# How Fortinet (FTNT) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

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

Period covered: FTNT's full trading record, from November 2009 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, FTNT rose 107% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Its cybersecurity peers were far apart over the past 6 months, from OKTA (up 156%) to CSCO (Cisco Systems, up 22.6%).
- **Stock or market?:** Not a move of its own: the cybersecurity ETF CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF) rose 9.4% over the past 3 months, with CRWD (CrowdStrike, up 14.5%) and NET (Cloudflare, up 7.0%), against 3.9% for the S&P 500. Its cybersecurity peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: ZS (Zscaler) rose 43.2%, while CSCO (Cisco Systems) fell 3.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** FTNT has run far ahead of the market, rising 101% 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 (203% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** FTNT turned $10,000 into $273,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. FTNT's 10-year return of 2,626% puts it ahead of 99% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across five sell-offs, FTNT has typically fallen 1.8 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Over 10 years, FTNT's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.09: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.6 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 92% as much. FTNT is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.36 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.37 with the total US market, less closely than 57% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years: 32.9% a year at 42.2% volatility, against 20.7% a year at 44.8%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, semiconductors) and SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF, semiconductors) earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years. TSM returned 31.5% a year at 38.5% volatility, against 20.7% a year at 44.8%.
  - **Whole market:** 179 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing), LLY (Eli Lilly and Company) and XOM (Exxonmobil).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in FTNT over the past 14 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of FTNT over the same span and FTNT's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in FTNT at the end of September 2012 would have grown to $370,856 by September 2026, more than the $67,346 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of FTNT, and AVGO finished highest, at $1,377,337.

## FTNT 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.

- FTNT's deepest decline since it began trading in 2009 was 51.2%, from August 2015 to February 2016. It took 24 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 16 full calendar years, FTNT's best was 2021, when it returned 142%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 32.0%. It lost money in five of those years.
- FTNT is 12.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Infrastructure)
- Trading since: November 18, 2009
- Market value: $125B
- Volatility (5 years): 44.8%; Sharpe ratio: 0.65
- Worst decline ever: −51.2%, from August 5, 2015 to February 9, 2016; back at its high by February 15, 2018

| Period | FTNT total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −2.5% |
| 3 months | +6.6% |
| 6 months | +107% |
| year to date | +119% |
| 1 year | +101% |
| 3 years | +203% |
| 5 years | +156% |
| 10 years | +2,626% |

## FTNT against the whole market

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

### How does FTNT rank among all stocks?

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

- FTNT's 10-year return ranks in the top 1% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | FTNT | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +101% | 170 of 3,287 (top 6%) |
| 3-year return | +203% | 395 of 3,017 (top 14%) |
| 5-year return | +156% | 431 of 2,893 (top 15%) |
| 10-year return | +2,626% | 26 of 2,202 (top 2%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 44.8% | 1,684 of 2,893 (top 59%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.65 | 564 of 2,893 (top 20%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −38.3% | 113 of 2,187 (top 6%) |

### What has beaten FTNT 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).

- 161 stocks and 18 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than FTNT over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 5% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half FTNT's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 45% less than FTNT's 44.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.65 for FTNT. INSW earned the most, 56.5% a year, while still swinging less than FTNT (40.5% against 44.8%).
- Among FTNT's popular alternatives, HPE is in the region. HPE earned 32.9% a year against 20.7% a year for FTNT, at 42.2% volatility, 6% less than FTNT's 44.8%.

### Is there a better investment than FTNT?

The table below lists investments that beat FTNT 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 FTNT's popular alternatives, HPE earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years: 32.9% a year at 42.2% volatility, against 20.7% a year at 44.8%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, TSM (semiconductors) and SMH (semiconductors) earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years. TSM returned 31.5% a year at 38.5% volatility, against 20.7% a year at 44.8%.
- Across the whole market, 179 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them TSM, LLY and XOM.

The 15 strongest of 179 investments that beat FTNT 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 FTNT | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FTNT: Fortinet, Inc. (this page) |  | +20.7% | 44.8% | 0.65 | −38.3% | +2,626% |  |  |
| [MPC](https://easycompare.io/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil & Gas | +51.2% | 33.4% | 1.41 | −79.7% | +1,387% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| INSW: International Seaways, Inc. | Oil & Gas | +56.5% | 40.5% | 1.31 | −57.4% | — | -0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [VLO](https://easycompare.io/research/vlo): Valero Energy Corporation | Oil & Gas | +44.2% | 36.9% | 1.18 | −71.9% | +1,061% | -0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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 |
| [COR](https://easycompare.io/research/cor): Cencora, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +24.2% | 22.8% | 1.07 | −32.4% | +406% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| CAKE: The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated | Restaurants | +25.8% | 39.9% | 0.78 | −75.6% | +187% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | Computer Hardware | +32.9% | 42.2% | 0.89 | −56.9% | +483% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DTM: DT Midstream, Inc. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +24.5% | 25.2% | 1.00 | −23.6% | — | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [PBR-A](https://easycompare.io/research/pbr-a): Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras | Integrated Oil & Gas | +51.8% | 37.5% | 1.31 | −71.7% | +768% | -0.16 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [HWM](https://easycompare.io/research/hwm): Howmet Aerospace Inc. | Aerospace & Defense | +47.3% | 32.5% | 1.36 | −68.9% | +1,028% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FSS: Federal Signal Corporation | Industrial Machinery | +23.3% | 31.7% | 0.82 | −33.0% | +882% | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +23.5% | 18.8% | 1.22 | −75.2% | +350% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [XOM](https://easycompare.io/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | Integrated Oil & Gas | +27.1% | 26.5% | 1.04 | −61.0% | +214% | -0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## FTNT against its popular alternatives

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

### How do FTNT'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.

- AVGO, HPE and PANW were both more rewarding and calmer than FTNT over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, FTNT returned 20.7% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (44.8% against 17.1%).

### Has FTNT consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares FTNT 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 21 popular alternatives, HPE, outperformed FTNT in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- ANET outperformed FTNT over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so FTNT has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of FTNT | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FTNT: Fortinet, Inc. (this page) | +101% | +203% | +156% | +2,626% |  |  | 0.65 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | +150% | +296% | +315% | +483% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.89 |
| [ANET](https://easycompare.io/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | +23.7% | +289% | +634% | +3,439% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.06 |
| [CRWD](https://easycompare.io/research/crwd): CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. | +80.6% | +409% | +221% | — | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −3.5% | +305% | +617% | +2,380% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 1.11 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | +60.6% | +180% | +299% | +1,274% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.86 |
| [NET](https://easycompare.io/research/net): Cloudflare, Inc. | +36.8% | +391% | +66.1% | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| OKTA: Okta, Inc. | +120% | +157% | −24.3% | — | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| QLYS: Qualys, Inc. | +49.2% | +22.3% | +65.9% | +412% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| FFIV: F5, Inc. | +54.0% | +208% | +120% | +287% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| ZS: Zscaler, Inc. | −29.9% | +32.3% | −27.9% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.18 |
| VRNS: Varonis Systems, Inc. | −21.8% | +51.1% | −23.3% | +412% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.20 |
| RDWR: Radware Ltd. | +14.4% | +84.0% | −16.3% | +136% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| CHKP: Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. | −27.1% | +4.6% | +14.8% | +82.7% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.24 |
| [DDOG](https://easycompare.io/research/ddog): Datadog, Inc. | +64.1% | +198% | +61.4% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| S: SentinelOne, Inc. | +28.4% | +37.7% | −64.8% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| TENB: Tenable Holdings, Inc. | +31.0% | −8.7% | −24.0% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| TLS: Telos Corporation | −37.9% | +89.3% | −83.8% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | +53.8% | +118% | +118% | +374% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| ATEN: A10 Networks, Inc. | +40.8% | +134% | +92.7% | +180% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| AKAM: Akamai Technologies, Inc. | +20.7% | −13.8% | −17.1% | +58.0% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |

### How did FTNT do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2010, along with where FTNT ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, FTNT finished in the top quarter in five of 16 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 19 of 22.
- FTNT finished ahead of the S&P 500 in nine of its 16 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, ANET came out ahead of FTNT most often, in eight of the 11 years both traded.

| Year | FTNT | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −16.0% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +61.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +19.7% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −32.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +142% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +39.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +51.5% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +61.2% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +45.2% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | −3.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How FTNT 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 FTNT's worst declines?

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

- In all five of FTNT's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: FTNT fell 41.8% from April 2012 to June 2013, while the S&P 500 rose 15.5%.
- The slowest recovery came after FTNT fell 51.2% from August 2015 to February 2016; it did not regain that peak until February 2018, two years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −51.2% | August 5, 2015 | February 9, 2016 | February 15, 2018 | −10.7% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −42.3% | July 6, 2011 | September 23, 2011 | April 2, 2012 | −14.8% | 2011 euro debt crisis |
| −41.8% | April 5, 2012 | June 24, 2013 | December 17, 2014 | +15.5% |  |
| −38.3% | July 17, 2023 | November 7, 2023 | October 9, 2024 | −2.7% |  |
| −37.6% | February 6, 2020 | March 16, 2020 | May 7, 2020 | −28.2% | Covid crash |

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

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

- FTNT fell further than the S&P 500 in seven of the eight crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when FTNT fell 50.2% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, CHKP held up best, falling less than FTNT in all eight crashes they both traded through.
- FTNT began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but six of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was CHKP's 34.4%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | FTNT fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −4.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −23.0% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −50.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −29.0% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −36.5% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −30.6% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −4.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does FTNT 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, FTNT captured 159% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 92% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.09. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- Only PANW, ANET and AVGO had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than FTNT's 1.72, out of 13 popular alternatives with the same record.
- AVGO took just 86% of the S&P 500's losses, against 92% for FTNT, while still keeping 158% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FTNT: Fortinet, Inc. (this page) | 159% | 92.0% | 1.09 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | 116% | 102% | 1.31 |
| [ANET](https://easycompare.io/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | 174% | 91.0% | 1.40 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | 158% | 86.0% | 1.19 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | 118% | 49.0% | 1.14 |
| QLYS: Qualys, Inc. | 81.0% | 51.0% | 0.63 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| FFIV: F5, Inc. | 87.0% | 84.0% | 1.04 |
| VRNS: Varonis Systems, Inc. | 99.0% | 89.0% | 1.00 |
| RDWR: Radware Ltd. | 80.0% | 104% | 0.88 |
| CHKP: Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. | 59.0% | 83.0% | 0.58 |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | 101% | 96.0% | 0.97 |
| ATEN: A10 Networks, Inc. | 86.0% | 101% | 1.04 |
| AKAM: Akamai Technologies, Inc. | 57.0% | 66.0% | 0.55 |

### What diversifies FTNT?

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 FTNT into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+25.1% for FTNT alone, +25.7% for the mix).
- MPC made money in five of the five calendar years in which FTNT lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of FTNT over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.12 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with FTNT | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in FTNT's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | -0.02 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 5 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.12 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 5 of 5 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.09 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 4 of 5 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.10 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 5 of 5 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.33 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 4 of 5 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.25 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 4 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.11 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.40 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was FTNT's worst drawdown?

FTNT's deepest decline since it began trading in 2009 was 51.2%, from August 2015 to February 2016. It took 24 months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because FTNT launched in November 2009, that record does not include the dot-com bust or the 2008 financial crisis.

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

Over 16 full calendar years, FTNT's best year was 2021, when it returned 142%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -32.0%.

### Is there a better investment than FTNT?

Among FTNT's popular alternatives, HPE earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years: 32.9% a year at 42.2% volatility, against 20.7% a year at 44.8%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, TSM (semiconductors) and SMH (semiconductors) earned more than FTNT with less volatility over the past 5 years. TSM returned 31.5% a year at 38.5% volatility, against 20.7% a year at 44.8%.

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

Yes. FTNT's volatility over the past 5 years was 44.8%, 2.6 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, FTNT's return lands within 44.8% 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 FTNT's Sharpe ratio?

FTNT's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.65, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so FTNT 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 FTNT with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, FTNT's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.36 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They are only loosely linked, which makes it a real diversifier next to an index fund. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against FTNT instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a FTNT holding.

### What are the best alternatives to FTNT?

Of the 21 popular alternatives we compared, one outperformed FTNT in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: HPE.

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

FTNT finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in nine of 16 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -16.0%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

FTNT fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the eight major crashes it has traded through, and further in seven. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when FTNT fell 50.2% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies FTNT?

These had a low correlation with FTNT over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation -0.02), DXJ (correlation 0.12) and EMLP (correlation 0.09); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.15), CLS (correlation 0.08) and FIX (correlation 0.21). 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/ftnt
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against FTNT live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=FTNT&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research