# How Microsoft (MSFT) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

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

Period covered: MSFT'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:** Over the past 3 months, MSFT rose 32.5% against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. After a 34.5% loss from October 2025 to June 2026, MSFT has bounced 49.4% off the low.
- **Stock or market?:** MSFT's 32.5% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the software ETF IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF) rose 15.0%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its software peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: SAP rose 44.6%, while GOOG (Alphabet) fell 4.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** The long record (ahead of 95% of the stocks worth at least $300 million over 10 years) has not carried into the past 3 years (ahead of 57% of them). MSFT has trailed the market, rising 3.8% 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 (66.6% against 89.3%).
- **Long term:** MSFT turned $10,000 into $105,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years only matched the S&P 500 (80.3% against 81.7%), after a much stronger decade (946% against 321%).
- **In a crash:** The 2022 bear market took 31.0% off MSFT, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than IBM (International Business Machines, 16.7%) but less than GOOG (Alphabet, 35.0%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, MSFT has a correlation of 0.63 over 5 years, more closely than 94% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) and CSCO (Cisco Systems, cybersecurity theme) earned more than MSFT with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 12.5% a year at 28.2%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** The S&P 500 matched MSFT's return over the past 5 years (12.7% a year against 12.5%) with 39% less volatility.
  - **Whole market:** 188 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MSFT with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them WMT (Walmart), JPM (JPMorgan Chase & Co.) and XOM (Exxonmobil).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in MSFT over the past 27 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of MSFT over the same span and MSFT's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in MSFT at the end of September 1999 would have grown to $185,654 by September 2026, more than the $95,018 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of MSFT, and NVDA finished highest, at $62,517,102.

## MSFT 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.

- MSFT's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 69.5%, from December 1999 to March 2009. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, MSFT's best was 1998, when it returned 115%, and its worst was 2000, when it lost 62.9%. It lost money in seven of those years.
- MSFT is 2.1% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Infrastructure)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $3.9T
- Volatility (5 years): 28.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.56
- Worst decline ever: −69.5%, from December 27, 1999 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by July 16, 2014

| Period | MSFT total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +6.0% |
| 3 months | +32.5% |
| 6 months | +27.7% |
| year to date | +13.2% |
| 1 year | +3.8% |
| 3 years | +66.6% |
| 5 years | +80.3% |
| 10 years | +946% |

## MSFT against the whole market

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

### How does MSFT rank among all stocks?

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

- MSFT's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 4% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | MSFT | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +3.8% | 1,820 of 3,287 (top 56%) |
| 3-year return | +66.6% | 1,306 of 3,017 (top 44%) |
| 5-year return | +80.3% | 811 of 2,893 (top 29%) |
| 10-year return | +946% | 118 of 2,202 (top 6%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 28.2% | 566 of 2,893 (top 20%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.56 | 780 of 2,893 (top 27%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −37.1% | 89 of 2,187 (top 5%) |

### What has beaten MSFT 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).

- 88 stocks and 100 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than MSFT over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 5% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half MSFT's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 12% less than MSFT's 28.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.56 for MSFT.
- None of MSFT's popular alternatives made it, but FTEC (enterprise software theme) did: 18.6% a year at 26.1% volatility, 8% less than MSFT's 28.2%.

### Is there a better investment than MSFT?

The table below lists investments that beat MSFT 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 MSFT's popular alternatives, IBM earned more than MSFT over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 16.6% a year at 30.5% volatility, against 12.5% a year at 28.2%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) and CSCO (cybersecurity theme) earned more than MSFT with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 12.5% a year at 28.2%.
- The S&P 500 matched MSFT's return over the past 5 years (12.7% a year against 12.5%) with 39% less volatility.

The 15 strongest of 188 investments that beat MSFT 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 MSFT | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSFT: Microsoft Corporation (this page) |  | +12.5% | 28.2% | 0.56 | −37.1% | +946% |  |  |
| [ABBV](https://easycompare.io/research/abbv): AbbVie Inc. | Pharmaceuticals | +26.1% | 23.4% | 1.11 | −45.1% | +603% | -0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [PM](https://easycompare.io/research/pm): Philip Morris International Inc. | Tobacco | +21.0% | 23.4% | 0.94 | −42.9% | +242% | -0.06 | 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% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [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 |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +685% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +226% | 0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [AMGN](https://easycompare.io/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +19.6% | 24.9% | 0.85 | −24.9% | +266% | -0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GILD](https://easycompare.io/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +200% | -0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +213% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [PGR](https://easycompare.io/research/pgr): The Progressive Corporation | Property & Casualty Insurance | +21.3% | 25.6% | 0.89 | −30.3% | +816% | -0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MNST](https://easycompare.io/research/mnst): Monster Beverage Corporation | Food & Beverages | +17.2% | 24.9% | 0.77 | −30.4% | +285% | 0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [FAST](https://easycompare.io/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +15.8% | 24.6% | 0.72 | −30.7% | +576% | 0.20 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| THG: The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. | Property & Casualty Insurance | +14.4% | 22.9% | 0.70 | −40.1% | +291% | -0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FLTW: Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF | Technology | +21.8% | 24.3% | 0.94 | −38.0% | — | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | US Momentum Equity | +18.7% | 20.8% | 0.93 | −30.9% | +499% | 0.40 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## MSFT against its popular alternatives

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

### How do MSFT'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 22 popular alternatives earned more than MSFT over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- 15 of the 22 popular alternatives earned less than MSFT over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, MSFT returned 12.5% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (28.2% against 17.1%).

### Has MSFT consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Two of the 22 popular alternatives, DELL and PANW, outperformed MSFT in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- AVGO outperformed MSFT over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so MSFT has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of MSFT | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSFT: Microsoft Corporation (this page) | +3.8% | +66.6% | +80.3% | +946% |  |  | 0.56 |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | +217% | +636% | +800% | +3,701% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.08 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | +60.6% | +180% | +299% | +1,274% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.86 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.14 |
| [ANET](https://easycompare.io/research/anet): Arista Networks, Inc. | +23.7% | +289% | +634% | +3,439% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.06 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −3.5% | +305% | +617% | +2,380% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.11 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | +31.2% | +148% | +138% | +752% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [IBM](https://easycompare.io/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | −12.5% | +93.5% | +116% | +151% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| BOX: Box, Inc. | +26.2% | +73.6% | +61.5% | +176% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | −16.6% | +81.3% | +72.6% | +205% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| [DDOG](https://easycompare.io/research/ddog): Datadog, Inc. | +64.1% | +198% | +61.4% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [SNOW](https://easycompare.io/research/snow): Snowflake Inc. | +30.1% | +116% | −4.3% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.29 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| DOCN: DigitalOcean Holdings, Inc. | +142% | +362% | +10.1% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.39 |
| [TEAM](https://easycompare.io/research/team): Atlassian Corporation | +39.2% | +18.2% | −46.0% | +670% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [NOW](https://easycompare.io/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | −18.5% | +37.8% | +9.8% | +848% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| ZM: Zoom Communications, Inc. | +19.0% | +57.9% | −64.7% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.25 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | −3.9% | +21.3% | −14.8% | +240% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [WDAY](https://easycompare.io/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | −15.4% | −3.4% | −26.4% | +132% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| MDB: MongoDB, Inc. | +11.8% | +5.7% | −27.4% | — | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| [INTU](https://easycompare.io/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | −48.9% | −32.1% | −38.8% | +237% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −52.1% | +33.3% | +45.1% | +300% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | −25.2% | −52.5% | −59.4% | +135% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.28 |

### How did MSFT do year by year?

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

- Among its popular alternatives, AVGO came out ahead of MSFT most often, in 14 of the 16 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, MSFT finished in the top quarter in six of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 10 of 23.
- MSFT finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 16 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.

| Year | MSFT | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +15.6% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +12.9% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +58.2% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −28.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +52.5% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +42.5% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +57.6% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +20.8% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +40.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +15.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How MSFT 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 MSFT's worst declines?

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

- In all three of MSFT's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: MSFT fell 34.5% from October 2025 to June 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 7.8%.
- The slowest recovery came after MSFT fell 69.5% from December 1999 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until July 2014, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −69.5% | December 27, 1999 | March 9, 2009 | July 16, 2014 | −45.8% | dot-com bust |
| −50.3% | October 5, 1987 | October 26, 1987 | October 5, 1989 | — |  |
| −37.1% | November 19, 2021 | November 3, 2022 | June 15, 2023 | −19.7% | 2022 bear market |
| −34.7% | July 16, 1990 | August 23, 1990 | January 16, 1991 | — |  |
| −34.5% | October 28, 2025 | June 25, 2026 | October 12, 2026 | +7.8% |  |

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

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

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than MSFT in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- MSFT fell further than the S&P 500 in six of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when MSFT fell 62.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | MSFT fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −62.9% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −57.9% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.6% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −14.1% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.4% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −18.2% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −27.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −31.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does MSFT 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, MSFT captured 127% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 91% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.96. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- DELL took just 43% of the S&P 500's losses, against 91% for MSFT, while still keeping 154% of its gains.
- Six of the 17 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than MSFT's 1.39, led by DELL, PANW and ANET.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSFT: Microsoft Corporation (this page) | 127% | 91.0% | 0.96 |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | 154% | 43.0% | 1.13 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | 118% | 49.0% | 1.14 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [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 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | 132% | 110% | 1.12 |
| [IBM](https://easycompare.io/research/ibm): International Business Machines Corporation | 89.0% | 121% | 0.95 |
| BOX: Box, Inc. | 98.0% | 141% | 1.01 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | 112% | 152% | 1.10 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [TEAM](https://easycompare.io/research/team): Atlassian Corporation | 130% | 132% | 1.03 |
| [NOW](https://easycompare.io/research/now): ServiceNow, Inc. | 114% | 79.0% | 0.97 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| [WDAY](https://easycompare.io/research/wday): Workday, Inc. | 96.0% | 139% | 1.19 |
| [INTU](https://easycompare.io/research/intu): Intuit Inc. | 99.0% | 126% | 1.03 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | 123% | 184% | 1.24 |

### What diversifies MSFT?

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 MSFT into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 18% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+13.7% for MSFT alone, +14.9% for the mix).
- CAH made money in five of the seven calendar years in which MSFT lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of MSFT over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.23 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with MSFT | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in MSFT's 7 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.21 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 7 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.23 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 7 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.17 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 7 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.16 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 7 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.43 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 3 of 7 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.38 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 0 of 7 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.11 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 7 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.40 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 0 of 7 |

## Common questions

### What was MSFT's worst drawdown?

MSFT's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 69.5%, from December 1999 to March 2009. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, MSFT's best year was 1998, when it returned 115%. Its worst was 2000, with a return of -62.9%.

### Is there a better investment than MSFT?

Among MSFT's popular alternatives, IBM earned more than MSFT over the past 5 years with similar volatility: 16.6% a year at 30.5% volatility, against 12.5% a year at 28.2%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, CIBR (cybersecurity) and CSCO (cybersecurity theme) earned more than MSFT with less volatility over the past 5 years. CIBR returned 14.1% a year at 26.1% volatility, against 12.5% a year at 28.2%.

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

Yes. MSFT's volatility over the past 5 years was 28.2%, 1.6 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, MSFT's return lands within 28.2% 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 MSFT's Sharpe ratio?

MSFT's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.56, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so MSFT 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 MSFT with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, MSFT's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.63 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 MSFT instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a MSFT holding.

### What are the best alternatives to MSFT?

Of the 22 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed MSFT in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: DELL and PANW.

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

MSFT finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 16 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +15.6%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

MSFT 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 dot-com bust, when MSFT fell 62.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies MSFT?

These had a low correlation with MSFT over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.21), DXJ (correlation 0.23) and EMLP (correlation 0.17); among large stocks, CAH (correlation -0.01), CLS (correlation 0.27) and FIX (correlation 0.23). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Dell Technologies (DELL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dell)
- [Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/panw)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Arista Networks (ANET) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/anet)
- [Broadcom (AVGO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [International Business Machines (IBM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ibm)
- [SAP Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/sap)
- [Datadog (DDOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ddog)
- [Snowflake (SNOW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/snow)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [Atlassian (TEAM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/team)

## Explore further

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