# How Cheniere Energy (LNG) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/lng
> 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 LNG alone. It places LNG (Cheniere Energy, Inc.) 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 LNG stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: LNG's full trading record, from April 1994 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** LNG has bounced back 27.5% from its December 2025 low after a 24.9% loss from January 2025 to December 2025 over the same months the S&P 500 rose 16.1%. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 6 months, TRGP (Targa Resources) rose 27.6% and ENB (Enbridge) fell 4.6%.
- **Stock or market?:** LNG held up far better than its industry: it rose 7.2% over the past 3 months while the oil & gas ETF FLNG (FLEX LNG) fell 7.3%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Last month cut against the tape: LNG rose 3.0% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, LNG rose 29.3% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. On the flip side, LNG led its oil & gas peers in 2023, then fell behind TRGP (Targa Resources) and OKE (ONEOK) in 2025.
- **Long term:** LNG turned $10,000 into $71,600 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. LNG's 10-year return of 616% 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:** LNG fell harder than the S&P 500 in six of seven sell-offs. The 2022 bear market was the exception: LNG fell 17.8%, less than the S&P 500's 24.5%.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, LNG has a correlation of 0.04 over 5 years, less closely than 98% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is a real diversifier. LNG's link to the S&P 500 has loosened: a correlation of 0.04 over the past 5 years, down from 0.68 in the 5 years before.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** XOM (Exxonmobil) and WMB (Williams Companies) earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years. XOM returned 27.1% a year at 26.5% volatility, against 23.4% a year at 30.2%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PAA (Plains All American Pipeline, oil & gas midstream) and PAGP (Plains GP, oil & gas midstream) earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years. PAA returned 27.0% a year at 25.6% volatility, against 23.4% a year at 30.2%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 18 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM (Exxonmobil), ABBV (AbbVie) and HSBC.

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

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

- $10,000 invested in LNG at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $451,390 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 LNG, and RS finished highest, at $621,583.

## LNG 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.

- LNG's deepest decline since it began trading in 1994 was 99.7%, from April 1994 to November 2001. It took about 20 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, LNG's best was 2003, when it returned 815%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 91.3%. It lost money in 11 of those years.
- LNG is 4.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Energy (Oil & Gas Midstream)
- Trading since: April 4, 1994
- Market value: $59B
- Volatility (5 years): 30.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.85
- Worst decline ever: −99.7%, from April 5, 1994 to November 30, 2001; back at its high by March 25, 2022

| Period | LNG total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +3.0% |
| 3 months | +7.2% |
| 6 months | +12.8% |
| year to date | +44.3% |
| 1 year | +29.3% |
| 3 years | +69.8% |
| 5 years | +186% |
| 10 years | +616% |

## LNG against the whole market

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

### How does LNG rank among all stocks?

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

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), LNG ranks in the top 8% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | LNG | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +29.3% | 992 of 3,287 (top 31%) |
| 3-year return | +69.8% | 1,257 of 3,017 (top 42%) |
| 5-year return | +186% | 352 of 2,893 (top 13%) |
| 10-year return | +616% | 229 of 2,202 (top 11%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 30.2% | 743 of 2,893 (top 26%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.85 | 230 of 2,893 (top 8%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −57.5% | 783 of 2,187 (top 36%) |

### What has beaten LNG 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).

- 16 stocks and two ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than LNG over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half LNG's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 18% less than LNG's 30.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.85 for LNG.
- Among LNG's popular alternatives, XOM and WMB are in the region. XOM earned 27.1% a year against 23.4% a year for LNG, at 26.5% volatility, 12% less than LNG's 30.2%.

### Is there a better investment than LNG?

The table below lists investments that beat LNG 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 LNG's popular alternatives, XOM and WMB earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years. XOM returned 27.1% a year at 26.5% volatility, against 23.4% a year at 30.2%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PAA (oil & gas midstream) and PAGP (oil & gas midstream) earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years. PAA returned 27.0% a year at 25.6% volatility, against 23.4% a year at 30.2%.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 18 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them XOM, ABBV and HSBC.

The 15 strongest of 18 investments that beat LNG 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 LNG | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LNG: Cheniere Energy, Inc. (this page) |  | +23.4% | 30.2% | 0.85 | −57.5% | +616% |  |  |
| [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 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% | 0.00 | 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% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [GWW](https://easycompare.io/research/gww): W.W. Grainger, Inc. | Industrial Distribution | +26.3% | 24.9% | 1.07 | −41.6% | +654% | 0.19 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Medical - Care Facilities | +32.0% | 28.5% | 1.12 | −35.3% | +394% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [WELL](https://easycompare.io/research/well): Welltower Inc. | Healthcare REITs | +26.0% | 23.8% | 1.09 | −63.3% | +379% | 0.12 | 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% | -0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [WAB](https://easycompare.io/research/wab): Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation | Industrial Machinery | +25.6% | 26.2% | 1.00 | −64.1% | +264% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| RS: Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. | Metals & Mining | +24.8% | 28.1% | 0.93 | −40.8% | +626% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [XOM](https://easycompare.io/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | Integrated Oil & Gas | +27.1% | 26.5% | 1.04 | −61.0% | +214% | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PAA: Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | Oil & Gas Midstream | +27.0% | 25.6% | 1.06 | −87.9% | +64.0% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PAGP: Plains GP Holdings LP | Oil & Gas Midstream | +26.8% | 26.1% | 1.05 | −88.0% | +56.3% | 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% | — | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EPU: iShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF | International | +29.5% | 24.9% | 1.17 | −51.0% | +275% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | Banks | +33.1% | 25.9% | 1.24 | −62.3% | +319% | -0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## LNG against its popular alternatives

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

### How do LNG'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.

- XOM, WMB and MPLX were both more rewarding and calmer than LNG over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, LNG returned 23.4% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (30.2% against 17.1%).

### Has LNG consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares LNG with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Two of the 19 popular alternatives, TRGP and XOM, outperformed LNG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- KMI earned more for the risk it took than LNG (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 LNG | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LNG: Cheniere Energy, Inc. (this page) | +29.3% | +69.8% | +186% | +616% |  |  | 0.85 |
| [TRGP](https://easycompare.io/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | +98.1% | +260% | +473% | +829% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.27 |
| [XOM](https://easycompare.io/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | +62.4% | +76.7% | +232% | +214% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.04 |
| [WMB](https://easycompare.io/research/wmb): The Williams Companies, Inc. | +14.9% | +125% | +200% | +288% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 1.04 |
| GLNG: Golar LNG Limited | +19.2% | +108% | +262% | +117% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| [SHEL](https://easycompare.io/research/shel): Shell plc | +50.3% | +77.1% | +159% | +233% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [KMI](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | +26.9% | +129% | +136% | +163% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.88 |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | +27.2% | +105% | +187% | +350% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.22 |
| [TRP](https://easycompare.io/research/trp): TC Energy Corporation | +24.9% | +136% | +66.7% | +160% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| [ENB](https://easycompare.io/research/enb): Enbridge Inc. | +8.5% | +84.0% | +54.3% | +103% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| EE: Excelerate Energy, Inc. | +18.5% | +118% | — | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| [OKE](https://easycompare.io/research/oke): ONEOK, Inc. | +42.8% | +59.9% | +86.8% | +233% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| EQT: EQT Corporation | −1.8% | +35.0% | +175% | +69.1% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| VG: Venture Global, Inc. | +36.9% | — | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| CQP: Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. | +33.3% | +40.6% | +103% | +319% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| FLNG: FLEX LNG Ltd | +21.6% | +27.6% | +139% | +303% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.65 |
| [BKR](https://easycompare.io/research/bkr): Baker Hughes Company | +22.1% | +70.1% | +146% | +248% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| [EPD](https://easycompare.io/research/epd): Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | +28.4% | +65.2% | +113% | +178% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.98 |
| [SRE](https://easycompare.io/research/sre): Sempra | −8.0% | +32.7% | +47.5% | +114% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| NEXT: Nextdecade Corp | +0.5% | +35.6% | +84.7% | −38.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.53 |

### How did LNG do year by year?

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

- LNG finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, EQT came out ahead of LNG most often, in 17 of the 29 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, LNG finished in the top quarter in 12 of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in ten. In 2025, it ranked 16 of 19.

| Year | LNG | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −8.7% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +27.2% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +15.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +49.3% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +69.5% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −1.7% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +3.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +9.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +29.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +11.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How LNG 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 LNG's worst declines?

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

- In all five of LNG's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: LNG fell 99.7% from April 1994 to November 2001, while the S&P 500 rose 187%.
- The slowest recovery came after LNG fell 99.7% from April 1994 to November 2001; it did not regain that peak until March 2022, 20 years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −99.7% | April 5, 1994 | November 30, 2001 | March 25, 2022 | +187% | dot-com bust |
| −24.9% | January 16, 2025 | December 15, 2025 | March 6, 2026 | +16.1% |  |
| −24.1% | March 27, 2026 | May 29, 2026 | September 2, 2026 | +19.3% |  |
| −22.8% | November 1, 2022 | May 30, 2023 | November 22, 2023 | +10.2% | 2023 regional bank crisis |
| −17.8% | March 25, 2022 | July 13, 2022 | July 29, 2022 | −16.0% | 2022 bear market |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, ENB held up best, falling less than LNG in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- LNG fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when LNG fell 66.5% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

| Crash | Dates | LNG fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −84.4% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −97.7% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −62.4% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −66.5% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −21.3% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −46.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −17.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −1.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does LNG 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.

- None of the 16 popular alternatives with the same record had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than LNG's 2.65.
- Over the past 10 years, LNG captured 79% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 30% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.77. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LNG: Cheniere Energy, Inc. (this page) | 79.0% | 30.0% | 0.77 |
| [TRGP](https://easycompare.io/research/trgp): Targa Resources Corp. | 156% | 157% | 1.85 |
| [XOM](https://easycompare.io/research/xom): Exxonmobil Holdings Corporation | 78.0% | 83.0% | 0.76 |
| [WMB](https://easycompare.io/research/wmb): The Williams Companies, Inc. | 85.0% | 78.0% | 1.02 |
| GLNG: Golar LNG Limited | 67.0% | 67.0% | 0.47 |
| [SHEL](https://easycompare.io/research/shel): Shell plc | 60.0% | 43.0% | 0.45 |
| [KMI](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | 68.0% | 82.0% | 0.82 |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | 87.0% | 76.0% | 1.16 |
| [TRP](https://easycompare.io/research/trp): TC Energy Corporation | 67.0% | 73.0% | 0.72 |
| [ENB](https://easycompare.io/research/enb): Enbridge Inc. | 60.0% | 74.0% | 0.73 |
| [OKE](https://easycompare.io/research/oke): ONEOK, Inc. | 103% | 126% | 1.38 |
| EQT: EQT Corporation | 62.0% | 101% | 0.90 |
| CQP: Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. | 72.0% | 48.0% | 0.69 |
| [BKR](https://easycompare.io/research/bkr): Baker Hughes Company | 127% | 160% | 1.37 |
| [EPD](https://easycompare.io/research/epd): Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | 81.0% | 94.0% | 0.93 |
| [SRE](https://easycompare.io/research/sre): Sempra | 48.0% | 49.0% | 0.60 |
| NEXT: Nextdecade Corp | 32.0% | 95.0% | 0.82 |

### What diversifies LNG?

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 LNG into SMH would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+23.7% for LNG alone, +28.4% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of LNG over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.49 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- HWM made money in seven of the 11 calendar years in which LNG lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with LNG | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in LNG's 11 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.14 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 11 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | -0.07 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 11 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.49 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 11 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.32 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 11 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | -0.19 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 3 of 11 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | -0.03 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 3 of 11 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | -0.04 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 5 of 11 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | -0.08 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 11 |

## Common questions

### What was LNG's worst drawdown?

LNG's deepest decline since it began trading in 1994 was 99.7%, from April 1994 to November 2001. It took about 20 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, LNG's best year was 2003, when it returned 815%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -91.3%.

### Is there a better investment than LNG?

Among LNG's popular alternatives, XOM and WMB earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years. XOM returned 27.1% a year at 26.5% volatility, against 23.4% a year at 30.2%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PAA (oil & gas midstream) and PAGP (oil & gas midstream) earned more than LNG with less volatility over the past 5 years. PAA returned 27.0% a year at 25.6% volatility, against 23.4% a year at 30.2%.

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

Yes. LNG's volatility over the past 5 years was 30.2%, 1.8 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, LNG's return lands within 30.2% 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 LNG's Sharpe ratio?

LNG's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.85, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so LNG earned more 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 LNG with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, LNG's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.04 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They are close to unrelated, or move in opposite directions, so it can steady a stock portfolio. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against LNG instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a LNG holding.

### What are the best alternatives to LNG?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed LNG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: TRGP and XOM.

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

LNG finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -8.7%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

LNG fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when LNG fell 66.5% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies LNG?

These had a low correlation with LNG over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.14), DXJ (correlation -0.07) and EMLP (correlation 0.49); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.19), CLS (correlation -0.05) and FIX (correlation 0.03). 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/lng
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against LNG live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=LNG&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research