# How CVS Health (CVS) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/cvs
> 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 CVS alone. It places CVS (CVS Health Corp.) 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 CVS stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: CVS's full trading record, from October 1986 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, CVS rose 25.6% 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, HUM (Humana) rose 104% and HCA (HCA Healthcare) fell 2.2%.
- **Stock or market?:** The weakness is CVS's own: it fell 11.4% over the past 3 months while the managed health care ETF IHF (iShares U.S. Healthcare Providers ETF) rose 7.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its managed health care peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: HCA (HCA Healthcare) rose 26.0%, while ALHC (Alignment Healthcare) fell 59.7%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** CVS lagged its managed health care peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025. CVS has edged past the market, rising 18.5% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** CVS turned $10,000 into $14,700 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** The Covid crash took 27.3% off CVS, against 33.7% for the S&P 500, and less than managed health care peers such as UNH (UnitedHealth Group, 35.9%).
- **Diversification:** CVS is a real diversifier: a correlation of 0.29 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.31 with the total US market, less closely than 71% of stocks worth at least $300 million. That said, over 10 years, CVS's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.70: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 59% as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.0 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** CAH (Cardinal Health), MCK (McKesson) and WMT (Walmart) earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years. CAH returned 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, against 5.3% a year at 30.4%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** ENSG (Ensign Group, health care facilities) earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 19.8% a year at 26.8% volatility, against 5.3% a year at 30.4%.
  - **Whole market:** 891 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), MSFT (Microsoft) and VTI (Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in CVS at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $97,705 by September 2026, less 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 CVS, and AMZN finished highest, at $11,484,924.

## CVS 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.

- CVS's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 64.0%, from March 2001 to January 2003. It took about two years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, CVS's best was 2025, when it returned 84.3%, and its worst was 2001, when it lost 50.4%. It lost money in 11 of those years.
- CVS is 13.8% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Healthcare (Medical - Healthcare Plans)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $121B
- Volatility (5 years): 30.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.32
- Worst decline ever: −64.0%, from March 8, 2001 to January 30, 2003; back at its high by July 8, 2005

| Period | CVS total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +8.2% |
| 3 months | −11.4% |
| 6 months | +25.6% |
| year to date | +21.0% |
| 1 year | +18.5% |
| 3 years | +52.5% |
| 5 years | +29.2% |
| 10 years | +47.0% |

## CVS against the whole market

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

### How does CVS rank among all stocks?

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

- CVS lands in the broad middle of the market on every measure here. CVS is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 27% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | CVS | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +18.5% | 1,291 of 3,287 (top 40%) |
| 3-year return | +52.5% | 1,502 of 3,017 (top 50%) |
| 5-year return | +29.2% | 1,347 of 2,893 (top 47%) |
| 10-year return | +47.0% | 1,589 of 2,202 (top 73%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 30.4% | 771 of 2,893 (top 27%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.32 | 1,473 of 2,893 (top 51%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −56.8% | 753 of 2,187 (top 35%) |

### What has beaten CVS 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).

- 313 stocks and 578 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than CVS over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 25% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half CVS's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 19% less than CVS's 30.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.32 for CVS.
- Among CVS's popular alternatives, CAH, MCK and COR are in the region. CAH earned 42.1% a year against 5.3% a year for CVS, at 24.7% volatility, 19% less than CVS's 30.4%.

### Is there a better investment than CVS?

The table below lists investments that beat CVS 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 CVS's popular alternatives, CAH, MCK and WMT earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years. CAH returned 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, against 5.3% a year at 30.4%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ENSG (health care facilities) earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 19.8% a year at 26.8% volatility, against 5.3% a year at 30.4%.
- Across the whole market, 891 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, MSFT and VTI.

The 15 strongest of 891 investments that beat CVS 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 CVS | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CVS: CVS Health Corp. (this page) |  | +5.3% | 30.4% | 0.32 | −56.8% | +47.0% |  |  |
| [JNJ](https://easycompare.io/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +12.7% | 17.9% | 0.76 | −27.4% | +196% | 0.33 | 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% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CL](https://easycompare.io/research/cl): Colgate-Palmolive Company | Household & Personal Products | +7.2% | 19.2% | 0.46 | −29.0% | +68.8% | 0.26 | 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% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | Software | +12.5% | 28.2% | 0.56 | −37.1% | +946% | -0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | Payment Processing | +12.8% | 22.9% | 0.64 | −36.4% | +429% | 0.27 | 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% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; 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% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | Communications Equipment | +16.8% | 26.1% | 0.73 | −42.0% | +374% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MRK](https://easycompare.io/research/mrk): Merck & Co., Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +16.3% | 24.8% | 0.74 | −43.4% | +241% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +12.1% | 13.7% | 0.90 | −36.8% | +235% | 0.51 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## CVS against its popular alternatives

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

### How do CVS'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.

- Seven of the 19 popular alternatives, led by CAH, MCK and COR, were both more rewarding and calmer than CVS over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, CVS returned 5.2% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (30.4% against 17.1%).

### Has CVS consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Four of the 19 popular alternatives, led by THC, MCK and CAH, outperformed CVS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- THC, MCK and CAH outperformed CVS in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- CAH, MCK and COR earned more for the risk they took than CVS (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 CVS | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CVS: CVS Health Corp. (this page) | +18.5% | +52.5% | +29.2% | +47.0% |  |  | 0.32 |
| THC: Tenet Healthcare Corporation | +34.7% | +399% | +315% | +1,058% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.86 |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | +31.3% | +131% | +413% | +586% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.44 |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | +65.3% | +191% | +479% | +349% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.55 |
| OSCR: Oscar Health, Inc. | +66.8% | +560% | +107% | — | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.57 |
| [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 |
| [HCA](https://easycompare.io/research/hca): HCA Healthcare, Inc. | +8.3% | +97.6% | +93.6% | +513% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | +11.0% | +130% | +158% | +508% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.96 |
| [COR](https://easycompare.io/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | +5.7% | +86.5% | +195% | +406% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.07 |
| EHC: Encompass Health Corporation | −2.1% | +97.2% | +133% | +340% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| [CI](https://easycompare.io/research/ci): Cigna Corporation | +2.2% | +5.9% | +56.7% | +176% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [HUM](https://easycompare.io/research/hum): Humana Inc. | +52.1% | −15.1% | −1.3% | +166% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| CNC: Centene Corp. | +98.9% | −1.5% | +4.0% | +129% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| [ELV](https://easycompare.io/research/elv): Elevance Health Inc. | +26.8% | +2.0% | +11.7% | +307% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| MOH: Molina Healthcare, Inc. | +11.3% | −37.0% | −24.3% | +277% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| [UNH](https://easycompare.io/research/unh): UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | +18.1% | −15.3% | +5.5% | +241% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| CLOV: Clover Health Investments, Corp. | +64.4% | +385% | −38.8% | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| AGL: Agilon Health, Inc. | +271% | −81.0% | −84.7% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| PRVA: Privia Health Group, Inc. | −13.1% | +0.3% | −7.4% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| ALHC: Alignment Healthcare, Inc. | −51.1% | +19.9% | −55.8% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.08 |

### How did CVS do year by year?

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

- Among its popular alternatives, HCA came out ahead of CVS most often, in 12 of the 14 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, CVS finished in the top quarter in eight of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in five. In 2025, it ranked 1 of 20.
- CVS finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 18 of its 29 full calendar years.

| Year | CVS | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +84.3% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −40.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −12.6% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −7.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +54.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −5.1% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +17.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −7.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | −5.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −17.8% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How CVS 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 CVS's worst declines?

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

- In four of CVS's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: CVS fell 56.8% from February 2022 to December 2024, while the S&P 500 rose 35.4%.
- The slowest recovery came after CVS fell 45.2% from June 2008 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until January 2012, three years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −64.0% | March 8, 2001 | January 30, 2003 | July 8, 2005 | −31.7% | dot-com bust |
| −56.8% | February 8, 2022 | December 19, 2024 | May 13, 2026 | +35.4% | 2022 bear market |
| −50.1% | February 24, 1999 | March 7, 2000 | November 9, 2000 | +10.6% |  |
| −50.1% | July 29, 2015 | April 2, 2019 | November 3, 2021 | +46.2% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −45.3% | June 5, 2008 | March 9, 2009 | January 17, 2012 | −50.7% | 2008 financial crisis |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, WMT held up best, falling less than CVS in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- CVS fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when CVS fell 62.4% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | CVS fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −62.4% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −45.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −14.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −16.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −9.2% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −22.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −27.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −19.9% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does CVS 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 14 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than CVS's 0.60, led by MCK, WMT and CAH.
- MCK took just 27% of the S&P 500's losses, against 99% for CVS, while still keeping 72% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, CVS captured 59% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 99% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.70. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| CVS: CVS Health Corp. (this page) | 59.0% | 99.0% | 0.70 |
| THC: Tenet Healthcare Corporation | 173% | 168% | 1.87 |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | 72.0% | 27.0% | 0.56 |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | 71.0% | 51.0% | 0.75 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [HCA](https://easycompare.io/research/hca): HCA Healthcare, Inc. | 135% | 140% | 1.37 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | 74.0% | 36.0% | 0.53 |
| [COR](https://easycompare.io/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | 80.0% | 58.0% | 0.56 |
| EHC: Encompass Health Corporation | 86.0% | 71.0% | 0.92 |
| [CI](https://easycompare.io/research/ci): Cigna Corporation | 66.0% | 74.0% | 0.58 |
| [HUM](https://easycompare.io/research/hum): Humana Inc. | 70.0% | 80.0% | 0.82 |
| CNC: Centene Corp. | 69.0% | 94.0% | 0.80 |
| [ELV](https://easycompare.io/research/elv): Elevance Health Inc. | 94.0% | 98.0% | 0.86 |
| MOH: Molina Healthcare, Inc. | 72.0% | 63.0% | 0.74 |
| [UNH](https://easycompare.io/research/unh): UnitedHealth Group Incorporated | 81.0% | 82.0% | 0.70 |

### What diversifies CVS?

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 CVS into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+3.6% for CVS alone, +8.8% for the mix).
- FIX made money in eight of the 11 calendar years in which CVS lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of CVS over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.35 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with CVS | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in CVS's 11 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.35 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 4 of 11 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.08 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 6 of 11 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.33 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 5 of 11 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.16 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 5 of 11 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.37 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 5 of 11 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.10 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 6 of 11 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.30 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 5 of 11 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.17 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 11 |

## Common questions

### What was CVS's worst drawdown?

CVS's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 64.0%, from March 2001 to January 2003. It took about two years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, CVS's best year was 2025, when it returned 84.3%. Its worst was 2001, with a return of -50.4%.

### Is there a better investment than CVS?

Among CVS's popular alternatives, CAH, MCK and WMT earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years. CAH returned 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, against 5.3% a year at 30.4%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, ENSG (health care facilities) earned more than CVS with less volatility over the past 5 years: 19.8% a year at 26.8% volatility, against 5.3% a year at 30.4%.

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

Yes. CVS's volatility over the past 5 years was 30.4%, 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, CVS's return lands within 30.4% 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 CVS's Sharpe ratio?

CVS's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.32, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so CVS 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 CVS with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, CVS's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.29 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 CVS instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a CVS holding.

### What are the best alternatives to CVS?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed CVS in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: THC, MCK and CAH.

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

CVS finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 18 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +84.3%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

CVS fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when CVS fell 62.4% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies CVS?

These had a low correlation with CVS over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.35), DXJ (correlation 0.08) and EMLP (correlation 0.33); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.26), CLS (correlation 0.11) and FIX (correlation 0.16). 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)
- [Cardinal Health (CAH) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cah)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [HCA Healthcare (HCA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hca)
- [Walmart (WMT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt)
- [Cencora (COR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cor)
- [Cigna (CI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ci)
- [Humana (HUM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hum)
- [Elevance Health (ELV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/elv)
- [UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/unh)
- [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)

## Explore further

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