# ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed SMH (Semiconductors)

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-smh
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) screened against the entire market of over 10,000 stocks and ETFs over 8 periods from 1 month to 10 years, with dividends reinvested. To make the list, an investment had to outperform SMH in at least 3 of 5 short-term periods and 2 of 3 long-term periods. "All-weather" means outperforming in every long-term period and all but one short-term period. Returns in the tables are total returns over each period; volatility and Sharpe ratio cover 5 years.

## Key findings

- How hard it was to top SMH: The benchmark was difficult to top across over 10,000 stocks and ETFs. Of the eligible investments, 0 of 957 ETFs (0%) and 16 of 1502 stocks (1.1%) outperformed in at least 3 of 5 short-term periods and 2 of 3 long-term periods. Three stocks were all-weather, meaning they outperformed in every long-term period and all but one short-term period.
- Who came out ahead across the three groups:
- Popular alternatives: AMD and MU made the list, each outperforming in 4 of 5 short-term periods and 3 of 3 long-term periods. NVDA fell short with 2 of 5 short-term periods, despite 3 of 3 long-term periods, while TXN outperformed in 4 of 5 short-term periods but 0 of 3 long-term periods. SOXX, another semiconductor ETF, outperformed in 3 of 5 short-term periods and 0 of 3 long-term periods.
- Top ETFs: No ETFs made the cut, so there are no qualifying ETF standouts to name.
- Top stocks: 16 stocks made the cut. The leaders shown include AMD and MU in Technology semiconductors, plus DELL and STX in Technology computer hardware. The first two outperformed in 4 of 5 short-term periods and 3 of 3 long-term periods; DELL did the same, while STX outperformed in 3 of 5 short-term periods and 3 of 3 long-term periods.
- The risk trade-off: The top stocks had much higher volatility than SMH over 5 years: their median was 57.3%, compared with 36.9% for the benchmark. Still, 6 of 10 stocks shown had a higher Sharpe ratio, a measure of return relative to risk, than SMH’s 0.97. No qualifying ETFs were available for comparison.

## How popular alternatives compare

| Investment | Status | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SMH: VanEck Semiconductor ETF (benchmark) |  |  | −8.3% | −2.2% | +17.8% | +46.4% | +57.8% | +290% | +323% | +1,665% | 36.9% | 0.97 |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | Made the list | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −13.1% | +6.2% | +94.5% | +139% | +122% | +425% | +359% | +7,583% | 57.6% | 0.82 |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | Made the list | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −14.2% | +3.6% | +99.9% | +184% | +334% | +1,246% | +1,244% | +5,243% | 57.1% | 1.20 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | Fell short | 2/5 short, 3/3 long | −4.8% | +6.6% | +7.4% | +14.9% | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 51.9% | 1.14 |
| [TXN](https://easycompare.io/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | Fell short | 4/5 short, 0/3 long | +2.6% | −1.7% | +20.1% | +59.1% | +58.7% | +105% | +60.5% | +424% | 33.7% | 0.45 |
| [SOXX](https://easycompare.io/research/soxx): iShares Semiconductor ETF | Fell short | 3/5 short, 0/3 long | −10.6% | −4.5% | +19.9% | +59.7% | +71.2% | +234% | +237% | +1,392% | 38.9% | 0.82 |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | Fell short | 3/5 short, 0/3 long | +0.2% | +4.0% | +24.6% | +25.6% | +29.9% | +99.0% | +133% | +1,168% | 28.0% | 0.75 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | Fell short | 3/5 short, 0/3 long | +6.0% | +32.5% | +27.7% | +13.2% | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% | 28.2% | 0.56 |
| [VGT](https://easycompare.io/research/vgt): Vanguard Information Technology ETF | Fell short | 3/5 short, 0/3 long | −4.2% | +6.3% | +19.1% | +27.6% | +26.7% | +138% | +133% | +779% | 26.0% | 0.78 |
| [XLK](https://easycompare.io/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | Fell short | 3/5 short, 0/3 long | −4.8% | +5.7% | +20.3% | +29.0% | +29.3% | +131% | +143% | +767% | 26.0% | 0.82 |
| [INTC](https://easycompare.io/research/intc): Intel Corp. | Fell short | 3/5 short, 0/3 long | −24.7% | −5.5% | +39.6% | +133% | +141% | +167% | +79.8% | +219% | 55.6% | 0.49 |
| [QQQ](https://easycompare.io/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | Fell short | 2/5 short, 0/3 long | −3.2% | +3.2% | +11.2% | +17.4% | +17.9% | +106% | +97.2% | +553% | 23.0% | 0.71 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | Fell short | 2/5 short, 0/3 long | −0.6% | +3.9% | +9.1% | +13.5% | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 17.1% | 0.79 |
| [IWM](https://easycompare.io/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | Fell short | 1/5 short, 0/3 long | −3.4% | −5.4% | −0.1% | +11.6% | +12.3% | +71.3% | +29.0% | +158% | 22.4% | 0.34 |
| XSD: State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF | Fell short | 0/5 short, 0/3 long | −10.0% | −5.8% | +11.5% | +40.9% | +35.0% | +166% | +132% | +857% | 40.8% | 0.62 |

## ETFs that consistently outperformed SMH

No eligible ETF outperformed SMH in at least 3 of 5 short-term periods and 2 of 3 long-term periods.

## Stocks that consistently outperformed SMH

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Market cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SMH: VanEck Semiconductor ETF (benchmark) |  | −8.3% | −2.2% | +17.8% | +46.4% | +57.8% | +290% | +323% | +1,665% | 36.9% | 0.97 |  |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −13.1% | +6.2% | +94.5% | +139% | +122% | +425% | +359% | +7,583% | 57.6% | 0.82 | $873B |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −14.2% | +3.6% | +99.9% | +184% | +334% | +1,246% | +1,244% | +5,243% | 57.1% | 1.20 | $1.0T |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −19.6% | +21.3% | +127% | +265% | +217% | +636% | +800% | +3,701% | 54.4% | 1.08 | $294B |
| [STX](https://easycompare.io/research/stx): Seagate Technology Holdings plc | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −23.0% | −15.8% | +25.3% | +136% | +217% | +975% | +866% | +2,698% | 48.7% | 1.18 | $154B |
| [LITE](https://easycompare.io/research/lite): Lumentum Holdings Inc. | 3/5 short, 3/3 long | −13.8% | +7.4% | −8.1% | +113% | +411% | +2,029% | +863% | +1,904% | 64.5% | 1.03 | $75B |
| [NTRA](https://easycompare.io/research/ntra): Natera, Inc. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +9.5% | +54.6% | +95.4% | +77.4% | +115% | +896% | +261% | +3,841% | 57.6% | 0.74 | $59B |
| BWLP: BW LPG Limited | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | −1.7% | +22.6% | +44.0% | +117% | +136% | +230% | +958% | +2,672% | 50.9% | 1.19 | $3.8B |
| [MRVL](https://easycompare.io/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | −6.6% | +23.4% | +62.7% | +169% | +181% | +390% | +264% | +1,874% | 65.2% | 0.72 | $211B |
| [ASX](https://easycompare.io/research/asx): ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | −6.8% | +10.5% | +40.6% | +144% | +217% | +469% | +631% | +967% | 43.0% | 1.15 | $90B |
| PTGX: Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | −4.8% | +2.8% | +30.8% | +58.3% | +79.9% | +857% | +360% | +528% | 66.8% | 0.80 | $8.9B |

## What stands out

The results point to a narrow group of stocks, rather than a broad ETF category, as the consistent sources of outperformance against SMH. Technology companies dominate the top-stock list, including semiconductor firms AMD and MU and computer hardware companies DELL and STX. That pattern held over the long term for the top three, which each outperformed in 3 of 3 long-term periods and 4 of 5 short-term periods. Other names had stronger short-term records but managed 2 of 3 long-term periods.

That record came with a bumpier ride. The top stocks’ median volatility was much higher than SMH’s, although 6 of 10 had higher Sharpe ratios, suggesting that about half delivered more return relative to risk over the measured period. The list is also concentrated in Technology, so it does not show broad market leadership. These comparisons describe past performance, not what will happen next.

## More research

- [ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed XLK (Technology Sector)](https://easycompare.io/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-xlk)
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- [ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed AAPL (Apple)](https://easycompare.io/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-aapl)
- [ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed MSFT (Microsoft)](https://easycompare.io/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-msft)

## Explore further

- Full page: https://easycompare.io/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-smh
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt