# How Eaton (ETN) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/etn
> 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 ETN alone. It places ETN (Eaton Corporation plc) 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 ETN stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: ETN'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:** ETN has gone against the market, falling 5.8% over the past 6 months while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, EMR (Emerson Electric) rose 10.1% and VRT (Vertiv) fell 35.2%.
- **Stock or market?:** Not a move of its own: the electrical equipment ETF XLI (State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR ETF) fell 6.1% over the past 3 months, with GEV (GE Vernova, down 17.5%) and VRT (Vertiv, down 30.2%), while the S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its electrical equipment peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: ATKR (Atkore) rose 30.3%, while VRT fell 30.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, ETN rose 2.3% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. ETN led its electrical equipment peers in 2023, then fell behind GEV (GE Vernova) and EMR (Emerson Electric) in 2025.
- **Long term:** ETN turned $10,000 into $75,700 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. ETN's 10-year return of 657% puts it ahead of 90% 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, ETN has typically fallen 1.3 times as far as the S&P 500. That said, in the 2022 bear market, ETN held up better than VRT (Vertiv), ROK and GNRC; only HUBB (Hubbell) and NVT fell less.
- **Diversification:** ETN is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.64 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.65 with the total US market, more closely than 95% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** TT (Trane Technologies) earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 22.7% a year at 27.7% volatility, against 20.4% a year at 32.1%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PH (Parker-Hannifin, industrial machinery) and WAB (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, industrial machinery) earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years. PH returned 27.4% a year at 28.8% volatility, against 20.4% a year at 32.1%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 53 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM (Exxonmobil), ABBV (AbbVie) and HSBC.

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

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

- $10,000 invested in ETN at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $538,468 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 ETN, and GILD finished highest, at $1,571,438.

## ETN 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.

- ETN's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 68.9%, from July 2007 to March 2009. It took 20 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, ETN's best was 2010, when it returned 64.0%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 47.2%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- ETN is 17.0% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Industrials (Electrical Equipment & Parts)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $148B
- Volatility (5 years): 32.1%; Sharpe ratio: 0.74
- Worst decline ever: −68.9%, from July 23, 2007 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by November 4, 2010

| Period | ETN total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −12.3% |
| 3 months | −4.6% |
| 6 months | −5.8% |
| year to date | +17.7% |
| 1 year | +2.3% |
| 3 years | +104% |
| 5 years | +153% |
| 10 years | +657% |

## ETN against the whole market

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

### How does ETN rank among all stocks?

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

- ETN's 10-year return ranks in the top 10% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | ETN | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +2.3% | 1,896 of 3,287 (top 58%) |
| 3-year return | +104% | 884 of 3,017 (top 30%) |
| 5-year return | +153% | 441 of 2,893 (top 16%) |
| 10-year return | +657% | 211 of 2,202 (top 10%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 32.1% | 911 of 2,893 (top 32%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.74 | 372 of 2,893 (top 13%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −44.5% | 278 of 2,187 (top 13%) |

### What has beaten ETN 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).

- 44 stocks and nine ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than ETN over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half ETN's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 23% less than ETN's 32.1%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.74 for ETN.
- Among ETN's popular alternatives, TT is in the region. TT earned 22.7% a year against 20.4% a year for ETN, at 27.7% volatility, 14% less than ETN's 32.1%.

### Is there a better investment than ETN?

The table below lists investments that beat ETN 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 ETN's popular alternatives, TT earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 22.7% a year at 27.7% volatility, against 20.4% a year at 32.1%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PH (industrial machinery) and WAB (industrial machinery) earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years. PH returned 27.4% a year at 28.8% volatility, against 20.4% a year at 32.1%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 53 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM, ABBV and HSBC.

The 15 strongest of 53 investments that beat ETN 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 ETN | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ETN: Eaton Corporation plc (this page) |  | +20.4% | 32.1% | 0.74 | −44.5% | +657% |  |  |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.35 | 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% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GILD](https://easycompare.io/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +200% | -0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| IRM: Iron Mountain Incorporated | Specialty REITs | +24.6% | 30.3% | 0.88 | −39.0% | +470% | 0.58 | 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% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Medical - Care Facilities | +32.0% | 28.5% | 1.12 | −35.3% | +394% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| FLTW: Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF | Technology | +21.8% | 24.3% | 0.94 | −38.0% | — | 0.43 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| QTUM: Defiance Quantum ETF | Technology | +22.8% | 28.1% | 0.87 | −38.5% | — | 0.52 | 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% | -0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | Banks | +33.1% | 25.9% | 1.24 | −62.3% | +319% | 0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MUFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.2% | 29.4% | 1.13 | −54.9% | +483% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WELL](https://easycompare.io/research/well): Welltower Inc. | Healthcare REITs | +26.0% | 23.8% | 1.09 | −63.3% | +379% | 0.31 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [UBS](https://easycompare.io/research/ubs): UBS Group AG | Banks | +25.4% | 30.4% | 0.90 | −59.8% | +374% | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [BNY](https://easycompare.io/research/bny): Bank of New York Mellon Corp | Banks | +22.7% | 24.4% | 0.97 | −50.5% | +341% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## ETN against its popular alternatives

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

### How do ETN'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 TT and HUBB were both more rewarding and calmer than ETN over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, ETN returned 20.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (32.1% against 17.1%).

### Has ETN consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares ETN 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 PWR, TT and AZZ, outperformed ETN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- PWR and TT outperformed ETN in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- TT and HUBB earned more for the risk they took than ETN (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 ETN | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ETN: Eaton Corporation plc (this page) | +2.3% | +104% | +153% | +657% |  |  | 0.74 |
| [PWR](https://easycompare.io/research/pwr): Quanta Services, Inc. | +35.3% | +263% | +425% | +2,045% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.08 |
| [TT](https://easycompare.io/research/tt): Trane Technologies plc | +11.3% | +154% | +178% | +955% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.88 |
| AZZ: AZZ Inc. | +39.0% | +208% | +169% | +184% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.76 |
| NVT: nVent Electric plc | +40.0% | +203% | +356% | — | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.99 |
| POWL: Powell Industries, Inc. | +42.0% | +578% | +2,240% | +2,510% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.27 |
| [VRT](https://easycompare.io/research/vrt): Vertiv Holdings Co | +16.0% | +456% | +772% | — | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 1.01 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| HUBB: Hubbell Incorporated | +7.7% | +70.6% | +159% | +442% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| GNRC: Generac Holdings Inc. | −0.6% | +120% | −57.5% | +430% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | -0.04 |
| [CEG](https://easycompare.io/research/ceg): Constellation Energy Corporation | −29.7% | +135% | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| AMSC: American Superconductor Corporation | −57.9% | +327% | +49.4% | +272% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| [AME](https://easycompare.io/research/ame): AMETEK, Inc. | +32.8% | +78.1% | +96.1% | +481% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| ATKR: Atkore Inc. | +45.6% | −28.2% | +8.7% | +412% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [EMR](https://easycompare.io/research/emr): Emerson Electric Co. | +25.0% | +84.9% | +82.1% | +309% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| LFUS: Littelfuse, Inc. | +43.2% | +74.1% | +38.3% | +235% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| [ROK](https://easycompare.io/research/rok): Rockwell Automation, Inc. | +22.9% | +68.9% | +45.6% | +335% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| [GEV](https://easycompare.io/research/gev): GE Vernova Inc. | +50.1% | — | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| ENS: EnerSys | +38.8% | +96.5% | +128% | +188% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| [CARR](https://easycompare.io/research/carr): Carrier Global Corporation | −1.1% | +21.2% | +11.6% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |

### How did ETN do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, ETN finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 17 of 20.
- ETN finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, MSFT came out ahead of ETN most often, in 18 of the 29 years both traded.

| Year | ETN | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −2.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +39.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +56.2% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −7.2% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +46.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +31.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +42.8% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −10.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +21.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +33.8% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How ETN 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 ETN's worst declines?

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

- In all four of ETN's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: ETN fell 41.9% from October 1997 to August 1998, while the S&P 500 slipped only 0.2%.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 22 months, after ETN fell 47.6% from August to October 1987.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −68.9% | July 23, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | November 4, 2010 | −54.3% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −47.6% | August 20, 1987 | October 20, 1987 | August 24, 1989 | — |  |
| −44.5% | February 20, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 24, 2020 | −33.4% | Covid crash |
| −41.9% | October 9, 1997 | August 31, 1998 | July 19, 1999 | −0.2% |  |
| −40.7% | July 27, 1999 | October 12, 2000 | February 20, 2001 | −0.8% | dot-com bust |

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

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

- ETN fell further than the S&P 500 in seven of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2011 euro debt crisis, when ETN fell 34.6% and the S&P 500 fell 17.9%.
- Among its popular alternatives, HUBB held up best, falling less than ETN in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | ETN fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −31.6% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −68.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.4% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −34.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −22.3% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −26.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −44.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −26.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.5% | −3.4% |

### How closely does ETN 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.

- Over the past 10 years, ETN captured 114% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 80% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.16. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- Only PWR, POWL and TT had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than ETN's 1.43, out of 14 popular alternatives with the same record.
- PWR took just 61% of the S&P 500's losses, against 80% for ETN, while still keeping 141% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ETN: Eaton Corporation plc (this page) | 114% | 80.0% | 1.16 |
| [PWR](https://easycompare.io/research/pwr): Quanta Services, Inc. | 141% | 61.0% | 1.22 |
| [TT](https://easycompare.io/research/tt): Trane Technologies plc | 115% | 69.0% | 1.10 |
| AZZ: AZZ Inc. | 94.0% | 127% | 1.30 |
| POWL: Powell Industries, Inc. | 162% | 91.0% | 1.20 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| HUBB: Hubbell Incorporated | 108% | 101% | 1.03 |
| GNRC: Generac Holdings Inc. | 129% | 133% | 1.45 |
| AMSC: American Superconductor Corporation | 157% | 205% | 2.23 |
| [AME](https://easycompare.io/research/ame): AMETEK, Inc. | 111% | 101% | 1.15 |
| ATKR: Atkore Inc. | 155% | 185% | 2.10 |
| [EMR](https://easycompare.io/research/emr): Emerson Electric Co. | 124% | 153% | 1.39 |
| LFUS: Littelfuse, Inc. | 124% | 154% | 1.34 |
| [ROK](https://easycompare.io/research/rok): Rockwell Automation, Inc. | 122% | 138% | 1.46 |
| ENS: EnerSys | 113% | 148% | 1.31 |

### What diversifies ETN?

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 ETN into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+25.5% for ETN alone, +25.0% for the mix).
- CAH made money in seven of the nine calendar years in which ETN lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of ETN over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with ETN | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in ETN's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.27 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 9 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.35 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 9 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.46 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.02 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.15 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 9 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.33 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.46 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 2 of 9 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.44 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 3 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was ETN's worst drawdown?

ETN's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 68.9%, from July 2007 to March 2009. It took 20 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, ETN's best year was 2010, when it returned 64.0%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -47.2%.

### Is there a better investment than ETN?

Among ETN's popular alternatives, TT earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years: 22.7% a year at 27.7% volatility, against 20.4% a year at 32.1%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PH (industrial machinery) and WAB (industrial machinery) earned more than ETN with less volatility over the past 5 years. PH returned 27.4% a year at 28.8% volatility, against 20.4% a year at 32.1%.

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

Yes. ETN's volatility over the past 5 years was 32.1%, 1.9 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, ETN's return lands within 32.1% 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 ETN's Sharpe ratio?

ETN's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.74, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so ETN 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 ETN with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, ETN's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.64 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 ETN instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a ETN holding.

### What are the best alternatives to ETN?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, four outperformed ETN in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: PWR, TT and AZZ.

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

ETN finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -2.8%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

ETN fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in seven. The clearest case was the 2011 euro debt crisis, when ETN fell 34.6% and the S&P 500 fell 17.9%.

### What diversifies ETN?

These had a low correlation with ETN over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.27), DXJ (correlation 0.35) and EMLP (correlation 0.46); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.19), MCK (correlation 0.17) and MPC (correlation 0.19). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Quanta Services (PWR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pwr)
- [Trane Technologies (TT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tt)
- [Vertiv (VRT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vrt)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
- [Constellation Energy (CEG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ceg)
- [AMETEK (AME) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ame)
- [Emerson Electric (EMR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/emr)
- [Rockwell Automation (ROK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rok)
- [GE Vernova (GEV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/gev)
- [Carrier Global (CARR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/carr)
- [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/etn
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against ETN live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=ETN&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research