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

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/ebay
> 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 EBAY alone. It places EBAY (eBay 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 EBAY stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: EBAY's full trading record, from September 1998 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, W (Wayfair) rose 40.0% and BABA (Alibaba Group Holding) fell 21.7%. Over the past 6 months, EBAY rose 13.8% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** EBAY rose 6.5% over the past 3 months, 5.5 points ahead of the consumer discretionary sector ETF XLY (State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF), which rose 1.0%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Last month cut against the tape: EBAY rose 11.9% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** EBAY has outpaced the market, rising 28.3% over the past year against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (213% against 89.3%). EBAY finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** EBAY turned $10,000 into $47,400 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. That said, the past 5 years only trailed the S&P 500 (74.2% against 81.7%), after a much stronger decade (374% against 321%).
- **In a crash:** EBAY fell harder than the S&P 500 in six of seven sell-offs. The Covid crash was the exception: EBAY fell 31.6%, less than the S&P 500's 33.7%.
- **Diversification:** EBAY is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.69 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.70 with the total US market, more closely than 98% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** V (Visa) earned more than EBAY with less volatility over the past 5 years: 12.8% a year at 22.9% volatility, against 11.7% a year at 32.9%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) and TJX (TJX Companies, specialty retail) earned more than EBAY with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 11.7% a year at 32.9%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** The S&P 500 matched EBAY's return over the past 5 years (12.7% a year against 11.7%) with 48% less volatility.

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in EBAY over the past 19 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of EBAY over the same span and EBAY's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in EBAY at the end of September 2007 would have grown to $73,236 by September 2026, more than the $70,725 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of EBAY, and AMZN finished highest, at $534,633.

## EBAY 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.

- EBAY's deepest decline since it began trading in 1998 was 82.6%, from December 2004 to March 2009. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 27 full calendar years, EBAY's best was 2001, when it returned 103%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 57.9%. It lost money in six of those years.
- EBAY is 1.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Discretionary (Specialty Retail)
- Trading since: September 24, 1998
- Market value: $54B
- Volatility (5 years): 32.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.50
- Worst decline ever: −82.6%, from December 30, 2004 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by March 4, 2014

| Period | EBAY total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +11.9% |
| 3 months | +6.5% |
| 6 months | +13.8% |
| year to date | +40.5% |
| 1 year | +28.3% |
| 3 years | +213% |
| 5 years | +74.2% |
| 10 years | +374% |

## EBAY against the whole market

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

### How does EBAY rank among all stocks?

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

- EBAY's 3-year return ranks in the top 12% of the 3,017 stocks worth at least $300 million with 3 years of history.

| Measure | EBAY | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +28.3% | 1,018 of 3,287 (top 31%) |
| 3-year return | +213% | 365 of 3,017 (top 13%) |
| 5-year return | +74.2% | 867 of 2,893 (top 30%) |
| 10-year return | +374% | 452 of 2,202 (top 21%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 32.9% | 986 of 2,893 (top 35%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.50 | 916 of 2,893 (top 32%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −53.6% | 596 of 2,187 (top 28%) |

### What has beaten EBAY 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).

- 218 stocks and 160 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than EBAY over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 10% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half EBAY's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 25% less than EBAY's 32.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.50 for EBAY.
- Among EBAY's popular alternatives, V is in the region. V earned 12.8% a year against 11.7% a year for EBAY, at 22.9% volatility, 30% less than EBAY's 32.9%.

### Is there a better investment than EBAY?

The table below lists investments that beat EBAY 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 EBAY's popular alternatives, V earned more than EBAY with less volatility over the past 5 years: 12.8% a year at 22.9% volatility, against 11.7% a year at 32.9%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) and TJX (specialty retail) earned more than EBAY with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 11.7% a year at 32.9%.
- The S&P 500 matched EBAY's return over the past 5 years (12.7% a year against 11.7%) with 48% less volatility.

The 15 strongest of 378 investments that beat EBAY 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 EBAY | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EBAY: eBay Inc. (this page) |  | +11.7% | 32.9% | 0.50 | −53.6% | +374% |  |  |
| [FAST](https://easycompare.io/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +15.8% | 24.6% | 0.72 | −30.7% | +576% | 0.46 | 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% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | International Equity | +20.4% | 24.2% | 0.89 | −38.9% | +468% | 0.43 | 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% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; 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% | -0.03 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.7% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −47.6% | +474% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VRTX](https://easycompare.io/research/vrtx): Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated | Biotechnology | +22.6% | 29.1% | 0.85 | −41.6% | +521% | 0.03 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [XLK](https://easycompare.io/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | Technology Equity | +19.4% | 26.0% | 0.82 | −33.6% | +767% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GWW](https://easycompare.io/research/gww): W.W. Grainger, Inc. | Industrial Distribution | +26.3% | 24.9% | 1.07 | −41.6% | +654% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CTAS](https://easycompare.io/research/ctas): Cintas Corporation | Business Services | +16.5% | 23.1% | 0.78 | −48.4% | +808% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| CBOE: Cboe Global Markets, Inc. | Capital Markets | +21.5% | 25.1% | 0.91 | −43.2% | +463% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| RS: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. | Metals & Mining | +24.8% | 28.1% | 0.93 | −40.8% | +626% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +685% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | Communications Equipment | +16.8% | 26.1% | 0.73 | −42.0% | +374% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## EBAY against its popular alternatives

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

### How do EBAY'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 V and FDX were both more rewarding and calmer than EBAY over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- 15 of the 19 popular alternatives earned less than EBAY over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, EBAY returned 11.7% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (32.9% against 17.1%).

### Has EBAY consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Only one of the 20 popular alternatives, SHOP, outperformed EBAY in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- V earned more for the risk it took than EBAY (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in its worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of EBAY | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EBAY: eBay Inc. (this page) | +28.3% | +213% | +74.2% | +374% |  |  | 0.50 |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | +5.3% | +239% | +16.6% | +3,916% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.38 |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | +19.0% | +78.2% | +82.5% | +429% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| GCT: GigaCloud Technology Inc. | +117% | +589% | — | — | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| ETSY: Etsy, Inc. | +22.5% | +34.7% | −62.5% | +511% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| [FDX](https://easycompare.io/research/fdx): FedEx Corporation | +56.7% | +63.1% | +76.6% | +156% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| REAL: The RealReal, Inc. | −6.4% | +641% | −15.0% | — | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.44 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | −10.6% | +60.7% | +17.2% | +1,002% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| W: Wayfair Inc. | +36.6% | +159% | −54.2% | +213% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| GLBE: Global-e Online Ltd. | +25.5% | +19.4% | −35.6% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| XRT: State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF | +4.3% | +53.4% | +1.6% | +137% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| [PYPL](https://easycompare.io/research/pypl): PayPal Holdings, Inc. | −16.5% | +8.2% | −77.6% | +44.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.47 |
| [UPS](https://easycompare.io/research/ups): United Parcel Service, Inc. | +20.8% | −23.0% | −36.1% | +35.4% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.17 |
| JD: JD.com, Inc. | −18.0% | +20.2% | −64.3% | +14.4% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| [BABA](https://easycompare.io/research/baba): Alibaba Group Holding Limited | −36.8% | +44.5% | −34.8% | +11.2% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.08 |
| CHWY: Chewy, Inc. | −42.5% | +28.2% | −67.3% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.07 |
| CPNG: Coupang, Inc. | −54.8% | −18.9% | −50.3% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| [PDD](https://easycompare.io/research/pdd): PDD Holdings Inc. | −38.0% | −20.6% | −17.9% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| RVLV: Revolve Group, Inc. | +6.0% | +70.7% | −67.7% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| [SE](https://easycompare.io/research/se): Sea Limited | −51.5% | +80.3% | −77.7% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |

### How did EBAY do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1999, along with where EBAY ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- EBAY finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 27 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, SHOP came out ahead of EBAY most often, in seven of the ten years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, EBAY finished in the top quarter in five of 19 years and in the bottom quarter in four. In 2025, it ranked 6 of 21.

| Year | EBAY | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +42.7% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +44.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +7.7% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −36.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +33.8% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +41.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +30.6% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −25.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +27.1% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +8.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How EBAY 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 EBAY's worst declines?

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

- In all five of EBAY's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: EBAY fell 64.7% from April to August 1999, while the S&P 500 slipped only 2.5%.
- The slowest recovery came after EBAY fell 82.6% from December 2004 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until March 2014, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −82.6% | December 30, 2004 | March 9, 2009 | March 4, 2014 | −39.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −77.1% | March 24, 2000 | December 20, 2000 | December 19, 2003 | −17.1% | dot-com bust |
| −64.7% | April 29, 1999 | August 4, 1999 | March 16, 2000 | −2.5% |  |
| −53.6% | October 22, 2021 | September 30, 2022 | June 3, 2025 | −20.0% | 2022 bear market |
| −43.4% | February 1, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | May 29, 2020 | −15.2% | late-2018 sell-off |

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

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

- EBAY fell further than the S&P 500 in nine of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when EBAY fell 77.1% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, V held up best, falling less than EBAY in seven of the eight crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | EBAY fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −77.1% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −74.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −3.5% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −21.8% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −25.6% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −23.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −31.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −44.2% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −6.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does EBAY 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.

- V took just 79% of the S&P 500's losses, against 133% for EBAY, while still keeping 93% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, EBAY captured 113% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 133% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.23. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Five of the 12 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than EBAY's 0.85, led by MELI, V and SHOP.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EBAY: eBay Inc. (this page) | 113% | 133% | 1.23 |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | 233% | 203% | 2.09 |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | 93.0% | 79.0% | 0.87 |
| ETSY: Etsy, Inc. | 133% | 148% | 1.76 |
| [FDX](https://easycompare.io/research/fdx): FedEx Corporation | 116% | 166% | 1.29 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | 135% | 111% | 1.44 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| W: Wayfair Inc. | 230% | 356% | 3.06 |
| XRT: State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF | 91.0% | 125% | 1.27 |
| [PYPL](https://easycompare.io/research/pypl): PayPal Holdings, Inc. | 106% | 186% | 1.25 |
| [UPS](https://easycompare.io/research/ups): United Parcel Service, Inc. | 85.0% | 149% | 1.08 |
| JD: JD.com, Inc. | 51.0% | 92.0% | 0.57 |
| [BABA](https://easycompare.io/research/baba): Alibaba Group Holding Limited | 74.0% | 140% | 0.65 |

### What diversifies EBAY?

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 EBAY into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+10.7% for EBAY alone, +16.5% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, GCOW and HDV have moved largely independently of EBAY over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.48 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- XLE made money in four of the six calendar years in which EBAY lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with EBAY | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in EBAY's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.38 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 6 |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | 0.48 | +93.4% | 13.6% | 1.04 | 1 of 6 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.47 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 6 |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 0.48 | +135% | 19.7% | 0.97 | 1 of 6 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.49 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 1 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.09 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 6 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.43 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 2 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was EBAY's worst drawdown?

EBAY's deepest decline since it began trading in 1998 was 82.6%, from December 2004 to March 2009. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 27 full calendar years, EBAY's best year was 2001, when it returned 103%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -57.9%.

### Is there a better investment than EBAY?

Among EBAY's popular alternatives, V earned more than EBAY with less volatility over the past 5 years: 12.8% a year at 22.9% volatility, against 11.7% a year at 32.9%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) and TJX (specialty retail) earned more than EBAY with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 11.7% a year at 32.9%.

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

Yes. EBAY's volatility over the past 5 years was 32.9%, about twice the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, EBAY's return lands within 32.9% 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 EBAY's Sharpe ratio?

EBAY's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.50, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so EBAY 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 EBAY with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, EBAY's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.69 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 EBAY instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a EBAY holding.

### What are the best alternatives to EBAY?

Of the 20 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed EBAY in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: SHOP.

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

EBAY finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 27 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +42.7%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

EBAY fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in nine. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when EBAY fell 77.1% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies EBAY?

These had a low correlation with EBAY over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.38), GCOW (correlation 0.48) and HDV (correlation 0.47); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.07), CLS (correlation 0.29) and MCK (correlation -0.03). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

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