# How Altria Group (MO) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/mo
> 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 MO alone. It places MO (Altria Group, Inc.) against 9 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 MO stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: MO'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:** MO has outpaced the market, rising 19.1% 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, PM (Philip Morris International) rose 29.0% and TPB (Turning Point Brands) fell 23.6%.
- **Stock or market?:** MO rose 1.6% over the past 3 months, 2.5 points behind the tobacco ETF XLP (State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF), which rose 4.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. On the flip side, last month cut against the tape: MO rose 8.9% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, MO rose 23.7% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (118% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** MO turned $10,000 into $24,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: MO rose 126% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** MO fell less than the S&P 500 in five of seven sell-offs, but the late-2018 sell-off broke the pattern: it fell 26.6%, more than the S&P 500's 19.3%.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, MO has a correlation of 0.30 over 5 years, less closely than 70% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CCEP (Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, food & beverages) was ahead of MO in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only six of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them MPLX, DXJ (WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund) and EWP (iShares MSCI Spain ETF).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in MO at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $372,045 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 MO, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## MO 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.

- MO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 65.4%, from November 1998 to February 2000. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- MO is trading within 1% of its all-time high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, MO's best was 2000, when it returned 105%, and its worst was 1999, when it lost 54.5%. It lost money in six of those years.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Staples (Tobacco)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $125B
- Volatility (5 years): 21.4%; Sharpe ratio: 0.88
- Worst decline ever: −65.4%, from November 23, 1998 to February 14, 2000; back at its high by March 9, 2001

| Period | MO total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +8.9% |
| 3 months | +1.6% |
| 6 months | +19.1% |
| year to date | +36.6% |
| 1 year | +23.7% |
| 3 years | +118% |
| 5 years | +126% |
| 10 years | +140% |

## MO against the whole market

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

### How does MO rank among all stocks?

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

- MO is among the steadier stocks: its price swings rank in the top 4% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | MO | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +23.7% | 1,144 of 3,287 (top 35%) |
| 3-year return | +118% | 783 of 3,017 (top 26%) |
| 5-year return | +126% | 546 of 2,893 (top 19%) |
| 10-year return | +140% | 1,126 of 2,202 (top 52%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 21.4% | 130 of 2,893 (top 5%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.88 | 198 of 2,893 (top 7%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −53.7% | 605 of 2,187 (top 28%) |

### What has beaten MO 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).

- One stock and five ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than MO 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 MO's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 11% less than MO's 21.4%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.88 for MO.

### Is there a better investment than MO?

The table below lists investments that beat MO 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 MO's popular alternatives, PM earned more than MO over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 21.0% a year at 23.4% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 21.4%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CCEP (food & beverages) was ahead of MO in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only six of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MO with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them MPLX, DXJ and EWP.

The 5 strongest of 6 investments that beat MO 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 MO | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MO: Altria Group, Inc. (this page) |  | +17.8% | 21.4% | 0.88 | −53.7% | +140% |  |  |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +23.5% | 18.8% | 1.22 | −75.2% | +350% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DBJP: Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | International | +20.9% | 19.2% | 1.09 | −31.3% | +348% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| SDCI: USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund | Bonds | +20.6% | 18.4% | 1.12 | −45.7% | — | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | Broad Market | +19.2% | 20.3% | 0.97 | −46.4% | +196% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## MO against its popular alternatives

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

### How do MO'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 nine popular alternatives earned more than MO over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Five of the nine popular alternatives earned less than MO over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, MO returned 17.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (21.4% against 17.1%).

### Has MO consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares MO 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 nine popular alternatives, PM, outperformed MO in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- PM and KO earned more for the risk they took than MO (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 MO | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MO: Altria Group, Inc. (this page) | +23.7% | +118% | +126% | +140% |  |  | 0.88 |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | +30.9% | +144% | +159% | +242% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.94 |
| TPB: Turning Point Brands, Inc. | −26.2% | +206% | +43.2% | +441% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [BTI](https://easycompare.io/research/bti): British American Tobacco p.l.c. | +22.5% | +148% | +136% | +98.2% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | +40.2% | +86.8% | +98.2% | +204% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.91 |
| [BUD](https://easycompare.io/research/bud): Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | +36.7% | +66.6% | +58.7% | −20.0% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| STZ: Constellation Brands, Inc. | −3.3% | −38.5% | −33.2% | −6.6% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.19 |
| [PEP](https://easycompare.io/research/pep): PepsiCo, Inc. | −9.2% | −6.7% | −2.3% | +72.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| UVV: Universal Corporation | −20.6% | +4.0% | +10.5% | +25.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| TAP: Molson Coors Beverage Company | −9.9% | −23.7% | +4.6% | −51.6% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.17 |

### How did MO do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, MO finished in the top quarter in 11 of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 5 of 10.
- MO finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 17 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, TPB came out ahead of MO most often, in six of the nine years both traded.

| Year | MO | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +18.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +40.8% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −3.7% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +4.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +24.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −10.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +7.9% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −27.1% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +9.4% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +20.4% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How MO 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 MO's worst declines?

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

- Not every decline was the market's doing: MO fell 65.4% from November 1998 to February 2000, while the S&P 500 rose 18.5%.
- The slowest recovery came after MO fell 53.7% from June 2017 to March 2020; it did not regain that peak until July 2024, four years later.
- In three of MO's four worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −65.4% | November 23, 1998 | February 14, 2000 | March 9, 2001 | +18.5% |  |
| −53.7% | June 19, 2017 | March 23, 2020 | July 10, 2024 | −3.9% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −48.4% | June 4, 2002 | April 1, 2003 | December 11, 2003 | −16.4% | dot-com bust |
| −46.3% | September 24, 1992 | April 28, 1993 | June 22, 1995 | — |  |
| −38.6% | January 9, 2008 | November 20, 2008 | April 12, 2010 | −45.4% | 2008 financial crisis |

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

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

- MO fell less than the S&P 500 in seven of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when MO fell 38.6% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.
- None of its popular alternatives fell less than MO in most of the crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | MO fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −35.8% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −38.6% | −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 | −7.6% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −8.5% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.7% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −26.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −31.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −25.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −0.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does MO 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, MO captured 51% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 51% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.53. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Only KO, PM and TPB had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than MO's 1.01, out of nine popular alternatives with the same record.
- KO took just 44% of the S&P 500's losses, against 51% for MO, while still keeping 57% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MO: Altria Group, Inc. (this page) | 51.0% | 51.0% | 0.53 |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | 70.0% | 60.0% | 0.58 |
| TPB: Turning Point Brands, Inc. | 102% | 89.0% | 0.78 |
| [BTI](https://easycompare.io/research/bti): British American Tobacco p.l.c. | 51.0% | 67.0% | 0.55 |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | 57.0% | 44.0% | 0.47 |
| [BUD](https://easycompare.io/research/bud): Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV | 51.0% | 125% | 1.04 |
| STZ: Constellation Brands, Inc. | 48.0% | 111% | 0.79 |
| [PEP](https://easycompare.io/research/pep): PepsiCo, Inc. | 48.0% | 65.0% | 0.48 |
| UVV: Universal Corporation | 51.0% | 86.0% | 0.66 |
| TAP: Molson Coors Beverage Company | 23.0% | 103% | 0.75 |

### What diversifies MO?

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 MO into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+16.8% for MO alone, +17.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and DBEF have moved largely independently of MO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.39 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and FIX have moved largely independently of MO over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.28 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with MO | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in MO's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.27 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 6 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.08 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 6 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.39 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.15 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.32 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 6 |
| FDVV: Fidelity High Dividend ETF | 0.49 | +85.9% | 14.6% | 0.92 | 2 of 6 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.41 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 1 of 6 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.20 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 2 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was MO's worst drawdown?

MO's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 65.4%, from November 1998 to February 2000. It took 13 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, MO's best year was 2000, when it returned 105%. Its worst was 1999, with a return of -54.5%.

### Is there a better investment than MO?

Among MO's popular alternatives, PM earned more than MO over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 21.0% a year at 23.4% volatility, against 17.8% a year at 21.4%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CCEP (food & beverages) was ahead of MO in most short and long periods.

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

Yes. MO's volatility over the past 5 years was 21.4%, 1.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, MO's return lands within 21.4% 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 MO's Sharpe ratio?

MO's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.88, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so MO 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 MO with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, MO's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.30 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 MO instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a MO holding.

### What are the best alternatives to MO?

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

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

MO finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 17 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +18.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

MO fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in seven of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in three. The clearest case was the 2008 financial crisis, when MO fell 38.6% and the S&P 500 fell 55.2%.

### What diversifies MO?

These had a low correlation with MO over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.27), SMH (correlation 0.08) and DBEF (correlation 0.39); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.28), CLS (correlation 0.05) and FIX (correlation 0.25). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Philip Morris International (PM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pm)
- [British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bti)
- [Coca-Cola (KO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ko)
- [Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/bud)
- [PepsiCo (PEP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pep)
- [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)
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- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)
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- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vti)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/mo
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against MO live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=MO&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research