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +347% | 0.32 | 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% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ETR](https://easycompare.io/research/etr): Entergy Corporation | Electric Utilities | +19.2% | 22.4% | 0.90 | −42.0% | +311% | 0.41 | 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% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| CBOE: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | Capital Markets | +21.5% | 25.1% | 0.91 | −43.2% | +463% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [IX](https://easycompare.io/research/ix): ORIX Corporation | Diversified Financials | +17.9% | 25.4% | 0.78 | −42.5% | +284% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| CASY: Casey's General Stores, Inc. | Convenience Stores | +29.9% | 29.3% | 1.04 | −36.1% | +537% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Computer Hardware | +18.5% | 28.0% | 0.75 | −38.5% | +1,168% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| WRB: W. R. Berkley Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +18.9% | 22.9% | 0.87 | −45.3% | +443% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| RS: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. | Metals & Mining | +24.8% | 28.1% | 0.93 | −40.8% | +626% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [TT](https://easycompare.io/research/tt): Trane Technologies plc | Building Products | +22.7% | 27.7% | 0.88 | −40.5% | +955% | 0.58 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| ORI: Old Republic International Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +17.0% | 22.2% | 0.82 | −47.8% | +349% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| IXN: iShares Global Tech ETF | Technology Equity | +19.2% | 26.2% | 0.81 | −36.3% | +720% | 0.49 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## CRH against its popular alternatives

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

### How do CRH'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 18 popular alternatives earned more than CRH over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 11 of the 18 popular alternatives earned less than CRH over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, CRH returned 15.2% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (31.4% against 17.1%).

### Has CRH consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Six of the 19 popular alternatives, led by URI, NUE and PWR, outperformed CRH in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- URI, NUE and PWR outperformed CRH in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- PWR, USLM and CAT earned more for the risk they took than CRH (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 CRH | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CRH: CRH plc (this page) | −26.4% | +64.2% | +103% | +236% |  |  | 0.61 |
| [URI](https://easycompare.io/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | +5.2% | +164% | +196% | +1,270% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.75 |
| [NUE](https://easycompare.io/research/nue): Nucor Corporation | +93.7% | +92.9% | +167% | +569% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.72 |
| [PWR](https://easycompare.io/research/pwr): Quanta Services, Inc. | +35.3% | +263% | +425% | +2,045% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.08 |
| USLM: United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. | −21.2% | +166% | +359% | +803% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.03 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | +37.7% | +203% | +288% | +936% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.01 |
| VMI: Valmont Industries, Inc. | +10.9% | +98.7% | +91.1% | +288% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.56 |
| BCC: Boise Cascade Company | +8.7% | −6.6% | +68.3% | +383% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| SSD: Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. | +3.3% | +39.6% | +63.6% | +369% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| LPX: Louisiana-Pacific Corporation | −19.0% | +40.9% | +18.7% | +347% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| CX: CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. | +8.4% | +76.2% | +47.3% | +25.2% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| CXT: Crane NXT, Co. | −16.0% | +14.2% | +83.7% | +213% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.53 |
| MLM: Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. | −18.6% | +26.0% | +37.1% | +206% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.37 |
| VMC: Vulcan Materials Company | −10.7% | +32.9% | +46.8% | +159% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| JHX: James Hardie Industries plc | +24.3% | +7.6% | −29.7% | +93.2% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| WFG: West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. | +3.0% | +4.4% | −18.5% | +149% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.05 |
| OC: Owens Corning | −9.9% | −3.4% | +35.3% | +158% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.35 |
| ROCK: Gibraltar Industries, Inc. | −45.7% | −36.9% | −47.8% | +8.6% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.10 |
| EXP: Eagle Materials Inc. | −27.0% | +12.9% | +24.5% | +138% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.30 |
| KNF: Knife River Corporation | −21.0% | +2.6% | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |

### How did CRH do year by year?

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

- CRH finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 14 of its 29 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CRH finished in the top quarter in nine of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 4 of 20.
- Among its popular alternatives, PWR came out ahead of CRH most often, in 16 of the 27 years both traded.

| Year | CRH | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +36.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +35.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +81.3% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −20.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +27.1% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +8.8% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +57.0% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −25.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +7.1% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +22.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CRH 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 CRH's worst declines?

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

- In all five of CRH's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: CRH fell 39.0% from January to October 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 11.8%.
- The slowest recovery came after CRH fell 65.6% from July 2007 to August 2010; it did not regain that peak until January 2017, six years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −65.6% | July 9, 2007 | August 24, 2010 | January 24, 2017 | −26.4% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −53.3% | January 2, 2020 | March 18, 2020 | August 12, 2020 | −26.1% | Covid crash |
| −51.9% | January 11, 2000 | October 1, 2002 | January 22, 2004 | −38.6% | dot-com bust |
| −39.0% | January 9, 2026 | October 14, 2026 | not yet | +11.8% |  |
| −38.7% | January 4, 2022 | September 27, 2022 | March 2, 2023 | −23.0% | 2022 bear market |

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

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

- CRH fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when CRH fell 49.8% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.
- Among its popular alternatives, MLM held up best, falling less than CRH in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | CRH fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −44.6% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −57.1% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −30.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −22.8% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.5% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −24.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −49.8% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −38.7% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CRH 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.

- Ten of the 18 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CRH's 0.81, led by PWR, USLM and CAT.
- PWR took just 61% of the S&P 500's losses, against 137% for CRH, while still keeping 141% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, CRH captured 111% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 137% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.20. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CRH: CRH plc (this page) | 111% | 137% | 1.20 |
| [URI](https://easycompare.io/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | 177% | 165% | 1.90 |
| [NUE](https://easycompare.io/research/nue): Nucor Corporation | 154% | 176% | 1.65 |
| [PWR](https://easycompare.io/research/pwr): Quanta Services, Inc. | 141% | 61.0% | 1.22 |
| USLM: United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. | 111% | 65.0% | 0.68 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | 148% | 122% | 1.27 |
| VMI: Valmont Industries, Inc. | 105% | 115% | 1.27 |
| BCC: Boise Cascade Company | 136% | 163% | 1.52 |
| SSD: Simpson Manufacturing Co., Inc. | 117% | 129% | 1.30 |
| LPX: Louisiana-Pacific Corporation | 154% | 201% | 1.73 |
| CX: CEMEX, S.A.B. de C.V. | 104% | 183% | 1.39 |
| CXT: Crane NXT, Co. | 108% | 147% | 1.38 |
| MLM: Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. | 83.0% | 93.0% | 0.88 |
| VMC: Vulcan Materials Company | 75.0% | 91.0% | 0.83 |
| JHX: James Hardie Industries plc | 119% | 189% | 1.56 |
| WFG: West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd. | 127% | 180% | 1.68 |
| OC: Owens Corning | 115% | 160% | 1.44 |
| ROCK: Gibraltar Industries, Inc. | 73.0% | 138% | 1.17 |
| EXP: Eagle Materials Inc. | 108% | 153% | 1.31 |

### What diversifies CRH?

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 CRH into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 22% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+15.2% for CRH alone, +15.4% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and SMH have moved largely independently of CRH over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in seven of the ten calendar years in which CRH lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with CRH | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CRH's 10 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.35 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 10 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.47 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 10 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.49 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 10 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.23 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 10 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.18 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 10 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.43 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 4 of 10 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.34 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 3 of 10 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.36 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 10 |

## Common questions

### What was CRH's worst drawdown?

CRH's deepest decline since it began trading in 1989 was 65.6%, from July 2007 to August 2010. It took about six years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, CRH's best year was 2023, when it returned 81.3%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -27.7%.

### Is there a better investment than CRH?

Among CRH's popular alternatives, CAT earned more for the risk it took than CRH over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 43.4%, against 53.3% for CRH. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, TT (building products) and CMI (industrial machinery) earned more than CRH with less volatility over the past 5 years. TT returned 22.7% a year at 27.7% volatility, against 15.2% a year at 31.4%.

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

Yes. CRH's volatility over the past 5 years was 31.4%, 1.8 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, CRH's return lands within 31.4% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is CRH's Sharpe ratio?

CRH's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.61, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so CRH 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 CRH with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CRH's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.67 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 CRH instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CRH holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CRH?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, six outperformed CRH in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: URI, NUE and PWR.

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

CRH finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 14 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +36.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

CRH fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in two of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the Covid crash, when CRH fell 49.8% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies CRH?

These had a low correlation with CRH over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.35), EMLP (correlation 0.47) and SMH (correlation 0.49); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.23), CLS (correlation 0.40) and FIX (correlation 0.48). 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/crh
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against CRH live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=CRH&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research