# How Alphabet (GOOG) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

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

Period covered: GOOG's full trading record, from August 2004 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:** GOOG has trailed the market, rising 0.4% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, MSFT (Microsoft) rose 27.7% and NFLX (Netflix) fell 27.6%.
- **Stock or market?:** GOOG fell 4.2% over the past 3 months, 4.0 points behind the internet services ETF XLC (State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF), which fell 0.2%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its internet services peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: MSFT (Microsoft) rose 32.5%, while BIDU (Baidu) fell 26.7%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, GOOG rose 31.2% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (148% against 89.3%). GOOG finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** GOOG turned $10,000 into $85,200 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. GOOG's 10-year return of 752% puts it ahead of 92% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** The 2022 bear market took 35.0% off GOOG, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than MSFT (Microsoft, 31.0%) but less than AMZN (Amazon.com, 39.6%).
- **Diversification:** GOOG is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.60 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.59 with the total US market, more closely than 91% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** NVDA (NVIDIA) was ahead of GOOG in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (51.9% volatility against 32.0%).
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MSGS (Madison Square Garden Sports, entertainment) matched GOOG's return over the past 5 years (18.4% a year against 19.0%) with 20% less volatility.
  - **Whole market:** 73 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than GOOG with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT (Walmart), XOM (Exxonmobil) and ABBV (AbbVie).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in GOOG over the past 22 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of GOOG over the same span and GOOG's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in GOOG at the end of September 2004 would have grown to $1,064,820 by September 2026, more than the $102,174 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of GOOG, and NVDA finished highest, at $20,721,476.

## GOOG 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.

- GOOG's deepest decline since it began trading in 2004 was 65.3%, from November 2007 to November 2008. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 21 full calendar years, GOOG's best was 2005, when it returned 115%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 55.5%. It lost money in five of those years.
- GOOG is 15.6% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Communication (Internet Content & Information)
- Trading since: August 19, 2004
- Market value: $4.1T
- Volatility (5 years): 32.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −65.3%, from November 6, 2007 to November 24, 2008; back at its high by September 24, 2012

| Period | GOOG total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −4.1% |
| 3 months | −4.2% |
| 6 months | +0.4% |
| year to date | +6.9% |
| 1 year | +31.2% |
| 3 years | +148% |
| 5 years | +138% |
| 10 years | +752% |

## GOOG against the whole market

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

### How does GOOG rank among all stocks?

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

- GOOG's 10-year return ranks in the top 8% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | GOOG | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +31.2% | 939 of 3,287 (top 29%) |
| 3-year return | +148% | 611 of 3,017 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +138% | 492 of 2,893 (top 18%) |
| 10-year return | +752% | 172 of 2,202 (top 8%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 32.0% | 907 of 2,893 (top 32%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 449 of 2,893 (top 16%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −44.6% | 279 of 2,187 (top 13%) |

### What has beaten GOOG 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).

- 57 stocks and 16 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than GOOG over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 2% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half GOOG's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 23% less than GOOG's 32.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.71 for GOOG.

### Is there a better investment than GOOG?

The table below lists investments that beat GOOG 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 GOOG's popular alternatives, NVDA was ahead of GOOG in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (51.9% volatility against 32.0%).
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MSGS (entertainment) matched GOOG's return over the past 5 years (18.4% a year against 19.0%) with 20% less volatility.
- Across the whole market, 73 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than GOOG with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT, XOM and ABBV.

The 15 strongest of 73 investments that beat GOOG 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 GOOG | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| GOOG: Alphabet Inc. (this page) |  | +19.0% | 32.0% | 0.71 | −44.6% | +752% |  |  |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | -0.22 | 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% | 0.54 | 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% | -0.08 | 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% | 0.19 | 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% | — | 0.54 | 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% | — | 0.62 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | Banks | +33.1% | 25.9% | 1.24 | −62.3% | +319% | 0.32 | 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% | 0.11 | 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% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.7% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −47.6% | +474% | 0.10 | 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% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TRV](https://easycompare.io/research/trv): The Travelers Companies, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +22.4% | 22.3% | 1.02 | −46.3% | +347% | -0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| 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 |
| [MFC](https://easycompare.io/research/mfc): Manulife Financial Corporation | Life Insurance | +22.6% | 24.0% | 0.97 | −57.5% | +373% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## GOOG against its popular alternatives

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

### How do GOOG'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.

- None of the 19 popular alternatives earned more than GOOG over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 15 of the 19 popular alternatives earned less than GOOG over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, GOOG returned 19.0% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (32.0% against 17.1%).

### Has GOOG consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares GOOG 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, NVDA, outperformed GOOG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- AAPL earned more for the risk it took than GOOG (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 GOOG | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| GOOG: Alphabet Inc. (this page) | +31.2% | +148% | +138% | +752% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.14 |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | +29.9% | +99.0% | +133% | +1,168% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| [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 |
| [SPOT](https://easycompare.io/research/spot): Spotify Technology S.A. | −22.1% | +251% | +109% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.55 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | −3.9% | +21.3% | −14.8% | +240% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [DIS](https://easycompare.io/research/dis): The Walt Disney Company | +1.2% | +39.3% | −32.5% | +31.7% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.12 |
| PINS: Pinterest, Inc. | −30.2% | −11.5% | −63.3% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| SNAP: Snap Inc. | −17.5% | −32.4% | −91.6% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.26 |
| [META](https://easycompare.io/research/meta): Meta Platforms, Inc. | −4.9% | +127% | +106% | +439% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.55 |
| Z: Zillow Group, Inc. Class C | −56.8% | −17.2% | −63.6% | −3.8% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.12 |
| [NFLX](https://easycompare.io/research/nflx): Netflix, Inc. | −44.5% | +71.3% | +9.9% | +457% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −52.1% | +33.3% | +45.1% | +300% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| YELP: Yelp Inc. | −38.3% | −51.9% | −48.5% | −41.0% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.17 |
| WB: Weibo Corporation | −38.4% | −25.4% | −82.0% | −82.5% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.44 |
| RDDT: Reddit, Inc. | −23.1% | — | — | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| TME: Tencent Music Entertainment Group | −61.3% | +35.2% | +4.9% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.30 |
| TTD: The Trade Desk, Inc. | −75.9% | −82.9% | −84.1% | +377% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.20 |
| BIDU: Baidu, Inc. | −34.1% | −24.4% | −55.5% | −54.0% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| BILI: Bilibili Inc. | −49.5% | +11.3% | −83.1% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.09 |

### How did GOOG do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2005, along with where GOOG ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- GOOG finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 21 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, GOOG finished in the top quarter in five of 21 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 1 of 21.
- Among its popular alternatives, AAPL came out ahead of GOOG most often, in 13 of the 21 years both traded.

| Year | GOOG | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +65.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +35.6% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +58.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −38.7% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +65.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +31.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +29.1% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −1.0% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +35.6% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +1.7% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How GOOG 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 GOOG's worst declines?

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

- In four of GOOG's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: GOOG fell 28.5% from January to March 2006, while the S&P 500 slipped only 0.4%.
- The slowest recovery came after GOOG fell 65.3% from November 2007 to November 2008; it did not regain that peak until September 2012, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −65.3% | November 6, 2007 | November 24, 2008 | September 24, 2012 | −42.9% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −44.6% | November 18, 2021 | November 3, 2022 | January 25, 2024 | −19.8% | 2022 bear market |
| −30.8% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | July 10, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −29.3% | February 4, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | August 25, 2025 | −17.3% |  |
| −28.5% | January 11, 2006 | March 13, 2006 | October 23, 2006 | −0.4% |  |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, MSFT held up best, falling less than GOOG in seven of the nine crashes they both traded through.
- GOOG began trading after the dot-com bust, but six of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was MSFT's 62.9%, against 47.5% for the S&P 500.
- GOOG fell further than the S&P 500 in four of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when GOOG fell 35.0% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

| Crash | Dates | GOOG 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 | −65.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.1% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −21.1% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −12.7% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −9.9% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −18.9% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −30.8% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −35.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does GOOG 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, GOOG captured 132% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 110% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.12. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Only NVDA, AAPL and MSFT had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than GOOG's 1.20, out of 14 popular alternatives with the same record.
- MSFT took just 91% of the S&P 500's losses, against 110% for GOOG, while still keeping 127% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| GOOG: Alphabet Inc. (this page) | 132% | 110% | 1.12 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | 137% | 94.0% | 1.15 |
| [MSFT](https://easycompare.io/research/msft): Microsoft Corporation | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| [DIS](https://easycompare.io/research/dis): The Walt Disney Company | 90.0% | 162% | 1.32 |
| [META](https://easycompare.io/research/meta): Meta Platforms, Inc. | 134% | 143% | 1.25 |
| Z: Zillow Group, Inc. Class C | 124% | 251% | 1.65 |
| [NFLX](https://easycompare.io/research/nflx): Netflix, Inc. | 122% | 105% | 1.18 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| YELP: Yelp Inc. | 52.0% | 156% | 1.14 |
| WB: Weibo Corporation | 15.0% | 144% | 0.63 |
| TTD: The Trade Desk, Inc. | 140% | 173% | 1.75 |
| BIDU: Baidu, Inc. | 56.0% | 159% | 0.79 |

### What diversifies GOOG?

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 GOOG into CAH would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+20.9% for GOOG alone, +25.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of GOOG over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.35 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- CAH made money in three of the five calendar years in which GOOG lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with GOOG | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in GOOG's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.21 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 5 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.35 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 5 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.20 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 5 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.14 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 2 of 5 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.44 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 1 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.25 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 5 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.44 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 0 of 5 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | -0.02 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 2 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was GOOG's worst drawdown?

GOOG's deepest decline since it began trading in 2004 was 65.3%, from November 2007 to November 2008. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high. Because GOOG launched in August 2004, that record does not include the dot-com bust.

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

Over 21 full calendar years, GOOG's best year was 2005, when it returned 115%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -55.5%.

### Is there a better investment than GOOG?

Among GOOG's popular alternatives, NVDA was ahead of GOOG in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (51.9% volatility against 32.0%). Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MSGS (entertainment) matched GOOG's return over the past 5 years (18.4% a year against 19.0%) with 20% less volatility.

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

Yes. GOOG's volatility over the past 5 years was 32.0%, 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, GOOG's return lands within 32.0% 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 GOOG's Sharpe ratio?

GOOG's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so GOOG 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 GOOG with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, GOOG's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.60 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 GOOG instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a GOOG holding.

### What are the best alternatives to GOOG?

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

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

GOOG finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 21 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +65.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

GOOG fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when GOOG fell 35.0% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies GOOG?

These had a low correlation with GOOG over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.21), DXJ (correlation 0.35) and EMLP (correlation 0.20); among large stocks, CAH (correlation -0.08), FIX (correlation 0.35) and MCK (correlation -0.05). 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/goog
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against GOOG live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=GOOG&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research