# How Motorola Solutions (MSI) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/msi
> 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 MSI alone. It places MSI (Motorola Solutions, Inc.) against 17 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 MSI stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: MSI'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:** MSI has outpaced the market, rising 13.2% over the past 3 months against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Not every peer went the same way. Over the past 3 months, DGII (Digi International) rose 16.5% and LHX (L3Harris Technologies) fell 10.9%.
- **Stock or market?:** More than an industry move: MSI rose 13.2% over the past 3 months, against 5.7% for the technology sector ETF XLK (State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF). The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its communications equipment peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: DGII (Digi International) rose 16.5%, while LHX (L3Harris Technologies) fell 10.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, MSI rose 4.5% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (70.1% against 89.3%). MSI led its communications equipment peers in 2023, then fell behind CSCO (Cisco Systems) and NOK (Nokia Oyj) in 2025.
- **Long term:** MSI turned $10,000 into $72,500 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. MSI's 10-year return of 625% 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:** Across seven sell-offs, MSI has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500. Even so, in the 2022 bear market, MSI held up better than CSCO (Cisco Systems), NOK and UI; only LHX (L3Harris Technologies) fell less.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, MSI has a correlation of 0.55 over 5 years, more closely than 83% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, MSI's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.84: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.0 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 62% as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** PLTR (Palantir Technologies), PANW (Palo Alto Networks) and CSCO (Cisco Systems) were ahead of MSI in most short and long periods.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** AAPL (Apple, computer hardware) and ADI (Analog Devices, semiconductors) were ahead of MSI in most short and long periods.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 41 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MSI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVS (Novartis), RY (Royal Bank of Canada) and TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in MSI at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $73,374 by September 2026, less than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Six of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of MSI, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## MSI 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.

- MSI's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 93.8%, from March 2000 to March 2009. It took about ten years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, MSI's best was 1999, when it returned 142%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 71.6%. It lost money in nine of those years.
- MSI is 6.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Communication Equipment)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $77B
- Volatility (5 years): 23.6%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −93.8%, from March 6, 2000 to March 6, 2009; back at its high by July 5, 2019

| Period | MSI total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +0.4% |
| 3 months | +13.2% |
| 6 months | +4.2% |
| year to date | +22.6% |
| 1 year | +4.5% |
| 3 years | +70.1% |
| 5 years | +99.4% |
| 10 years | +625% |

## MSI against the whole market

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

### How does MSI rank among all stocks?

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

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

| Measure | MSI | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +4.5% | 1,789 of 3,287 (top 55%) |
| 3-year return | +70.1% | 1,252 of 3,017 (top 42%) |
| 5-year return | +99.4% | 687 of 2,893 (top 24%) |
| 10-year return | +625% | 228 of 2,202 (top 11%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 23.6% | 241 of 2,893 (top 9%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 449 of 2,893 (top 16%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −32.8% | 41 of 2,187 (top 2%) |

### What has beaten MSI 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).

- 12 stocks and 29 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than MSI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half MSI's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 19% less than MSI's 23.6%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 0.71 for MSI.

### Is there a better investment than MSI?

The table below lists investments that beat MSI 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 MSI's popular alternatives, PLTR, PANW and CSCO were ahead of MSI in most short and long periods.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AAPL (computer hardware) and ADI (semiconductors) were ahead of MSI in most short and long periods.
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 41 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than MSI with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVS, RY and TD.

The 15 strongest of 41 investments that beat MSI 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 MSI | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSI: Motorola Solutions, Inc. (this page) |  | +14.8% | 23.6% | 0.71 | −32.8% | +625% |  |  |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +352% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; 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% | 0.40 | 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% | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TD](https://easycompare.io/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +15.8% | 20.0% | 0.84 | −42.0% | +310% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [BTI](https://easycompare.io/research/bti): British American Tobacco p.l.c. | Tobacco | +18.7% | 22.0% | 0.90 | −56.1% | +98.2% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [MO](https://easycompare.io/research/mo): Altria Group, Inc. | Tobacco | +17.8% | 21.4% | 0.88 | −53.7% | +140% | 0.42 | 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% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [NVS](https://easycompare.io/research/nvs): Novartis AG | Pharmaceuticals | +17.1% | 20.7% | 0.87 | −26.8% | +226% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SDCI: USCF SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Strategy No K-1 Fund | Bonds | +20.6% | 18.4% | 1.12 | −45.7% | — | 0.05 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +213% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | US Momentum Equity | +18.7% | 20.8% | 0.93 | −30.9% | +499% | 0.39 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.58 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +15.9% | 18.4% | 0.90 | −39.5% | +286% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| MLPX: Global X - MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | Energy | +18.6% | 19.7% | 0.97 | −64.6% | +186% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |

## MSI against its popular alternatives

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

### How do MSI'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 17 popular alternatives earned more than MSI over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Over the past 5 years, MSI returned 14.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (23.6% against 17.1%).

### Has MSI consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Five of the 17 popular alternatives, led by PANW, DGII and HPE, outperformed MSI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- AXON outperformed MSI over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so MSI has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of MSI | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSI: Motorola Solutions, Inc. (this page) | +4.5% | +70.1% | +99.4% | +625% |  |  | 0.71 |
| [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 |
| DGII: Digi International Inc. | +91.3% | +196% | +243% | +587% | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | +150% | +296% | +315% | +483% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.89 |
| [PLTR](https://easycompare.io/research/pltr): Palantir Technologies Inc. | +6.1% | +1,096% | +695% | — | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.95 |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | +53.8% | +118% | +118% | +374% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.73 |
| AXON: Axon Enterprise, Inc. | −42.5% | +86.2% | +119% | +1,599% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| UI: Ubiquiti Inc. | −17.3% | +434% | +95.9% | +1,194% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| BKTI: BK Technologies Corporation | +0.1% | +387% | +355% | +204% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| EXTR: Extreme Networks, Inc. | +8.7% | +6.4% | +117% | +445% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| SILC: Silicom Ltd. | +136% | +78.1% | −3.0% | +6.8% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.27 |
| ERIC: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | +15.6% | +164% | +8.9% | +161% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| [NOK](https://easycompare.io/research/nok): Nokia Oyj | +60.8% | +211% | +72.8% | +123% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| NTGR: NETGEAR, Inc. | −30.0% | +109% | −30.7% | −29.3% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.06 |
| [HON](https://easycompare.io/research/hon): Honeywell International Inc. | +6.8% | +27.0% | +7.5% | +160% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.18 |
| LDOS: Leidos Holdings, Inc. | −32.2% | +42.4% | +35.6% | +253% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| [LHX](https://easycompare.io/research/lhx): L3Harris Technologies, Inc. | −13.0% | +49.6% | +13.0% | +229% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.22 |
| CLFD: Clearfield, Inc. | −16.6% | +13.4% | −44.1% | +61.0% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.09 |

### How did MSI do year by year?

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

- MSI finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, AXON came out ahead of MSI most often, in 16 of the 24 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, MSI finished in the top quarter in four of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in six. In 2025, it ranked 18 of 18.

| Year | MSI | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −16.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +49.1% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +23.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −3.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +61.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +7.4% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +42.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +29.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +10.8% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +23.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How MSI 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 MSI's worst declines?

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

- In all three of MSI's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: MSI fell 56.6% from July 1997 to October 1998, while the S&P 500 rose 7.1%.
- The slowest recovery came after MSI fell 93.8% from March 2000 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until July 2019, ten years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −93.8% | March 6, 2000 | March 6, 2009 | July 5, 2019 | −42.6% | dot-com bust |
| −56.6% | July 16, 1997 | October 5, 1998 | June 15, 1999 | +7.1% |  |
| −50.8% | October 1, 1987 | October 26, 1987 | May 2, 1990 | — |  |
| −47.6% | July 17, 1990 | January 17, 1991 | August 3, 1992 | — |  |
| −44.8% | September 18, 1995 | November 4, 1996 | July 8, 1997 | +24.6% |  |

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

This section measures how far MSI, 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 MSI in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- MSI fell less than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the February 2018 volatility shock, when MSI fell 4.9% and the S&P 500 fell 6.5%.

| Crash | Dates | MSI fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −85.2% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −83.5% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.2% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −16.5% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −16.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −4.9% | −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 | −32.8% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −25.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −2.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does MSI 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, MSI captured 97% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 62% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.84. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Only AXON, PANW and BKTI had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than MSI's 1.57, out of 16 popular alternatives with the same record.
- AXON took just 26% of the S&P 500's losses, against 62% for MSI, while still keeping 106% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MSI: Motorola Solutions, Inc. (this page) | 97.0% | 62.0% | 0.84 |
| [PANW](https://easycompare.io/research/panw): Palo Alto Networks, Inc. | 118% | 49.0% | 1.14 |
| DGII: Digi International Inc. | 137% | 137% | 1.29 |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | 116% | 102% | 1.31 |
| [CSCO](https://easycompare.io/research/csco): Cisco Systems, Inc. | 101% | 96.0% | 0.97 |
| AXON: Axon Enterprise, Inc. | 106% | 26.0% | 0.98 |
| UI: Ubiquiti Inc. | 150% | 125% | 1.35 |
| BKTI: BK Technologies Corporation | 60.0% | 35.0% | 0.92 |
| EXTR: Extreme Networks, Inc. | 144% | 172% | 1.88 |
| SILC: Silicom Ltd. | 72.0% | 125% | 1.16 |
| ERIC: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 73.0% | 108% | 0.71 |
| [NOK](https://easycompare.io/research/nok): Nokia Oyj | 63.0% | 72.0% | 1.01 |
| NTGR: NETGEAR, Inc. | 45.0% | 124% | 1.02 |
| [HON](https://easycompare.io/research/hon): Honeywell International Inc. | 90.0% | 118% | 1.00 |
| LDOS: Leidos Holdings, Inc. | 78.0% | 73.0% | 0.73 |
| [LHX](https://easycompare.io/research/lhx): L3Harris Technologies, Inc. | 72.0% | 65.0% | 0.70 |
| CLFD: Clearfield, Inc. | 101% | 162% | 1.57 |

### What diversifies MSI?

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 MSI into LVHI would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+15.3% for MSI alone, +16.0% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and SMH have moved largely independently of MSI over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- MCK made money in six of the nine calendar years in which MSI lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with MSI | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in MSI's 9 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.47 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 9 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.38 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 9 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.27 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 9 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.27 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 4 of 9 |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | 0.46 | +107% | 17.2% | 0.94 | 3 of 9 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.39 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 5 of 9 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.43 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 1 of 9 |

## Common questions

### What was MSI's worst drawdown?

MSI's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 93.8%, from March 2000 to March 2009. It took about ten years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, MSI's best year was 1999, when it returned 142%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -71.6%.

### Is there a better investment than MSI?

Among MSI's popular alternatives, PLTR, PANW and CSCO were ahead of MSI in most short and long periods. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, AAPL (computer hardware) and ADI (semiconductors) were ahead of MSI in most short and long periods.

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

Yes. MSI's volatility over the past 5 years was 23.6%, 1.4 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, MSI's return lands within 23.6% 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 MSI's Sharpe ratio?

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

Over the past 5 years, MSI's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.55 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 MSI instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a MSI holding.

### What are the best alternatives to MSI?

Of the 17 popular alternatives we compared, five outperformed MSI in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: PANW, DGII and HPE.

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

MSI finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -16.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

MSI fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in five of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the February 2018 volatility shock, when MSI fell 4.9% and the S&P 500 fell 6.5%.

### What diversifies MSI?

These had a low correlation with MSI over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.47), DXJ (correlation 0.38) and SMH (correlation 0.27); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.27), CLS (correlation -0.02) and FIX (correlation 0.38). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Palo Alto Networks (PANW) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/panw)
- [Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe)
- [Palantir Technologies (PLTR) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pltr)
- [Cisco Systems (CSCO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/csco)
- [Nokia Oyj (NOK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nok)
- [Honeywell International (HON) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/hon)
- [L3Harris Technologies (LHX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/lhx)
- [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)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Alphabet (GOOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/goog)
- [Microsoft (MSFT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/msft)

## Explore further

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