# How Cisco Systems (CSCO) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/csco
> 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 CSCO alone. It places CSCO (Cisco Systems, 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 CSCO stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CSCO's full trading record, from February 1990 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** CSCO has outpaced the market, rising 22.6% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) rose 103% and NOK (Nokia Oyj) fell 14.3%.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is CSCO's own: it fell 3.2% over the past 3 months while the technology sector ETF XLK (State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF) rose 5.7%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its communications equipment peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) rose 26.3%, while COHR (Coherent) fell 18.8%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, CSCO rose 53.8% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (118% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** CSCO turned $10,000 into $47,400 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. CSCO's 10-year return of 374% puts it ahead of 80% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, CSCO has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500. The 2022 bear market took 35.4% off CSCO, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise, 30.5%) but less than ANET (Arista Networks, 36.6%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, CSCO has a correlation of 0.60 over 5 years, more closely than 90% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. CSCO fell in 17 of the 22 months the S&P 500 fell over the past 5 years: it usually fell with it.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** DELL (Dell Technologies), LITE (Lumentum) and PANW (Palo Alto Networks) were ahead of CSCO in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (54.4%, 64.5% and 43.4% volatility against 26.1%).
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** AAPL (Apple, computer hardware) and ADI (Analog Devices, semiconductors) were ahead of CSCO in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 46 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CSCO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT (Walmart), ABBV (AbbVie) and PM (Philip Morris International).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in CSCO over the past 17 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of CSCO over the same span and CSCO's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in CSCO at the end of September 2009 would have grown to $71,336 by September 2026, less than the $97,560 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Seven of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of CSCO, and NVDA finished highest, at $6,672,769.

## CSCO 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.

- CSCO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1990 was 89.3%, from March 2000 to October 2002. It took about 19 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, CSCO's best was 1998, when it returned 150%, and its worst was 2001, when it lost 52.6%. It lost money in 11 of those years.
- CSCO is 17.3% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Communication Equipment)
- Trading since: February 16, 1990
- Market value: $421B
- Volatility (5 years): 26.1%; Sharpe ratio: 0.73
- Worst decline ever: −89.3%, from March 27, 2000 to October 8, 2002; back at its high by August 24, 2021

| Period | CSCO total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −3.9% |
| 3 months | −3.2% |
| 6 months | +22.6% |
| year to date | +42.2% |
| 1 year | +53.8% |
| 3 years | +118% |
| 5 years | +118% |
| 10 years | +374% |

## CSCO against the whole market

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

### How does CSCO rank among all stocks?

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

- CSCO's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 9% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | CSCO | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +53.8% | 500 of 3,287 (top 16%) |
| 3-year return | +118% | 788 of 3,017 (top 27%) |
| 5-year return | +118% | 587 of 2,893 (top 21%) |
| 10-year return | +374% | 449 of 2,202 (top 21%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 26.1% | 418 of 2,893 (top 15%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.73 | 403 of 2,893 (top 14%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −42.0% | 199 of 2,187 (top 10%) |

### What has beaten CSCO 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).

- 23 stocks and 23 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CSCO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half CSCO's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 5% less than CSCO's 26.1%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.73 for CSCO.

### Is there a better investment than CSCO?

The table below lists investments that beat CSCO 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 CSCO's popular alternatives, DELL, LITE and PANW were ahead of CSCO in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (54.4%, 64.5% and 43.4% volatility against 26.1%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AAPL (computer hardware) and ADI (semiconductors) were ahead of CSCO in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 46 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CSCO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT, ABBV and PM.

The 15 strongest of 46 investments that beat CSCO 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 CSCO | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CSCO: Cisco Systems, Inc. (this page) |  | +16.8% | 26.1% | 0.73 | −42.0% | +374% |  |  |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | Tobacco | +21.0% | 23.4% | 0.94 | −42.9% | +242% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +347% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [COR](https://easycompare.io/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +24.2% | 22.8% | 1.07 | −32.4% | +406% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [IAU](https://easycompare.io/research/iau): iShares Gold Trust | Gold | +17.9% | 18.9% | 0.97 | −26.4% | +218% | 0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | International Equity | +20.4% | 24.2% | 0.89 | −38.9% | +468% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FLTW: Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF | Technology | +21.8% | 24.3% | 0.94 | −38.0% | — | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | US Momentum Equity | +18.7% | 20.8% | 0.93 | −30.9% | +499% | 0.56 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| ACT: Enact Holdings Inc. | Insurance | +20.5% | 24.3% | 0.89 | −20.2% | — | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| CRAK: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF | Energy | +19.8% | 20.9% | 0.97 | −58.8% | +336% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +23.5% | 18.8% | 1.22 | −75.2% | +350% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| DBJP: Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | International | +20.9% | 19.2% | 1.09 | −31.3% | +348% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## CSCO against its popular alternatives

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

### How do CSCO's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- None of the 20 popular alternatives earned more than CSCO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, CSCO returned 16.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (26.1% against 17.1%).

### Has CSCO consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Five of the 20 popular alternatives, led by FTNT, DELL and PANW, outperformed CSCO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- FTNT, DELL and PANW outperformed CSCO in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- NVDA outperformed CSCO over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so CSCO has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of CSCO | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CSCO: Cisco Systems, Inc. (this page) | +53.8% | +118% | +118% | +374% |  |  | 0.73 |
| [FTNT](https://easycompare.io/research/ftnt): Fortinet, Inc. | +101% | +203% | +156% | +2,626% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.65 |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | +217% | +636% | +800% | +3,701% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.08 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | +60.6% | +180% | +299% | +1,274% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.86 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | +150% | +296% | +315% | +483% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.89 |
| [LITE](https://easycompare.io/research/lite): Lumentum Holdings Inc. | +411% | +2,029% | +863% | +1,904% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.03 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.14 |
| [ANET](https://easycompare.io/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | +23.7% | +289% | +634% | +3,439% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.06 |
| [CIEN](https://easycompare.io/research/cien): Ciena Corporation | +97.5% | +721% | +546% | +1,600% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.97 |
| [COHR](https://easycompare.io/research/cohr): Coherent, Inc. | +92.8% | +648% | +295% | +795% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −3.5% | +305% | +617% | +2,380% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.11 |
| FN: Fabrinet | −12.8% | +121% | +260% | +732% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| UI: Ubiquiti Inc. | −17.3% | +434% | +95.9% | +1,194% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| VIAV: Viavi Solutions Inc. | +164% | +359% | +127% | +376% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| FFIV: F5, Inc. | +54.0% | +208% | +120% | +287% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| ERIC: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | +15.6% | +164% | +8.9% | +161% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| EXTR: Extreme Networks, Inc. | +8.7% | +6.4% | +117% | +445% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| CALX: Calix, Inc. | −40.0% | −16.6% | −35.1% | +435% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| [NOK](https://easycompare.io/research/nok): Nokia Oyj | +60.8% | +211% | +72.8% | +123% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| NTGR: NETGEAR, Inc. | −30.0% | +109% | −30.7% | −29.3% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| ADTN: ADTRAN Holdings Inc. | −28.3% | −8.7% | −61.3% | −59.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.05 |

### How did CSCO do year by year?

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

- Among its popular alternatives, AVGO came out ahead of CSCO most often, in 14 of the 16 years both traded.
- CSCO finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 11 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CSCO finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 11 of 21.

| Year | CSCO | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +33.5% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +21.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +9.3% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −22.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +45.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −3.5% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +13.8% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +16.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +31.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +15.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CSCO 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 CSCO's worst declines?

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

- In all five of CSCO's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: CSCO fell 51.3% from March to July 1994, while the S&P 500 slipped only 2.1%.
- The slowest recovery came after CSCO fell 89.3% from March 2000 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until August 2021, 19 years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −89.3% | March 27, 2000 | October 8, 2002 | August 24, 2021 | −45.4% | dot-com bust |
| −51.3% | March 9, 1994 | July 15, 1994 | April 17, 1995 | −2.1% |  |
| −38.0% | January 20, 1997 | April 25, 1997 | July 9, 1997 | −1.1% |  |
| −36.7% | December 29, 2021 | October 12, 2022 | November 11, 2024 | −24.5% | 2022 bear market |
| −36.6% | August 25, 1998 | October 7, 1998 | November 18, 1998 | −11.0% |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, AVGO held up best, falling less than CSCO in five of the eight crashes they both traded through.
- CSCO 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 CSCO fell 29.1% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

| Crash | Dates | CSCO fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −89.3% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −60.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −3.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −16.6% | −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 | −5.3% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −17.5% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −29.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −35.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CSCO 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.

- 14 of the 20 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CSCO's 1.06, led by DELL, PANW and CIEN.
- DELL took just 43% of the S&P 500's losses, against 96% for CSCO, while still keeping 154% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, CSCO captured 101% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 96% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.97. Its share of the market's gains was slightly larger than its share of the losses.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CSCO: Cisco Systems, Inc. (this page) | 101% | 96.0% | 0.97 |
| [FTNT](https://easycompare.io/research/ftnt): Fortinet, Inc. | 159% | 92.0% | 1.09 |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | 154% | 43.0% | 1.13 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | 118% | 49.0% | 1.14 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | 116% | 102% | 1.31 |
| [LITE](https://easycompare.io/research/lite): Lumentum Holdings Inc. | 162% | 101% | 1.24 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [ANET](https://easycompare.io/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | 174% | 91.0% | 1.40 |
| [CIEN](https://easycompare.io/research/cien): Ciena Corporation | 129% | 64.0% | 1.07 |
| [COHR](https://easycompare.io/research/cohr): Coherent, Inc. | 162% | 146% | 1.80 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | 158% | 86.0% | 1.19 |
| FN: Fabrinet | 115% | 72.0% | 1.12 |
| UI: Ubiquiti Inc. | 150% | 125% | 1.35 |
| VIAV: Viavi Solutions Inc. | 98.0% | 76.0% | 0.97 |
| FFIV: F5, Inc. | 87.0% | 84.0% | 1.04 |
| ERIC: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 73.0% | 108% | 0.71 |
| EXTR: Extreme Networks, Inc. | 144% | 172% | 1.88 |
| CALX: Calix, Inc. | 96.0% | 85.0% | 1.40 |
| [NOK](https://easycompare.io/research/nok): Nokia Oyj | 63.0% | 72.0% | 1.01 |
| NTGR: NETGEAR, Inc. | 45.0% | 124% | 1.02 |
| ADTN: ADTRAN Holdings Inc. | 47.0% | 150% | 1.46 |

### What diversifies CSCO?

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 CSCO into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+17.9% for CSCO alone, +18.2% for the mix).
- MCK made money in eight of the 11 calendar years in which CSCO lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of CSCO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.32 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with CSCO | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CSCO's 11 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.21 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 11 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.32 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 11 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.26 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 11 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.34 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 11 |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | 0.46 | +62.9% | 10.4% | 0.99 | 1 of 11 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.45 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 1 of 11 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.07 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 6 of 11 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.07 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 7 of 11 |

## Common questions

### What was CSCO's worst drawdown?

CSCO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1990 was 89.3%, from March 2000 to October 2002. It took about 19 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, CSCO's best year was 1998, when it returned 150%. Its worst was 2001, with a return of -52.6%.

### Is there a better investment than CSCO?

Among CSCO's popular alternatives, DELL, LITE and PANW were ahead of CSCO in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (54.4%, 64.5% and 43.4% volatility against 26.1%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AAPL (computer hardware) and ADI (semiconductors) were ahead of CSCO in most short and long periods.

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

Yes. CSCO's volatility over the past 5 years was 26.1%, 1.5 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, CSCO's return lands within 26.1% 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 CSCO's Sharpe ratio?

CSCO's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.73, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so CSCO 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 CSCO with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CSCO's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.60 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 CSCO instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CSCO holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CSCO?

Of the 20 popular alternatives we compared, five outperformed CSCO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: FTNT, DELL and PANW.

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

CSCO finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 11 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +33.5%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

CSCO 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 CSCO fell 29.1% and the S&P 500 fell 33.7%.

### What diversifies CSCO?

These had a low correlation with CSCO over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.21), DXJ (correlation 0.32) and EMLP (correlation 0.26); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.17), CLS (correlation 0.32) and FIX (correlation 0.28). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Fortinet (FTNT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ftnt)
- [Dell Technologies (DELL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dell)
- [Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/panw)
- [Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe)
- [Lumentum (LITE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/lite)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Arista Networks (ANET) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/anet)
- [Ciena (CIEN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cien)
- [Coherent (COHR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cohr)
- [Broadcom (AVGO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo)
- [Nokia Oyj (NOK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nok)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)

## Explore further

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