# How Salesforce (CRM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/crm
> 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 CRM alone. It places CRM (Salesforce, Inc.) 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 CRM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CRM's full trading record, from June 2004 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 3 months, CRM rose 39.7% against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. That said, CRM is 33.1% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** CRM's 39.7% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the enterprise software ETF IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF) rose 15.0%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its enterprise software peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: TEAM (Atlassian) rose 129%, while ORCL (Oracle) rose 8.4%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** CRM has gone against the market, falling 3.9% over the past year while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (21.3% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** CRM turned $10,000 into $34,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across six sell-offs, CRM has typically fallen 1.6 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, CRM has a correlation of 0.48 over 5 years, more closely than 68% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, CRM's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.16: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.1 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.4 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** GOOG (Alphabet), MSFT (Microsoft) and SAP earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years. GOOG returned 19.0% a year at 32.0% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 39.4%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) and EXLS (ExlService, IT services) earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 39.4%.
  - **Whole market:** 1,964 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), GOOG (Alphabet) and MSFT (Microsoft).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in CRM over the past 22 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of CRM over the same span and CRM's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in CRM at the end of September 2004 would have grown to $597,836 by September 2026, more than the $102,174 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of CRM, and MNST finished highest, at $3,313,296.

## CRM 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.

- CRM is still 33.1% below its all-time high.
- CRM's deepest decline since it began trading in 2004 was 70.5%, from June to November 2008. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 21 full calendar years, CRM's best was 2009, when it returned 130%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 49.0%. It lost money in five of those years.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Application)
- Trading since: June 23, 2004
- Market value: $200B
- Volatility (5 years): 39.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.12
- Worst decline ever: −70.5%, from June 23, 2008 to November 19, 2008; back at its high by December 29, 2009

| Period | CRM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +2.5% |
| 3 months | +39.7% |
| 6 months | +30.7% |
| year to date | −3.8% |
| 1 year | −3.9% |
| 3 years | +21.3% |
| 5 years | −14.8% |
| 10 years | +240% |

## CRM against the whole market

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

### How does CRM rank among all stocks?

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

- CRM lands in the broad middle of the market on every measure here. CRM's 10-year return ranks in the top 34% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | CRM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −3.9% | 2,143 of 3,287 (top 66%) |
| 3-year return | +21.3% | 1,999 of 3,017 (top 67%) |
| 5-year return | −14.8% | 1,943 of 2,893 (top 68%) |
| 10-year return | +240% | 740 of 2,202 (top 34%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 39.4% | 1,428 of 2,893 (top 50%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.12 | 2,075 of 2,893 (top 72%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −58.7% | 829 of 2,187 (top 38%) |

### What has beaten CRM 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).

- 1,016 stocks and 948 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CRM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 54% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half CRM's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 37% less than CRM's 39.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.12 for CRM. MPC earned the most, 51.2% a year, while still swinging less than CRM (33.4% against 39.4%).
- Among CRM's popular alternatives, GOOG, MSFT and SAP are in the region. GOOG earned 19.0% a year against a loss of 3.2% a year for CRM, at 32.0% volatility, 19% less than CRM's 39.4%.

### Is there a better investment than CRM?

The table below lists investments that beat CRM 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 CRM's popular alternatives, GOOG, MSFT and SAP earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years. GOOG returned 19.0% a year at 32.0% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 39.4%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) and EXLS (IT services) earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 39.4%.
- Across the whole market, 1,964 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, GOOG and MSFT.

The 15 strongest of 1,964 investments that beat CRM 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 CRM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CRM: Salesforce, Inc. (this page) |  | −3.2% | 39.4% | 0.12 | −58.7% | +240% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | -0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [A](https://easycompare.io/research/a): Agilent Technologies, Inc. | Life Sciences Tools | +2.6% | 30.6% | 0.24 | −43.2% | +306% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [KDP](https://easycompare.io/research/kdp): Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. | Food & Beverages | +2.5% | 22.1% | 0.23 | −36.9% | +281% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| EXPD: Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. | Freight & Logistics | +12.0% | 27.1% | 0.56 | −35.6% | +349% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Medical - Care Facilities | +32.0% | 28.5% | 1.12 | −35.3% | +394% | 0.00 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| CIBR: First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF | Cybersecurity | +14.1% | 26.1% | 0.64 | −33.9% | +454% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| CHE: Chemed Corporation | Health Care Services | +3.4% | 25.3% | 0.26 | −42.9% | +273% | 0.07 | 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% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ADP](https://easycompare.io/research/adp): Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | Business Services | +9.0% | 22.9% | 0.49 | −40.8% | +320% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +12.8% | 16.9% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +324% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [ELV](https://easycompare.io/research/elv): Elevance Health Inc. | Managed Health Care | +2.2% | 29.4% | 0.23 | −50.4% | +307% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## CRM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do CRM'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.

- 12 of the 23 popular alternatives earned less than CRM over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Four of the 23 popular alternatives, led by GOOG, MSFT and SAP, were both more rewarding and calmer than CRM over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, CRM returned -3.2% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (39.4% against 17.1%).

### Has CRM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Six of the 24 popular alternatives, led by NOW, MSFT and DDOG, outperformed CRM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- NOW outperformed CRM in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- GOOG, MSFT and SAP earned more for the risk they took than CRM (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 CRM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CRM: Salesforce, Inc. (this page) | −3.9% | +21.3% | −14.8% | +240% |  |  | 0.12 |
| [NOW](https://easycompare.io/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | −18.5% | +37.8% | +9.8% | +848% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.27 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.56 |
| [DDOG](https://easycompare.io/research/ddog): Datadog, Inc. | +64.1% | +198% | +61.4% | — | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.45 |
| [TWLO](https://easycompare.io/research/twlo): Twilio Inc. | +137% | +385% | −29.4% | +486% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.19 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | −16.6% | +81.3% | +72.6% | +205% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.52 |
| [SNOW](https://easycompare.io/research/snow): Snowflake Inc. | +30.1% | +116% | −4.3% | — | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.29 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | +31.2% | +148% | +138% | +752% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −52.1% | +33.3% | +45.1% | +300% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| [TEAM](https://easycompare.io/research/team): Atlassian Corporation | +39.2% | +18.2% | −46.0% | +670% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| DOCU: DocuSign, Inc. | +13.6% | +99.4% | −70.4% | — | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.11 |
| ZM: Zoom Communications, Inc. | +19.0% | +57.9% | −64.7% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.25 |
| HUBS: HubSpot, Inc. | −44.5% | −41.6% | −68.5% | +377% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.11 |
| PEGA: Pegasystems Inc. | −33.5% | +85.1% | −43.7% | +140% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| BRZE: Braze, Inc. | +65.6% | +4.1% | — | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| SPT: Sprout Social, Inc. | +16.1% | −72.2% | −90.0% | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.32 |
| [ACN](https://easycompare.io/research/acn): Accenture plc | +2.2% | −13.6% | −23.6% | +146% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| FIVN: Five9, Inc. | +53.0% | −42.9% | −78.4% | +141% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.24 |
| [WDAY](https://easycompare.io/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | −15.4% | −3.4% | −26.4% | +132% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| ASAN: Asana, Inc. | −26.5% | −41.5% | −91.7% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.24 |
| MNDY: monday.com Ltd. | −45.8% | −23.6% | −72.6% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| [INTU](https://easycompare.io/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | −48.9% | −32.1% | −38.8% | +237% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| NICE: NICE Ltd. | −13.4% | −26.8% | −58.5% | +71.8% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.22 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | −25.2% | −52.5% | −59.4% | +135% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.28 |

### How did CRM do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2005, along with where CRM ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CRM finished in the top quarter in six of 21 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 14 of 25.
- CRM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 11 of its 21 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, NOW came out ahead of CRM most often, in nine of the 13 years both traded.

| Year | CRM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −20.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +27.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +98.5% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −47.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +14.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +36.8% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +18.7% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +34.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +49.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −12.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CRM 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 CRM's worst declines?

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

- In all five of CRM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: CRM fell 58.7% from December 2024 to June 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 25.0%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 15 months, after CRM fell 58.6% from November 2021 to December 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −70.5% | June 23, 2008 | November 19, 2008 | December 29, 2009 | −37.6% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −58.7% | December 4, 2024 | June 22, 2026 | not yet | +25.0% |  |
| −58.6% | November 8, 2021 | December 16, 2022 | March 1, 2024 | −16.7% | 2022 bear market |
| −48.8% | January 30, 2006 | July 17, 2006 | November 7, 2006 | −3.2% |  |
| −44.1% | June 23, 2004 | August 13, 2004 | October 6, 2004 | −6.6% |  |

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

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

- CRM fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when CRM fell 34.2% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, ACN held up best, falling less than CRM in all nine crashes they both traded through.
- CRM began trading after the dot-com bust, but eight of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was MSFT's 62.9%, against 47.5% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | CRM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −70.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −4.2% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −26.9% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −34.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −24.8% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −35.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −42.7% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CRM 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 16 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CRM's 0.80, led by NOW, MSFT and GOOG.
- NOW took just 79% of the S&P 500's losses, against 143% for CRM, while still keeping 114% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, CRM captured 115% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 143% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.16. 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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CRM: Salesforce, Inc. (this page) | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| [NOW](https://easycompare.io/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | 114% | 79.0% | 0.97 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [TWLO](https://easycompare.io/research/twlo): Twilio Inc. | 119% | 129% | 1.44 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | 112% | 152% | 1.10 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | 132% | 110% | 1.12 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| [TEAM](https://easycompare.io/research/team): Atlassian Corporation | 130% | 132% | 1.03 |
| HUBS: HubSpot, Inc. | 121% | 149% | 1.46 |
| PEGA: Pegasystems Inc. | 87.0% | 113% | 1.05 |
| [ACN](https://easycompare.io/research/acn): Accenture plc | 117% | 186% | 1.12 |
| FIVN: Five9, Inc. | 85.0% | 114% | 1.05 |
| [WDAY](https://easycompare.io/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | 96.0% | 139% | 1.19 |
| [INTU](https://easycompare.io/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | 99.0% | 126% | 1.03 |
| NICE: NICE Ltd. | 65.0% | 94.0% | 0.78 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | 123% | 184% | 1.24 |

### What diversifies CRM?

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 CRM into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (-2.9% for CRM alone, +2.1% for the mix).
- GLD made money in four of the five calendar years in which CRM lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of CRM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.20 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with CRM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CRM's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.12 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 5 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.20 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 5 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.10 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 5 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.12 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 3 of 5 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.27 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 3 of 5 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.30 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.16 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.22 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was CRM's worst drawdown?

CRM's deepest decline since it began trading in 2004 was 70.5%, from June to November 2008. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because CRM launched in June 2004, that record does not include the dot-com bust.

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

Over 21 full calendar years, CRM's best year was 2009, when it returned 130%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -49.0%.

### Is there a better investment than CRM?

Among CRM's popular alternatives, GOOG, MSFT and SAP earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years. GOOG returned 19.0% a year at 32.0% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 39.4%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) and EXLS (IT services) earned more than CRM with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against a loss of 3.2% a year at 39.4%.

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

Yes. CRM's volatility over the past 5 years was 39.4%, 2.3 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, CRM's return lands within 39.4% 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 CRM's Sharpe ratio?

CRM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.12, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so CRM 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 CRM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CRM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.48 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 CRM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CRM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CRM?

Of the 24 popular alternatives we compared, six outperformed CRM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: NOW, MSFT and DDOG.

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

CRM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 11 of 21 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -20.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

CRM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when CRM fell 34.2% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies CRM?

These had a low correlation with CRM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.12), DXJ (correlation 0.20) and EMLP (correlation 0.10); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.02), CLS (correlation 0.17) and FIX (correlation 0.07). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [ServiceNow (NOW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/now)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Datadog (DDOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ddog)
- [Twilio (TWLO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/twlo)
- [SAP Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/sap)
- [Snowflake (SNOW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/snow)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [Oracle (ORCL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl)
- [Atlassian (TEAM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/team)
- [Accenture (ACN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/acn)
- [Workday (WDAY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/wday)

## Explore further

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