# ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed TLT (Long-Term Treasuries)

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

TLT (iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond 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 TLT 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 TLT: It was easy for most eligible investments to outperform iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF. Of 957 eligible ETFs, 855, or 89%, outperformed in a majority of the short- and long-term periods, and 764 were all-weather. Among 1,502 eligible stocks, 996, or 66%, cleared the bar, and 628 were all-weather.
- Who came out ahead across the three groups:
  - Popular alternatives: SPY, VTI, and VB each outperformed in all 5 short-term and all 3 long-term periods. Bond alternatives SHV, AGG, and IEF also cleared the bar in all those periods, while JNK, HYG, LQD, and TLH outperformed in 4 of 5 short-term and all 3 long-term periods. SGOV outperformed in 5 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term periods. No same-index funds were excluded.
  - Top ETFs: Broad-market funds led the table, with 9 of the top ETFs in that category. Standouts include EQL, which had lower volatility than TLT, and DXJ, UGA, and IGV, which all outperformed in 5 of 5 short-term and 3 of 3 long-term periods.
  - Top stocks: 996 stocks made the cut. The leading examples span technology, healthcare, consumer staples, and energy, including SHOP in technology, NTRA and LLY in healthcare, and COKE in consumer staples.
- The risk trade-off: Over 5 years, the top ETFs had median volatility of 17.4%, above TLT's 15.7%, and only 1 of 15 was less volatile. The top stocks had much larger swings, with median volatility of 52.2%. Still, all 15 top ETFs and all 10 top stocks had higher Sharpe ratios than TLT, meaning their returns per unit of risk were higher over that period.

## How popular alternatives compare

| Investment | Status | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TLT: iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (benchmark) |  |  | −1.6% | −3.7% | −6.1% | −5.1% | −8.8% | +9.0% | −33.1% | −20.1% | 15.7% | -0.44 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | +3.9% | +9.1% | +13.5% | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 17.1% | 0.79 |
| [VTI](https://easycompare.io/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.8% | +3.2% | +8.3% | +13.1% | +15.2% | +87.9% | +72.6% | +302% | 17.5% | 0.71 |
| [VB](https://easycompare.io/research/vb): Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.8% | −1.8% | +1.3% | +11.2% | +13.7% | +66.8% | +35.2% | +179% | 20.6% | 0.40 |
| SHV: iShares Trust iShares 0-1 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +0.3% | +0.9% | +1.8% | +2.8% | +3.6% | +13.9% | +19.4% | +26.1% | 0.3% | 12.09 |
| SHY: iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +0.3% | −0.2% | −0.1% | +0.5% | +1.1% | +12.1% | +9.3% | +17.7% | 2.0% | 0.89 |
| [AGG](https://easycompare.io/research/agg): iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | −1.7% | −2.6% | −1.7% | −1.9% | +16.2% | −1.5% | +13.3% | 6.1% | -0.02 |
| [BND](https://easycompare.io/research/bnd): Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | −2.0% | −2.8% | −1.8% | −2.1% | +15.7% | −1.8% | +13.2% | 6.1% | -0.03 |
| [IEF](https://easycompare.io/research/ief): iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | −2.8% | −4.2% | −3.5% | −4.1% | +12.4% | −8.0% | +3.0% | 7.7% | -0.18 |
| JNK: State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −2.0% | −2.2% | −1.7% | −0.3% | +1.1% | +27.8% | +16.1% | +49.7% | 7.6% | 0.43 |
| HYG: iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −1.9% | −2.1% | −1.8% | −0.4% | +0.7% | +27.5% | +16.8% | +49.5% | 7.5% | 0.45 |
| LQD: iShares iBoxx $ Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −1.4% | −2.4% | −3.9% | −2.9% | −3.9% | +19.7% | −4.3% | +20.5% | 8.7% | -0.06 |
| TLH: iShares 10-20 Year Treasury Bond ETF | Made the list | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −1.4% | −3.0% | −5.0% | −4.1% | −6.2% | +13.8% | −22.0% | −11.7% | 12.6% | -0.34 |
| [SGOV](https://easycompare.io/research/sgov): iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF | Made the list | 5/5 short, 2/3 long | +0.3% | +0.6% | +1.5% | +2.6% | +3.4% | +13.8% | +20.3% | — | 0.3% | 13.25 |

## ETFs that consistently outperformed TLT

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Expense | Assets |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TLT: iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (benchmark) |  | −1.6% | −3.7% | −6.1% | −5.1% | −8.8% | +9.0% | −33.1% | −20.1% | 15.7% | -0.44 |  |  |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | 0.0% | +4.7% | +9.9% | +25.0% | +36.4% | +127% | +225% | +428% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 0.48% | $8.1B |
| UGA: United States Gasoline Fund, LP | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.9% | +16.9% | +40.5% | +130% | +130% | +111% | +221% | +399% | 35.1% | 0.84 | 1.08% | $167M |
| EQL: ALPS Equal Sector Weight ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +1.7% | +3.0% | +5.1% | +12.5% | +14.2% | +76.7% | +88.1% | +387% | 14.5% | 0.94 | 0.19% | $781M |
| IGV: iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.2% | +15.0% | +23.9% | +4.2% | −6.1% | +57.9% | +24.0% | +383% | 28.9% | 0.29 | 0.38% | $15B |
| XONE: BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +0.3% | +0.7% | +1.3% | +2.1% | +2.9% | +13.6% | +161% | +379% | 43.5% | 0.68 | 0.03% | $847M |
| OEF: iShares S&P 100 ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −1.1% | +4.6% | +10.4% | +12.6% | +14.8% | +98.4% | +94.8% | +367% | 17.8% | 0.84 | 0.20% | $20B |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −1.1% | +4.6% | +9.3% | +14.2% | +19.9% | +105% | +107% | +361% | 17.2% | 0.94 | 0.40% | $9.2B |
| IWL: iShares Russell Top 200 ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.9% | +4.4% | +9.4% | +12.7% | +15.0% | +92.6% | +86.8% | +354% | 17.3% | 0.81 | 0.15% | $2.2B |
| MGC: Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −1.0% | +4.4% | +10.0% | +13.6% | +16.0% | +94.9% | +87.8% | +353% | 17.4% | 0.81 | 0.05% | $11B |
| BNO: United States Brent Oil Fund LP | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +13.6% | +35.6% | +40.9% | +137% | +141% | +108% | +196% | +348% | 37.1% | 0.77 | 1.15% | $768M |
| CRAK: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +1.6% | +20.3% | +41.5% | +73.9% | +81.5% | +121% | +146% | +336% | 20.9% | 0.97 | 0.61% | $810M |
| [SPYM](https://easycompare.io/research/spym): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.5% | +3.9% | +9.1% | +13.5% | +15.9% | +89.8% | +82.5% | +324% | 16.9% | 0.80 | 0.02% | $184B |
| [VV](https://easycompare.io/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.7% | +3.9% | +9.4% | +13.4% | +15.4% | +90.6% | +78.8% | +324% | 17.3% | 0.76 | 0.03% | $76B |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | +3.9% | +9.1% | +13.5% | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 16.9% | 0.80 | 0.03% | $1.7T |
| [IVV](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | +3.9% | +9.1% | +13.5% | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 17.0% | 0.80 | 0.03% | $880B |

## Stocks that consistently outperformed TLT

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Market cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TLT: iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (benchmark) |  | −1.6% | −3.7% | −6.1% | −5.1% | −8.8% | +9.0% | −33.1% | −20.1% | 15.7% | -0.44 |  |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +25.8% | +39.4% | +28.4% | +10.4% | +5.3% | +239% | +16.6% | +3,916% | 66.9% | 0.38 | $225B |
| [NTRA](https://easycompare.io/research/ntra): Natera, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +9.5% | +54.6% | +95.4% | +77.4% | +115% | +896% | +261% | +3,841% | 57.6% | 0.74 | $59B |
| MEDP: Medpace Holdings, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.3% | +17.9% | +17.8% | +9.0% | +14.3% | +172% | +231% | +1,914% | 52.0% | 0.70 | $17B |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +10.2% | +12.1% | +40.0% | +19.4% | +59.7% | +124% | +451% | +1,807% | 32.8% | 1.21 | $1.2T |
| CDNA: CareDx, Inc | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +27.4% | +80.3% | +225% | +262% | +355% | +1,203% | −3.8% | +1,634% | 79.5% | 0.39 | $3.6B |
| CORT: Corcept Therapeutics Incorporated | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +2.4% | +27.2% | +151% | +205% | +48.2% | +317% | +498% | +1,593% | 75.9% | 0.81 | $13B |
| COKE: Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +12.3% | +17.3% | +14.9% | +42.9% | +61.7% | +255% | +461% | +1,569% | 38.0% | 1.10 | $14B |
| CVI: CVR Energy, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +16.4% | +79.1% | +106% | +147% | +78.5% | +115% | +304% | +1,424% | 52.3% | 0.80 | $6.2B |
| [MPC](https://easycompare.io/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +18.1% | +51.1% | +123% | +191% | +159% | +234% | +690% | +1,387% | 33.4% | 1.41 | $133B |
| [URI](https://easycompare.io/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +1.4% | +3.3% | +29.0% | +24.3% | +5.2% | +164% | +196% | +1,270% | 39.1% | 0.75 | $65B |

## What stands out

TLT holds long-term Treasury bonds, while the leading alternatives include broad-market and international funds, a gasoline fund, and software stocks. The broad mix of ETF categories suggests that the result was not limited to one investment theme. The selected stocks were more concentrated: healthcare companies were especially common among the table's leading names, alongside technology, consumer staples, and energy.

The screen required a long history and outperformance across both short- and long-term periods, so the results were not limited to recent gains. However, the higher volatility among the leaders shows that their stronger performance came with a bumpier ride, especially for stocks. Higher Sharpe ratios across every selected ETF and stock indicate that those larger swings were accompanied by stronger risk-adjusted returns over 5 years.

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## Explore further

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