# How Procter & Gamble (PG) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/pg
> 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 PG alone. It places PG (The Procter & Gamble Company) against 19 popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where PG stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: PG'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:** Its household & personal product peers were far apart over the past 3 months, from ELF (e.l.f. Beauty, up 44.1%) to CL (Colgate-Palmolive, up 3.4%). Over the past 3 months, PG rose 7.7% against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Stock or market?:** PG rose 7.7% over the past 3 months, 3.6 points ahead of the household & personal products ETF XLP (State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF), which rose 4.1%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Last month cut against the tape: PG rose 9.1% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** PG has trailed the market, rising 8.0% 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 (15.8% against 89.3%). Even so, PG lagged its household & personal product peers in 2023, then moved up the pack in 2025.
- **Long term:** PG turned $10,000 into $24,500 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, PG has typically lost about 68% as much as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, PG has a correlation of 0.33 over 5 years, less closely than 65% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, PG's beta versus the S&P 500 was 0.41: 46% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 41% of its losses in falling ones.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** PKG (Packaging Corporation of America, packaging) was ahead of PG in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (25.8% volatility against 18.2%).
  - **Whole market:** 314 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than PG with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VOO (Vanguard S&P 500 ETF), BRK-B (Berkshire Hathaway) and BRK-A (Berkshire Hathaway).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in PG at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $87,839 by September 2026, less than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Seven of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of PG, and AMZN finished highest, at $11,484,924.

## PG 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.

- PG's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 54.4%, from January to March 2000. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, PG's best was 1997, when it returned 50.5%, and its worst was 2000, when it lost 27.1%. It lost money in six of those years.
- PG is 6.9% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Consumer Staples (Household & Personal Products)
- Trading since: October 17, 1986
- Market value: $370B
- Volatility (5 years): 18.3%; Sharpe ratio: 0.37
- Worst decline ever: −54.4%, from January 11, 2000 to March 10, 2000; back at its high by May 6, 2004

| Period | PG total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +9.1% |
| 3 months | +7.7% |
| 6 months | +12.0% |
| year to date | +14.9% |
| 1 year | +8.0% |
| 3 years | +15.8% |
| 5 years | +28.3% |
| 10 years | +145% |

## PG against the whole market

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

### How does PG rank among all stocks?

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

- PG's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 1% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | PG | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +8.0% | 1,663 of 3,287 (top 51%) |
| 3-year return | +15.8% | 2,076 of 3,017 (top 69%) |
| 5-year return | +28.3% | 1,357 of 2,893 (top 47%) |
| 10-year return | +145% | 1,100 of 2,202 (top 50%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 18.3% | 50 of 2,893 (top 2%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.37 | 1,341 of 2,893 (top 47%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −23.8% | 3 of 2,187 (top 1%) |

### What has beaten PG 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).

- Eight stocks and 306 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than PG over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 9% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half PG's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 39% less than PG's 18.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.37 for PG.

### Is there a better investment than PG?

The table below lists investments that beat PG 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 PG's popular alternatives, CL, ELF and CHD were ahead of PG in most short and long periods.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PKG (packaging) was ahead of PG in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (25.8% volatility against 18.2%).
- Across the whole market, 314 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than PG with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them VOO, BRK-B and BRK-A.

The 15 strongest of 314 investments that beat PG 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 PG | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PG: The Procter & Gamble Company (this page) |  | +5.1% | 18.3% | 0.37 | −23.8% | +145% |  |  |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [KO](https://easycompare.io/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Food & Beverages | +14.7% | 16.8% | 0.91 | −37.0% | +204% | 0.70 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [SCHD](https://easycompare.io/research/schd): Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF | US Dividend Equity | +9.7% | 14.3% | 0.72 | −33.4% | +252% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| BALT: Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF | Crypto | +6.3% | 3.3% | 1.85 | −4.9% | — | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [IWD](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd): iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +11.4% | 14.7% | 0.81 | −38.5% | +205% | 0.45 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [XLV](https://easycompare.io/research/xlv): State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF | Health Care Equity | +8.4% | 15.3% | 0.60 | −28.4% | +202% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| CHT: Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. | Integrated Telecommunications | +7.7% | 13.3% | 0.63 | −23.8% | +101% | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +12.9% | 13.0% | 1.00 | −37.0% | +172% | 0.53 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | Broad Market | +10.5% | 8.6% | 1.20 | −18.2% | — | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FJAN: FT Vest U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - January | Multi-Asset | +11.1% | 10.5% | 1.05 | −13.6% | — | 0.25 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| JQUA: JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF | US Quality Equity | +13.6% | 15.7% | 0.89 | −32.9% | — | 0.42 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [JEPI](https://easycompare.io/research/jepi): JPMorgan Equity Premium Income ETF | Equity Income | +7.5% | 11.0% | 0.71 | −13.7% | — | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| IWX: iShares Russell Top 200 Value ETF | Broad Market | +12.7% | 13.8% | 0.94 | −35.8% | +221% | 0.48 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| BCI: abrdn Bloomberg All Commodity Strategy K-1 Free ETF | Alternatives | +10.1% | 16.7% | 0.66 | −32.7% | — | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| BUFR: FT Vest Laddered Buffer ETF | Buffered Equity | +9.9% | 10.5% | 0.96 | −13.7% | — | 0.32 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |

## PG against its popular alternatives

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

### How do PG'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 18 popular alternatives earned more than PG over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Ten of the 18 popular alternatives earned less than PG over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, PG returned 5.1% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (18.2% against 17.1%).

### Has PG consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Five of the 19 popular alternatives, led by CHD, ELF and TGT, outperformed PG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- CHD outperformed PG in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of PG | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PG: The Procter & Gamble Company (this page) | +8.0% | +15.8% | +28.3% | +145% |  |  | 0.37 |
| CHD: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | +21.9% | +21.9% | +34.6% | +154% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.39 |
| ELF: e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | −10.0% | +12.6% | +289% | +331% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.77 |
| [TGT](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt): Target Corporation | +75.1% | +58.0% | −28.5% | +207% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.00 |
| [CL](https://easycompare.io/research/cl): Colgate-Palmolive Company | +22.9% | +38.3% | +41.8% | +68.8% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.46 |
| IPAR: Inter Parfums, Inc. | +21.2% | +1.3% | +72.8% | +350% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.49 |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | +6.9% | +87.2% | +123% | +685% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.82 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | +11.0% | +130% | +158% | +508% | 2/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.96 |
| [UL](https://easycompare.io/research/ul): Unilever PLC | −4.7% | +32.9% | +30.5% | +89.8% | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| NWL: Newell Brands Inc. | +25.1% | −5.5% | −68.7% | −83.2% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| [EL](https://easycompare.io/research/el): The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | +5.0% | −18.3% | −62.3% | +39.8% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.21 |
| EPC: Edgewell Personal Care Company | +45.3% | −14.0% | −11.5% | −58.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.10 |
| HELE: Helen of Troy Limited | +53.8% | −71.6% | −87.1% | −63.6% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.51 |
| COTY: Coty Inc. | −22.0% | −66.1% | −58.3% | −84.3% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.16 |
| KVUE: Kenvue Inc. | +36.7% | +12.0% | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| KMB: Kimberly-Clark Corporation | −5.7% | −0.4% | 0.0% | +29.9% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.11 |
| ENR: Energizer Holdings, Inc. | −2.5% | −19.5% | −26.5% | −35.4% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.01 |
| WD: Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | −57.2% | −43.6% | −69.0% | +74.8% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.43 |
| CLX: The Clorox Company | −23.5% | −20.1% | −35.3% | −3.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.19 |

### How did PG do year by year?

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

- PG finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last three.
- Among its popular alternatives, COST came out ahead of PG most often, in 22 of the 29 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, PG finished in the top quarter in three of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 20.

| Year | PG | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | −12.3% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +17.3% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | −0.9% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −5.1% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +20.5% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +14.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +39.7% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +3.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +12.7% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +9.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How PG 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 PG'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: PG fell 54.4% from January to March 2000, while the S&P 500 slipped only 3.0%.
- The slowest recovery came after PG fell 54.4% from January to March 2000; it did not regain that peak until May 2004, four years later.
- In three of PG'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 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −54.4% | January 11, 2000 | March 10, 2000 | May 6, 2004 | −3.0% | dot-com bust |
| −40.1% | October 5, 1987 | October 19, 1987 | May 1, 1989 | — |  |
| −39.0% | December 12, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | December 23, 2011 | −53.1% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −28.7% | July 6, 1998 | September 17, 1998 | November 23, 1998 | −12.1% |  |
| −25.5% | December 26, 2014 | September 14, 2015 | September 1, 2016 | −5.1% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |

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

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

- PG fell less than the S&P 500 in all ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when PG fell 27.1% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, KMB held up best, falling less than PG in six of the ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | PG fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −27.1% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −39.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.7% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −8.9% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −10.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −9.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −22.9% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −23.8% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −0.7% | −3.4% |

### How closely does PG 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, PG captured 46% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 41% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 0.41. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.
- Only WMT, COST and CHD had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than PG's 1.13, out of 18 popular alternatives with the same record.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| PG: The Procter & Gamble Company (this page) | 46.0% | 41.0% | 0.41 |
| CHD: Church & Dwight Co., Inc. | 47.0% | 38.0% | 0.44 |
| ELF: e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. | 133% | 171% | 1.81 |
| [TGT](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt): Target Corporation | 83.0% | 87.0% | 1.00 |
| [CL](https://easycompare.io/research/cl): Colgate-Palmolive Company | 39.0% | 52.0% | 0.46 |
| IPAR: Inter Parfums, Inc. | 105% | 108% | 1.02 |
| [COST](https://easycompare.io/research/cost): Costco Wholesale Corporation | 93.0% | 50.0% | 0.77 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | 74.0% | 36.0% | 0.53 |
| [UL](https://easycompare.io/research/ul): Unilever PLC | 46.0% | 60.0% | 0.45 |
| NWL: Newell Brands Inc. | 5.0% | 135% | 0.92 |
| [EL](https://easycompare.io/research/el): The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. | 103% | 188% | 1.14 |
| EPC: Edgewell Personal Care Company | 13.0% | 93.0% | 0.68 |
| HELE: Helen of Troy Limited | 52.0% | 177% | 1.11 |
| COTY: Coty Inc. | 39.0% | 212% | 1.70 |
| KMB: Kimberly-Clark Corporation | 27.0% | 48.0% | 0.39 |
| ENR: Energizer Holdings, Inc. | 46.0% | 126% | 0.99 |
| WD: Walker & Dunlop, Inc. | 108% | 170% | 1.42 |
| CLX: The Clorox Company | 31.0% | 73.0% | 0.40 |

### What diversifies PG?

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 PG into DBEF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 14% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+3.4% for PG alone, +5.6% for the mix).
- CAH made money in five of the six calendar years in which PG lost money.
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, EMLP and SMH have moved largely independently of PG over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.42 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with PG | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in PG's 6 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.39 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 4 of 6 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.42 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 3 of 6 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.10 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 2 of 6 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.46 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.30 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 3 of 6 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.30 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 2 of 6 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.20 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 3 of 6 |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | 0.40 | +99.4% | 16.4% | 0.93 | 2 of 6 |

## Common questions

### What was PG's worst drawdown?

PG's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 54.4%, from January to March 2000. It took about four years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, PG's best year was 1997, when it returned 50.5%. Its worst was 2000, with a return of -27.1%.

### Is there a better investment than PG?

Among PG's popular alternatives, CL, ELF and CHD were ahead of PG in most short and long periods. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, PKG (packaging) was ahead of PG in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (25.8% volatility against 18.2%).

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

Yes. PG's volatility over the past 5 years was 18.2%, 1.1 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, PG's return lands within 18.2% 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 PG's Sharpe ratio?

PG's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.37, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so PG 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 PG with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, PG's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.33 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 PG instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a PG holding.

### What are the best alternatives to PG?

Of the 19 popular alternatives we compared, five outperformed PG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: CHD, ELF and TGT.

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

PG finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned -12.3%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

PG fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in ten of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in no. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when PG fell 27.1% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies PG?

These had a low correlation with PG over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.39), EMLP (correlation 0.42) and SMH (correlation 0.10); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.39), CLS (correlation 0.03) and FIX (correlation 0.21). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Target (TGT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tgt)
- [Colgate-Palmolive (CL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cl)
- [Costco Wholesale (COST) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/cost)
- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [Walmart (WMT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt)
- [Unilever (UL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ul)
- [Estée Lauder Companies (EL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/el)
- [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/pg
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against PG live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=PG&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research