# How QUALCOMM (QCOM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/qcom
> 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 QCOM alone. It places QCOM (QUALCOMM Incorporated) 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 QCOM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: QCOM's full trading record, from December 1991 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** Over the past 6 months, QCOM rose 28.9% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Even so, QCOM is 29.4% below its high, bear-market territory, while the S&P 500 sits 1.3% below a record.
- **Stock or market?:** QCOM rose 3.7% over the past 3 months, 6.0 points ahead of the semiconductors ETF SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF), which fell 2.2%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its semiconductor peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: MRVL (Marvell Technology) rose 23.4%, while AVGO (Broadcom) fell 11.4%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** QCOM has trailed the market, rising 7.4% 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 (72.4% against 89.3%). QCOM finished behind the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** QCOM turned $10,000 into $33,900 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, QCOM has typically fallen 1.5 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, QCOM has a correlation of 0.58 over 5 years, more closely than 86% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge. Over 10 years, QCOM's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.51: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.2 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 1.4 times as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** ADI (Analog Devices), TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing) and AAPL (Apple) earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years. ADI returned 19.5% a year at 34.1% volatility, against 8.2% a year at 42.8%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** APH (Amphenol, automotive electronics theme) and CIBR (First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, cybersecurity) earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years. APH returned 33.8% a year at 32.2% volatility, against 8.2% a year at 42.8%.
  - **Whole market:** 1,005 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL (Apple), GOOG (Alphabet) and MSFT (Microsoft).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in QCOM at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $779,813 by September 2026, more than the $132,907 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of QCOM, and MNST finished highest, at $45,663,831.

## QCOM 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.

- QCOM is still 29.4% below its all-time high.
- QCOM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1991 was 86.7%, from January 2000 to August 2002. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, QCOM's best was 1999, when it returned 2,621%, and its worst was 2000, when it lost 53.3%. It lost money in eight of those years.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Semiconductors)
- Trading since: December 13, 1991
- Market value: $188B
- Volatility (5 years): 42.8%; Sharpe ratio: 0.40
- Worst decline ever: −86.7%, from January 3, 2000 to August 5, 2002; back at its high by March 18, 2014

| Period | QCOM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −9.5% |
| 3 months | +3.7% |
| 6 months | +28.9% |
| year to date | +3.2% |
| 1 year | +7.4% |
| 3 years | +72.4% |
| 5 years | +48.3% |
| 10 years | +239% |

## QCOM against the whole market

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

### How does QCOM rank among all stocks?

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

- QCOM's worst decline of the past 10 years ranks in the top 12% of the 2,187 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top fell the least.

| Measure | QCOM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +7.4% | 1,682 of 3,287 (top 52%) |
| 3-year return | +72.4% | 1,214 of 3,017 (top 41%) |
| 5-year return | +48.3% | 1,108 of 2,893 (top 39%) |
| 10-year return | +239% | 747 of 2,202 (top 34%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 42.8% | 1,594 of 2,893 (top 56%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.40 | 1,238 of 2,893 (top 43%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −44.3% | 268 of 2,187 (top 13%) |

### What has beaten QCOM 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).

- 586 stocks and 419 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than QCOM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 28% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half QCOM's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 42% less than QCOM's 42.8%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.40 for QCOM. INSW earned the most, 56.5% a year, while still swinging less than QCOM (40.5% against 42.8%).
- Among QCOM's popular alternatives, TSM, AAPL and ADI are in the region. TSM earned 31.5% a year against 8.2% a year for QCOM, at 38.5% volatility, 10% less than QCOM's 42.8%.

### Is there a better investment than QCOM?

The table below lists investments that beat QCOM 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 QCOM's popular alternatives, ADI, TSM and AAPL earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years. ADI returned 19.5% a year at 34.1% volatility, against 8.2% a year at 42.8%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, APH (automotive electronics theme) and CIBR (cybersecurity) earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years. APH returned 33.8% a year at 32.2% volatility, against 8.2% a year at 42.8%.
- Across the whole market, 1,005 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them AAPL, GOOG and MSFT.

The 15 strongest of 1,005 investments that beat QCOM 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 QCOM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QCOM: QUALCOMM Incorporated (this page) |  | +8.2% | 42.8% | 0.40 | −44.3% | +239% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [WMT](https://easycompare.io/research/wmt): Walmart Inc. | Discount Retail | +20.8% | 22.6% | 0.96 | −25.7% | +508% | -0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [BRK-B](https://easycompare.io/research/brk-b): Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Insurance | +13.4% | 17.1% | 0.82 | −29.6% | +274% | 0.06 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [AMGN](https://easycompare.io/research/amgn): Amgen Inc. | Biotechnology | +19.6% | 24.9% | 0.85 | −24.9% | +266% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [XLK](https://easycompare.io/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | Technology Equity | +19.4% | 26.0% | 0.82 | −33.6% | +767% | 0.71 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [FAST](https://easycompare.io/research/fast): Fastenal Company | Industrial Distribution | +15.8% | 24.6% | 0.72 | −30.7% | +576% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [FNV](https://easycompare.io/research/fnv): Franco-Nevada Corporation | Gold Mining | +12.5% | 31.3% | 0.53 | −37.1% | +303% | 0.07 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| MGK: Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF | US Large-Cap Growth | +13.5% | 23.0% | 0.67 | −36.0% | +464% | 0.62 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| EXPD: Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. | Freight & Logistics | +12.0% | 27.1% | 0.56 | −35.6% | +349% | 0.35 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | International Equity | +20.4% | 24.2% | 0.89 | −38.9% | +468% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| IOO: iShares Global 100 ETF | Global Equity | +15.7% | 17.2% | 0.94 | −31.4% | +361% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| TDIV: First Trust NASDAQ Technology Dividend Index Fund | Technology Equity | +16.2% | 21.3% | 0.81 | −32.0% | +388% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |
| [JNJ](https://easycompare.io/research/jnj): Johnson & Johnson | Pharmaceuticals | +12.7% | 17.9% | 0.76 | −27.4% | +196% | -0.23 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [V](https://easycompare.io/research/v): Visa Inc. | Payment Processing | +12.8% | 22.9% | 0.64 | −36.4% | +429% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## QCOM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do QCOM'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 22 popular alternatives, led by TSM, ADI and AAPL, were both more rewarding and calmer than QCOM over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, QCOM returned 8.2% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (42.8% against 17.1%).

### Has QCOM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- 13 of the 23 popular alternatives, led by MRVL, NVDA and AMD, outperformed QCOM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- MRVL, NVDA and AMD outperformed QCOM in every long-term period and in all but one short-term period, the most consistent record in the group.
- AAPL, ADI and TXN earned more for the risk they took than QCOM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of QCOM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QCOM: QUALCOMM Incorporated (this page) | +7.4% | +72.4% | +48.3% | +239% |  |  | 0.40 |
| [MRVL](https://easycompare.io/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | +181% | +390% | +264% | +1,874% | 5/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.72 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 1.14 |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | +122% | +425% | +359% | +7,583% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.82 |
| [TSM](https://easycompare.io/research/tsm): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | +44.3% | +382% | +293% | +1,505% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.91 |
| [ADI](https://easycompare.io/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | +63.3% | +150% | +144% | +652% | 4/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | all-weather | 0.69 |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | +29.9% | +99.0% | +133% | +1,168% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.75 |
| MTSI: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. | +87.4% | +249% | +302% | +588% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.83 |
| SIMO: Silicon Motion Technology Corporation | +125% | +320% | +243% | +494% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.71 |
| SMTC: Semtech Corporation | +98.7% | +726% | +75.3% | +445% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.51 |
| [TXN](https://easycompare.io/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | +58.7% | +105% | +60.5% | +424% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.45 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | +37.8% | −10.9% | +66.0% | +540% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.46 |
| SLAB: Silicon Laboratories Inc. | +60.8% | +115% | +47.7% | +277% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.39 |
| [INTC](https://easycompare.io/research/intc): Intel Corp. | +141% | +167% | +79.8% | +219% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.49 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −3.5% | +305% | +617% | +2,380% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.11 |
| [NOK](https://easycompare.io/research/nok): Nokia Oyj | +60.8% | +211% | +72.8% | +123% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.47 |
| ERIC: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | +15.6% | +164% | +8.9% | +161% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.23 |
| [STM](https://easycompare.io/research/stm): STMicroelectronics N.V. | +52.9% | +18.8% | +11.6% | +525% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [ARM](https://easycompare.io/research/arm): Arm Holdings plc American Depositary Shares | +28.9% | +362% | — | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| SWKS: Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | +10.2% | −2.8% | −43.5% | +29.2% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.05 |
| SYNA: Synaptics Incorporated | +61.9% | +29.9% | −33.2% | +72.3% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| [MCHP](https://easycompare.io/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | +16.0% | +8.5% | +13.0% | +207% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| [NXPI](https://easycompare.io/research/nxpi): NXP Semiconductors N.V. | +10.0% | +34.9% | +31.9% | +159% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| CEVA: CEVA, Inc. | +4.5% | +58.9% | −32.9% | −6.1% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |

### How did QCOM do year by year?

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

- QCOM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in ten of its 29 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, NVDA came out ahead of QCOM most often, in 18 of the 26 years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, QCOM finished in the top quarter in five of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in seven. In 2025, it ranked 13 of 24.

| Year | QCOM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +13.8% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +8.3% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +35.1% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −38.6% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +22.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +77.1% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +60.8% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −7.6% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +1.1% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +35.1% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How QCOM 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 QCOM's worst declines?

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

- In all four of QCOM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: QCOM fell 64.5% from October 1993 to July 1994, while the S&P 500 slipped only 2.8%.
- The slowest recovery came after QCOM fell 86.7% from January 2000 to August 2002; it did not regain that peak until March 2014, 12 years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −86.7% | January 3, 2000 | August 5, 2002 | March 18, 2014 | −40.7% | dot-com bust |
| −64.5% | October 18, 1993 | July 6, 1994 | July 24, 1995 | −2.8% |  |
| −53.1% | January 3, 1992 | September 23, 1992 | November 18, 1992 | — |  |
| −45.1% | July 23, 2014 | February 10, 2016 | September 10, 2018 | −3.8% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −44.3% | December 15, 2021 | November 3, 2022 | May 2, 2024 | −20.0% | 2022 bear market |

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

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

- Among its popular alternatives, AAPL held up best, falling less than QCOM in seven of the ten crashes they both traded through.
- QCOM 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 QCOM fell 84.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | QCOM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −84.9% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −48.0% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −0.5% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −19.2% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −30.7% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.6% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −26.8% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −32.2% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −41.5% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.6% | −3.4% |

### How closely does QCOM 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.

- 15 of the 22 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than QCOM's 0.83, led by AVGO, TSM and NVDA.
- TSM took just 75% of the S&P 500's losses, against 139% for QCOM, while still keeping 138% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, QCOM captured 115% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 139% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.51. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QCOM: QUALCOMM Incorporated (this page) | 115% | 139% | 1.51 |
| [MRVL](https://easycompare.io/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | 167% | 116% | 1.68 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 254% | 179% | 2.25 |
| [TSM](https://easycompare.io/research/tsm): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited | 138% | 75.0% | 1.15 |
| [ADI](https://easycompare.io/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | 117% | 92.0% | 1.20 |
| [AAPL](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl): Apple Inc. | 137% | 94.0% | 1.15 |
| MTSI: MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings, Inc. | 148% | 157% | 1.93 |
| SIMO: Silicon Motion Technology Corporation | 126% | 116% | 1.41 |
| SMTC: Semtech Corporation | 193% | 240% | 1.99 |
| [TXN](https://easycompare.io/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | 113% | 108% | 1.18 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | 161% | 185% | 1.95 |
| SLAB: Silicon Laboratories Inc. | 113% | 130% | 1.18 |
| [INTC](https://easycompare.io/research/intc): Intel Corp. | 98.0% | 100% | 1.43 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | 158% | 86.0% | 1.19 |
| [NOK](https://easycompare.io/research/nok): Nokia Oyj | 63.0% | 72.0% | 1.01 |
| ERIC: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson (publ) | 73.0% | 108% | 0.71 |
| [STM](https://easycompare.io/research/stm): STMicroelectronics N.V. | 122% | 104% | 1.72 |
| SWKS: Skyworks Solutions, Inc. | 88.0% | 149% | 1.31 |
| SYNA: Synaptics Incorporated | 117% | 188% | 1.64 |
| [MCHP](https://easycompare.io/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | 127% | 170% | 1.72 |
| [NXPI](https://easycompare.io/research/nxpi): NXP Semiconductors N.V. | 115% | 157% | 1.63 |
| CEVA: CEVA, Inc. | 63.0% | 122% | 1.52 |

### What diversifies QCOM?

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 QCOM into MCK would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 21% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+9.7% for QCOM alone, +16.7% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and PJUL have moved largely independently of QCOM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in five of the eight calendar years in which QCOM lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with QCOM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in QCOM's 8 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.14 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 8 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.23 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 8 |
| PJUL: Innovator U.S. Equity Power Buffer ETF | 0.47 | +64.4% | 8.6% | 1.20 | 0 of 8 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.06 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 8 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.08 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 8 |
| FTLS: First Trust Long/Short Equity ETF | 0.49 | +62.9% | 10.4% | 0.99 | 1 of 8 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.41 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 1 of 8 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.14 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 8 |

## Common questions

### What was QCOM's worst drawdown?

QCOM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1991 was 86.7%, from January 2000 to August 2002. It took about 12 years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, QCOM's best year was 1999, when it returned 2,621%. Its worst was 2000, with a return of -53.3%.

### Is there a better investment than QCOM?

Among QCOM's popular alternatives, ADI, TSM and AAPL earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years. ADI returned 19.5% a year at 34.1% volatility, against 8.2% a year at 42.8%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, APH (automotive electronics theme) and CIBR (cybersecurity) earned more than QCOM with less volatility over the past 5 years. APH returned 33.8% a year at 32.2% volatility, against 8.2% a year at 42.8%.

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

Yes. QCOM's volatility over the past 5 years was 42.8%, 2.5 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, QCOM's return lands within 42.8% 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 QCOM's Sharpe ratio?

QCOM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.40, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so QCOM 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 QCOM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, QCOM's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.58 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 QCOM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a QCOM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to QCOM?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, 13 outperformed QCOM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: MRVL, NVDA and AMD.

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

QCOM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in ten of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +13.8%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

QCOM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in six. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when QCOM fell 84.9% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies QCOM?

These had a low correlation with QCOM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.14), DXJ (correlation 0.23) and PJUL (correlation 0.47); among large stocks, CAH (correlation -0.09), CLS (correlation 0.42) and FIX (correlation 0.21). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

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- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amd)
- [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/tsm)
- [Analog Devices (ADI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/adi)
- [Apple (AAPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/aapl)
- [Texas Instruments (TXN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/txn)
- [Intel (INTC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/intc)
- [Broadcom (AVGO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo)
- [Nokia Oyj (NOK) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nok)
- [STMicroelectronics (STM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/stm)
- [ARM Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/arm)

## Explore further

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