# How Deere & Company (DE) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/de
> 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 DE alone. It places DE (Deere & Company) 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 DE stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: DE'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:** Its industrial machinery peers split over the past 3 months: MTW (Manitowoc) rose 73.7%, while CAT (Caterpillar) fell 15.9%. Over the past 3 months, DE rose 8.1% against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** DE held up far better than its industry: it rose 8.1% over the past 3 months while the industrial machinery ETF MOO (VanEck Agribusiness ETF) fell 1.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its industrial machinery peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: MTW (Manitowoc) rose 73.7%, while CAT (Caterpillar) fell 15.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** DE has run far ahead of the market, rising 38.3% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. That said, it finished behind the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** DE turned $10,000 into $85,500 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. DE's 10-year return of 755% puts it ahead of 92% 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, DE has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, DE has a correlation of 0.46 over 5 years, more closely than 63% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, DE's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.98: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.1 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 66% as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** PCAR (PACCAR) earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.9% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 14.4% a year at 29.9%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** FAST (Fastenal, industrial distribution) and WAB (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, industrial machinery) earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years. FAST returned 15.8% a year at 24.6% volatility, against 14.4% a year at 29.9%.
  - **Whole market:** 145 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than DE 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 DE have grown?

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

- $10,000 invested in DE at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $436,954 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of DE, and GILD finished highest, at $1,571,438.

## DE 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.

- DE's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 73.3%, from January 2008 to March 2009. It took 22 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, DE's best was 2007, when it returned 98.6%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 58.1%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- DE is 10.7% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Industrials (Agricultural - Machinery)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $170B
- Volatility (5 years): 29.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.60
- Worst decline ever: −73.3%, from January 14, 2008 to March 2, 2009; back at its high by January 13, 2011

| Period | DE total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −7.5% |
| 3 months | +8.1% |
| 6 months | +6.9% |
| year to date | +36.5% |
| 1 year | +38.3% |
| 3 years | +75.4% |
| 5 years | +96.1% |
| 10 years | +755% |

## DE against the whole market

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

### How does DE rank among all stocks?

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

- DE's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 5% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | DE | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +38.3% | 771 of 3,287 (top 24%) |
| 3-year return | +75.4% | 1,184 of 3,017 (top 40%) |
| 5-year return | +96.1% | 706 of 2,893 (top 25%) |
| 10-year return | +755% | 171 of 2,202 (top 8%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 29.9% | 707 of 2,893 (top 25%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.60 | 667 of 2,893 (top 24%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −37.9% | 102 of 2,187 (top 5%) |

### What has beaten DE 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).

- 91 stocks and 54 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than DE over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 4% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half DE's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 17% less than DE's 29.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.60 for DE.
- Among DE's popular alternatives, PCAR is in the region. PCAR earned 17.9% a year against 14.4% a year for DE, at 26.1% volatility, 13% less than DE's 29.9%.

### Is there a better investment than DE?

The table below lists investments that beat DE 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 DE's popular alternatives, PCAR earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.9% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 14.4% a year at 29.9%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, FAST (industrial distribution) and WAB (industrial machinery) earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years. FAST returned 15.8% a year at 24.6% volatility, against 14.4% a year at 29.9%.
- Across the whole market, 145 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, WMT and JPM.

The 15 strongest of 145 investments that beat DE 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 DE | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DE: Deere & Company (this page) |  | +14.4% | 29.9% | 0.60 | −37.9% | +755% |  |  |
| [GILD](https://easycompare.io/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +200% | 0.39 | 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% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [FAST](https://easycompare.io/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +15.8% | 24.6% | 0.72 | −30.7% | +576% | 0.44 | 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% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +38.7% | 25.0% | 1.44 | −38.1% | +586% | 0.30 | 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% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +15.8% | 20.0% | 0.84 | −42.0% | +310% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +347% | 0.41 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [E](https://easycompare.io/research/e): Eni S.p.A. | Integrated Oil & Gas | +23.0% | 25.6% | 0.94 | −61.4% | +278% | 0.24 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | Life Insurance | +22.6% | 24.0% | 0.97 | −57.5% | +373% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +685% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +226% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [AMGN](https://easycompare.io/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +19.6% | 24.9% | 0.85 | −24.9% | +266% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## DE against its popular alternatives

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

### How do DE'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.

- Only PCAR was both more rewarding and calmer than DE over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- 15 of the 20 popular alternatives earned less than DE over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, DE returned 14.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (29.9% against 17.1%).

### Has DE consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 20 popular alternatives outperformed DE in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was URI.
- PCAR earned more for the risk it took than DE (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.
- CAT outperformed DE over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so DE has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of DE | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DE: Deere & Company (this page) | +38.3% | +75.4% | +96.1% | +755% |  |  | 0.60 |
| [URI](https://easycompare.io/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | +5.2% | +164% | +196% | +1,270% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | +37.7% | +203% | +288% | +936% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.01 |
| CF: CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | +43.4% | +52.2% | +117% | +516% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| [PCAR](https://easycompare.io/research/pcar): PACCAR Inc | +15.7% | +50.2% | +128% | +314% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| AG: First Majestic Silver Corp. | +11.7% | +189% | +26.1% | +93.8% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| MTW: The Manitowoc Company, Inc. | +98.2% | +69.4% | +8.4% | +28.0% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| WNC: Wabash National Corporation | +45.3% | −34.4% | −12.4% | +15.8% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.19 |
| MLR: Miller Industries, Inc. | +30.1% | +49.5% | +66.2% | +192% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| TRMB: Trimble Inc. | −20.9% | +27.3% | −28.2% | +111% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.03 |
| CNH: CNH Industrial N.V. | +10.9% | +10.3% | −24.3% | +78.9% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| ASTE: Astec Industries, Inc. | −16.1% | −3.3% | −21.1% | −26.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| CTVA: Corteva, Inc. | −79.0% | −73.5% | −69.2% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.04 |
| NTR: Nutrien Ltd. | +23.9% | +30.4% | +13.9% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |
| OSK: Oshkosh Corp | +0.1% | +57.3% | +36.2% | +192% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.35 |
| AGCO: AGCO Corporation | −2.0% | −2.5% | −7.5% | +155% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| ALG: Alamo Group Inc. | −18.1% | −7.4% | +4.3% | +141% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.18 |
| TEX: Terex Corporation | −3.4% | +14.8% | +21.6% | +141% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| LNN: Lindsay Corporation | −16.2% | −4.3% | −29.2% | +56.3% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.05 |
| CMCO: Columbus McKinnon Corporation | −3.5% | −53.6% | −69.7% | −12.7% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.21 |
| TWI: Titan International, Inc. | −9.1% | −44.2% | −7.4% | −33.0% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.25 |

### How did DE do year by year?

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

- DE finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, DE finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 12 of 21.
- Among its popular alternatives, URI came out ahead of DE most often, in 17 of the 28 years both traded.

| Year | DE | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +11.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +7.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −5.5% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +26.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +28.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +58.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +18.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −2.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +54.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +39.0% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How DE 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 DE's worst declines?

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

- In all three of DE's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after DE fell 53.9% from March to October 1998; it did not regain that peak until August 2003, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −73.3% | January 14, 2008 | March 2, 2009 | January 13, 2011 | −48.8% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −53.9% | March 27, 1998 | October 8, 1998 | August 19, 2003 | −11.3% |  |
| −49.9% | April 17, 1990 | October 16, 1990 | August 13, 1993 | — |  |
| −43.7% | October 15, 1987 | October 27, 1987 | February 24, 1988 | — |  |
| −37.9% | November 11, 2019 | March 23, 2020 | July 29, 2020 | −26.9% | Covid crash |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, CTVA held up best, falling less than DE in all three crashes they both traded through.
- DE fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when DE fell 73.3% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

| Crash | Dates | DE fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −37.3% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −73.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −24.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −24.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.9% | −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 | −37.4% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −33.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −6.7% | −3.4% |

### How closely does DE 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.

- None of the 18 popular alternatives with the same record had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than DE's 1.67.
- Over the past 10 years, DE captured 110% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 66% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.98. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DE: Deere & Company (this page) | 110% | 66.0% | 0.98 |
| [URI](https://easycompare.io/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | 177% | 165% | 1.90 |
| [CAT](https://easycompare.io/research/cat): Caterpillar Inc. | 148% | 122% | 1.27 |
| CF: CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | 102% | 78.0% | 0.82 |
| [PCAR](https://easycompare.io/research/pcar): PACCAR Inc | 103% | 108% | 0.97 |
| AG: First Majestic Silver Corp. | 77.0% | 114% | 0.96 |
| MTW: The Manitowoc Company, Inc. | 153% | 279% | 2.07 |
| WNC: Wabash National Corporation | 115% | 217% | 1.64 |
| MLR: Miller Industries, Inc. | 96.0% | 117% | 1.07 |
| TRMB: Trimble Inc. | 121% | 187% | 1.46 |
| CNH: CNH Industrial N.V. | 113% | 168% | 1.48 |
| ASTE: Astec Industries, Inc. | 69.0% | 155% | 1.35 |
| OSK: Oshkosh Corp | 127% | 178% | 1.41 |
| AGCO: AGCO Corporation | 99.0% | 121% | 1.22 |
| ALG: Alamo Group Inc. | 80.0% | 97.0% | 1.05 |
| TEX: Terex Corporation | 133% | 199% | 1.60 |
| LNN: Lindsay Corporation | 43.0% | 50.0% | 0.53 |
| CMCO: Columbus McKinnon Corporation | 121% | 231% | 1.35 |
| TWI: Titan International, Inc. | 113% | 241% | 1.98 |

### What diversifies DE?

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 DE into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+16.4% for DE alone, +17.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and SMH have moved largely independently of DE over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in six of the nine calendar years in which DE lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with DE | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in DE's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.46 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 9 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.34 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 3 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.28 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.12 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 9 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.42 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.48 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 2 of 9 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.48 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.47 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 2 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was DE's worst drawdown?

DE's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 73.3%, from January 2008 to March 2009. It took 22 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, DE's best year was 2007, when it returned 98.6%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -58.1%.

### Is there a better investment than DE?

Among DE's popular alternatives, PCAR earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years: 17.9% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 14.4% a year at 29.9%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, FAST (industrial distribution) and WAB (industrial machinery) earned more than DE with less volatility over the past 5 years. FAST returned 15.8% a year at 24.6% volatility, against 14.4% a year at 29.9%.

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

Yes. DE's volatility over the past 5 years was 29.9%, 1.7 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, DE's return lands within 29.9% 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 DE's Sharpe ratio?

DE's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.60, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so DE 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 DE with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, DE's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.46 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 DE instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a DE holding.

### What are the best alternatives to DE?

None of the 20 popular alternatives we compared outperformed DE in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about DE's strength than about its alternatives.

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

DE finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +11.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

DE fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when DE fell 73.3% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies DE?

These had a low correlation with DE over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.46), DXJ (correlation 0.34) and SMH (correlation 0.28); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.45), CLS (correlation 0.23) and FIX (correlation 0.39). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [United Rentals (URI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/uri)
- [Caterpillar (CAT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cat)
- [PACCAR (PCAR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pcar)
- [Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schd)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vti)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tsm)
- [Space Exploration Technologies (SPCX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spcx)

## Explore further

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