# How PDD compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

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

Period covered: PDD's full trading record, from July 2018 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, PDD fell 21.7% while the S&P 500 rose 9.1%. The slide is PDD's own: it is 59.8% below its high, against 1.3% for the S&P 500.
- **Stock or market?:** PDD held up far better than its industry: it fell 5.1% over the past 3 months while the e-commerce ETF KWEB (KraneShares CSI China Internet ETF) fell 11.3%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its e-commerce peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: SHOP (Shopify) rose 39.4%, while SE (Sea) fell 23.9%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** PDD has gone against the market, falling 38.0% over the past year while the S&P 500 rose 15.8%. The same gap shows up over 3 years (20.6% against 89.3%). PDD led its e-commerce peers in 2023, then fell behind AMZN (Amazon.com) and BABA (Alibaba Group Holding) in 2025.
- **Long term:** PDD turned $10,000 into $8,210 over the past 5 years, against $18,200 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, PDD fell 61.4%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than AMZN (Amazon.com, 39.6%) but less than SHOP (Shopify, 79.0%). PDD fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the last three sell-offs, including the 2022 bear market (61.4% against 24.5%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, PDD has a correlation of -0.01 over 5 years, less closely than 99% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is a real diversifier. Even so, over 5 years, PDD's beta versus the S&P 500 was -0.04: -1% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 17% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** GOOG (Alphabet), META (Meta Platforms) and AMZN (Amazon.com) earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years. GOOG returned 19.0% a year at 32.0% volatility, against a loss of 3.9% a year at 66.0%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** WMT (Walmart, e-commerce theme) and MSFT (Microsoft, software) earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years. WMT returned 20.8% a year at 22.6% volatility, against a loss of 3.9% a year at 66.0%.
  - **Whole market:** 2,608 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVDA (NVIDIA), AAPL (Apple) and GOOG (Alphabet).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in PDD over the past 8 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of PDD over the same span and PDD's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in PDD at the end of September 2018 would have grown to $29,647 by September 2026, about the same as the $29,568 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of PDD, and SHOP finished highest, at $90,152.

## PDD 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.

- PDD is still 59.8% below its all-time high.
- PDD's deepest decline since it began trading in 2018 was 87.4%, from February 2021 to March 2022. It has not yet climbed back to that peak.
- Over seven full calendar years, PDD's best was 2020, when it returned 370%, and its worst was 2021, when it lost 67.2%. It lost money in two of those years.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Discretionary (Specialty Retail)
- Trading since: July 26, 2018
- Market value: $116B
- Volatility (5 years): 66.0%; Sharpe ratio: 0.26
- Worst decline ever: −87.4%, from February 17, 2021 to March 14, 2022; not yet back at its high

| Period | PDD total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +2.9% |
| 3 months | −5.1% |
| 6 months | −21.7% |
| year to date | −29.5% |
| 1 year | −38.0% |
| 3 years | −20.6% |
| 5 years | −17.9% |

## PDD against the whole market

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

### How does PDD rank among all stocks?

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

- PDD's 1-year return ranks in the bottom 9% of the 3,287 stocks worth at least $300 million with 1 year of history.

| Measure | PDD | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | −38.0% | 2,980 of 3,287 (top 91%) |
| 3-year return | −20.6% | 2,600 of 3,017 (top 87%) |
| 5-year return | −17.9% | 1,976 of 2,893 (top 69%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 66.0% | 2,432 of 2,893 (top 85%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.26 | 1,671 of 2,893 (top 58%) |

### What has beaten PDD 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).

- 1,630 stocks and 978 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than PDD over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 72% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half PDD's swings, CLS has the best return for its risk: 101% a year at 59.7% volatility, 10% less than PDD's 66.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.47 against 0.26 for PDD.
- Among PDD's popular alternatives, GOOG, META and EBAY are in the region. GOOG earned 19.0% a year against a loss of 3.9% a year for PDD, at 32.0% volatility, 52% less than PDD's 66.0%.

### Is there a better investment than PDD?

The table below lists investments that beat PDD 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 PDD's popular alternatives, GOOG, META and AMZN earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years. GOOG returned 19.0% a year at 32.0% volatility, against a loss of 3.9% a year at 66.0%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, WMT (e-commerce theme) and MSFT (software) earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years. WMT returned 20.8% a year at 22.6% volatility, against a loss of 3.9% a year at 66.0%.
- Across the whole market, 2,608 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them NVDA, AAPL and GOOG.

The 15 strongest of 2,608 investments that beat PDD 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) | 5Y return | Correlation with PDD | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PDD: PDD Holdings Inc. (this page) |  | −3.9% | 66.0% | 0.26 | −87.4% | −17.9% |  |  |
| [BIL](https://easycompare.io/research/bil): State Street SPDR Bloomberg 1-3 Month T-Bill ETF | Treasury Bonds | +3.7% | 0.3% | 14.05 | −0.2% | +19.9% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| VRIG: Invesco Variable Rate Investment Grade ETF | Bonds | +4.7% | 1.3% | 3.51 | −13.1% | +25.6% | 0.22 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | Discount Retail | +17.4% | 22.9% | 0.82 | −31.4% | +123% | -0.09 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [GILD](https://easycompare.io/research/gild): Gilead Sciences, Inc. | Biotechnology | +22.8% | 24.9% | 0.95 | −30.5% | +180% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.7% | 18.9% | 0.96 | −26.4% | +126% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| FLOT: iShares Floating Rate Bond ETF | Floating Rate Bonds | +4.5% | 1.8% | 2.48 | −13.5% | +24.5% | 0.11 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [VTIP](https://easycompare.io/research/vtip): Vanguard Short-Term Inflation-Protected Securities ETF | Treasury Bonds | +2.7% | 2.9% | 0.94 | −6.3% | +14.0% | -0.03 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [RY](https://easycompare.io/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.3% | 18.2% | 0.97 | −40.0% | +122% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MPC](https://easycompare.io/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil & Gas | +51.2% | 33.4% | 1.41 | −79.7% | +690% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [PBR-A](https://easycompare.io/research/pbr-a): Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras | Integrated Oil & Gas | +51.8% | 37.5% | 1.31 | −71.7% | +705% | 0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| JAAA: Janus Henderson AAA CLO ETF | CLO Bonds | +5.1% | 1.7% | 2.98 | −2.6% | +28.0% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | Semiconductors | +58.0% | 51.9% | 1.14 | −66.3% | +884% | -0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| NEAR: iShares Short Duration Bond Active ETF | Short-Term Bonds | +3.9% | 1.4% | 2.71 | −9.6% | +20.9% | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [VCSH](https://easycompare.io/research/vcsh): Vanguard Short-Term Corporate Bond ETF | Investment Grade Bonds | +2.3% | 2.9% | 0.80 | −12.9% | +12.1% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [REGN](https://easycompare.io/research/regn): Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | Biotechnology | +7.7% | 31.1% | 0.40 | −59.7% | +44.9% | -0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## PDD against its popular alternatives

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

### How do PDD'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.

- Five of the 17 popular alternatives, led by GOOG, META and EBAY, were both more rewarding and calmer than PDD over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, PDD returned -3.9% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (66.0% against 17.1%).

### Has PDD consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares PDD with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over seven periods from one month to five years.

- Six of the 17 popular alternatives, led by EBAY, SHOP and GOOG, outperformed PDD in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes.
- EBAY, SHOP and GOOG outperformed PDD in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- GOOG, META and EBAY earned more for the risk they took than PDD (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | Periods ahead of PDD | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PDD: PDD Holdings Inc. (this page) | −38.0% | −20.6% | −17.9% |  |  | 0.26 |
| [EBAY](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay): eBay Inc. | +28.3% | +213% | +74.2% | 5/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.50 |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | +5.3% | +239% | +16.6% | 5/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.38 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | +31.2% | +148% | +138% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.71 |
| [META](https://easycompare.io/research/meta): Meta Platforms, Inc. | −4.9% | +127% | +106% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.55 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.42 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | −10.6% | +60.7% | +17.2% | 4/5 short-term, 2/2 long-term | all-weather | 0.31 |
| YMM: Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. | −28.1% | +38.1% | −44.0% | 5/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.14 |
| W: Wayfair Inc. | +36.6% | +159% | −54.2% | 5/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.21 |
| ETSY: Etsy, Inc. | +22.5% | +34.7% | −62.5% | 5/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.08 |
| BZUN: Baozun Inc. | +1.1% | +35.5% | −82.0% | 5/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.11 |
| ZTO: ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. | +7.5% | −5.6% | −27.7% | 4/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.02 |
| GXO: GXO Logistics, Inc. | −12.3% | −8.0% | −43.8% | 4/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.06 |
| JD: JD.com, Inc. | −18.0% | +20.2% | −64.3% | 3/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| [BABA](https://easycompare.io/research/baba): Alibaba Group Holding Limited | −36.8% | +44.5% | −34.8% | 1/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | 0.08 |
| [SE](https://easycompare.io/research/se): Sea Limited | −51.5% | +80.3% | −77.7% | 1/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| CPNG: Coupang, Inc. | −54.8% | −18.9% | −50.3% | 0/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.01 |
| BILI: Bilibili Inc. | −49.5% | +11.3% | −83.1% | 0/5 short-term, 1/2 long-term |  | -0.09 |

### How did PDD do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2019, along with where PDD ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- PDD finished ahead of the S&P 500 in four of its seven full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, SHOP came out ahead of PDD most often, in five of the seven years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, PDD finished in the top quarter in three of seven years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 10 of 18.

| Year | PDD | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +16.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | −33.7% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +79.4% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +39.9% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | −67.2% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +370% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +68.5% | +31.2% |

## Risk and diversification

How PDD 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 PDD's worst declines?

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

- In all five of PDD's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: PDD fell 87.4% from February 2021 to March 2022, while the S&P 500 rose 7.7%.
- None of these declines kept PDD below its old high for long; the longest climb back took five months.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −87.4% | February 17, 2021 | March 14, 2022 | not yet | +7.7% | 2022 bear market |
| −42.8% | September 13, 2018 | November 13, 2018 | January 29, 2019 | −6.0% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −38.9% | March 4, 2019 | June 3, 2019 | August 29, 2019 | −1.3% |  |
| −35.5% | July 26, 2018 | August 24, 2018 | September 13, 2018 | +1.5% |  |
| −27.9% | November 5, 2019 | November 20, 2019 | April 15, 2020 | +1.2% |  |

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

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

- PDD fell further than the S&P 500 in three of the four crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when PDD fell 61.4% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, ZTO held up best, falling less than PDD in all four crashes they both traded through.
- PDD began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but four of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was AMZN's 65.3%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | PDD fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | not trading | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | not trading | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | not trading | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −38.1% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −15.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −61.4% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −7.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does PDD 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 5 years, PDD captured -1% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 17% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of -0.04. Its share of the market's losses was larger than its share of the gains.
- 14 of the 17 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than PDD's -0.05, led by GOOG, META and EBAY.

Measured over the past 5 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PDD: PDD Holdings Inc. (this page) | −1.0% | 17.0% | -0.04 |
| [EBAY](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay): eBay Inc. | 121% | 153% | 1.33 |
| [SHOP](https://easycompare.io/research/shop): Shopify Inc. | 203% | 331% | 2.62 |
| [GOOG](https://easycompare.io/research/goog): Alphabet Inc. | 140% | 132% | 1.20 |
| [META](https://easycompare.io/research/meta): Meta Platforms, Inc. | 139% | 150% | 1.18 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 125% | 170% | 1.45 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | 84.0% | 146% | 1.31 |
| YMM: Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. | −6.0% | 58.0% | 0.22 |
| W: Wayfair Inc. | 198% | 433% | 3.01 |
| ETSY: Etsy, Inc. | 52.0% | 221% | 1.85 |
| BZUN: Baozun Inc. | −24.0% | 170% | 0.39 |
| ZTO: ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc. | −21.0% | 2.0% | -0.20 |
| GXO: GXO Logistics, Inc. | 85.0% | 219% | 1.57 |
| JD: JD.com, Inc. | 8.0% | 122% | 0.33 |
| [BABA](https://easycompare.io/research/baba): Alibaba Group Holding Limited | 76.0% | 167% | 0.48 |
| [SE](https://easycompare.io/research/se): Sea Limited | 81.0% | 283% | 1.54 |
| CPNG: Coupang, Inc. | 27.0% | 135% | 1.16 |
| BILI: Bilibili Inc. | 9.0% | 197% | 0.65 |

### What diversifies PDD?

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 PDD into FIX would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 21% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (-3.0% for PDD alone, +16.0% for the mix).
- FIX made money in two of the two calendar years in which PDD lost money.
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of PDD over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.18 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with PDD | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in PDD's 2 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.18 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 2 of 2 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.04 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 2 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.02 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 2 of 2 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.00 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 2 of 2 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | -0.02 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 2 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.10 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 2 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.14 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 1 of 2 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | -0.13 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 2 |

## Common questions

### What was PDD's worst drawdown?

PDD's deepest decline since it began trading in 2018 was 87.4%, from February 2021 to March 2022. It has not yet climbed back to that peak. Because PDD launched in July 2018, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or four other sell-offs.

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

Over seven full calendar years, PDD's best year was 2020, when it returned 370%. Its worst was 2021, with a return of -67.2%.

### Is there a better investment than PDD?

Among PDD's popular alternatives, GOOG, META and AMZN earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years. GOOG returned 19.0% a year at 32.0% volatility, against a loss of 3.9% a year at 66.0%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, WMT (e-commerce theme) and MSFT (software) earned more than PDD with less volatility over the past 5 years. WMT returned 20.8% a year at 22.6% volatility, against a loss of 3.9% a year at 66.0%.

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

Yes. PDD's volatility over the past 5 years was 66.0%, 3.8 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, PDD's return lands within 66.0% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is PDD's Sharpe ratio?

PDD's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.26, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so PDD 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 PDD with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, PDD's monthly returns had a correlation of -0.01 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 PDD instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a PDD holding.

### What are the best alternatives to PDD?

Of the 17 popular alternatives we compared, six outperformed PDD in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 2 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: EBAY, SHOP and GOOG.

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

PDD finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of seven full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +16.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

PDD fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the four major crashes it has traded through, and further in three. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when PDD fell 61.4% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies PDD?

These had a low correlation with PDD over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.18), DXJ (correlation 0.04) and EMLP (correlation 0.02); among large stocks, CAH (correlation -0.05), CLS (correlation 0.11) and FIX (correlation -0.15). 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/pdd
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against PDD live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=PDD&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research