# How Shopify (SHOP) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/shop
> 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 SHOP alone. It places SHOP (Shopify Inc.) against 18 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 SHOP stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: SHOP's full trading record, from May 2015 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:** SHOP has run far ahead of the market, rising 39.4% over the past 3 months against 3.9% for the S&P 500 and 3.2% for the Nasdaq 100. After a 46.7% loss from October 2025 to May 2026, SHOP has bounced 81.6% off the low.
- **Stock or market?:** SHOP's 39.4% gain over the past 3 months far outran its industry: the software ETF IGV (iShares Expanded Tech-Software Sector ETF) rose 15.0%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. SHOP rose 25.8% last month as the S&P 500 fell 0.6% and the Nasdaq 100 fell 3.2%.
- **Past 1 to 3 years:** Over the past year, SHOP rose 5.3% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. Even so, SHOP finished ahead of the S&P 500 in both 2024 and 2025.
- **Long term:** SHOP turned $10,000 into $402,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. Even so, the past 5 years only trailed the S&P 500 (16.6% against 81.7%), after a much stronger decade (3,916% against 321%).
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, SHOP fell 79.0%, against 24.5% for the S&P 500, and more than software peers such as ORCL (Oracle, 31.0%). Across four sell-offs, SHOP has typically fallen 2.4 times as far as the S&P 500.
- **Diversification:** SHOP is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.69 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.70 with the total US market, more closely than 99% of stocks worth at least $300 million.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** SAP, EBAY and AMZN (Amazon.com) earned more than SHOP with less volatility over the past 5 years. SAP returned 11.5% a year at 30.0% volatility, against 3.1% a year at 66.9%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MU (Micron Technology, semiconductors) and AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, semiconductors) earned more than SHOP with less volatility over the past 5 years. MU returned 68.1% a year at 57.1% volatility, against 3.1% a year at 66.9%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 12.7% a year at 17.1% volatility, against 3.1% at 66.9% for SHOP.

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in SHOP over the past 11 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of SHOP over the same span and SHOP's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in SHOP at the end of September 2015 would have grown to $421,312 by September 2026, more than the $47,605 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of SHOP, and NVDA finished highest, at $3,837,604.

## SHOP 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.

- SHOP's deepest decline since it began trading in 2015 was 84.8%, from November 2021 to October 2022. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over ten full calendar years, SHOP's best was 2019, when it returned 187%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 74.8%. It lost money in one of those years.
- SHOP is 3.2% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Software - Application)
- Trading since: May 20, 2015
- Market value: $225B
- Volatility (5 years): 66.9%; Sharpe ratio: 0.38
- Worst decline ever: −84.8%, from November 19, 2021 to October 11, 2022; back at its high by October 24, 2025

| Period | SHOP total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +25.8% |
| 3 months | +39.4% |
| 6 months | +28.4% |
| year to date | +10.4% |
| 1 year | +5.3% |
| 3 years | +239% |
| 5 years | +16.6% |
| 10 years | +3,916% |

## SHOP against the whole market

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

### How does SHOP rank among all stocks?

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

- SHOP's 10-year return ranks in the top 1% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.
- SHOP is among the more volatile stocks: its price swings rank in the bottom 15% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | SHOP | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +5.3% | 1,766 of 3,287 (top 54%) |
| 3-year return | +239% | 314 of 3,017 (top 11%) |
| 5-year return | +16.6% | 1,501 of 2,893 (top 52%) |
| 10-year return | +3,916% | 11 of 2,202 (top 1%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 66.9% | 2,456 of 2,893 (top 85%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.38 | 1,303 of 2,893 (top 46%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −84.8% | 1,785 of 2,187 (top 82%) |

### What has beaten SHOP 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).

- 1,210 stocks and 711 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than SHOP over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 53% of the 3,633 screened.
- Among those with at least half SHOP's swings, CLS has the best return for its risk: 101% a year at 59.7% volatility, 11% less than SHOP's 66.9%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.47 against 0.38 for SHOP.
- Among SHOP's popular alternatives, SAP, EBAY and GDDY are in the region. SAP earned 11.5% a year against 3.1% a year for SHOP, at 30.0% volatility, 55% less than SHOP's 66.9%.

### Is there a better investment than SHOP?

The table below lists investments that beat SHOP 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 SHOP's popular alternatives, SAP, EBAY and AMZN earned more than SHOP with less volatility over the past 5 years. SAP returned 11.5% a year at 30.0% volatility, against 3.1% a year at 66.9%.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MU (semiconductors) and AMD (semiconductors) earned more than SHOP with less volatility over the past 5 years. MU returned 68.1% a year at 57.1% volatility, against 3.1% a year at 66.9%.
- Simply owning the S&P 500 would have done better over the past 5 years: 12.7% a year at 17.1% volatility, against 3.1% at 66.9% for SHOP.

The 15 strongest of 1,921 investments that beat SHOP 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 SHOP | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SHOP: Shopify Inc. (this page) |  | +3.1% | 66.9% | 0.38 | −84.8% | +3,916% |  |  |
| [DELL](https://easycompare.io/research/dell): Dell Technologies Inc. | Computer Hardware | +55.2% | 54.4% | 1.08 | −59.6% | +3,701% | 0.17 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [VLO](https://easycompare.io/research/vlo): Valero Energy Corporation | Oil & Gas | +44.2% | 36.9% | 1.18 | −71.9% | +1,061% | 0.12 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [HPE](https://easycompare.io/research/hpe): Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company | Computer Hardware | +32.9% | 42.2% | 0.89 | −56.9% | +483% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | Semiconductors | +68.1% | 57.1% | 1.20 | −57.6% | +5,243% | 0.21 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [RVMD](https://easycompare.io/research/rvmd): Revolution Medicines, Inc. | Biotechnology | +48.8% | 62.1% | 0.95 | −73.3% | — | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [NTRA](https://easycompare.io/research/ntra): Natera, Inc. | Medical Diagnostics | +29.3% | 57.6% | 0.74 | −77.7% | +3,841% | 0.50 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [P](https://easycompare.io/research/p): Everpure, Inc. | Computer Hardware | +37.3% | 55.0% | 0.85 | −69.4% | +899% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| CIB: Grupo Cibest S.A. | Banks | +32.9% | 32.9% | 1.03 | −70.4% | +345% | 0.15 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | Semiconductors | +35.7% | 57.6% | 0.82 | −65.5% | +7,583% | 0.36 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| THC: Tenet Healthcare Corporation | Health Care Facilities | +32.9% | 45.1% | 0.86 | −71.7% | +1,058% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [ASX](https://easycompare.io/research/asx): ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | Semiconductors | +48.8% | 43.0% | 1.15 | −52.5% | +967% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| HALO: Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. | Biotechnology | +26.6% | 40.4% | 0.79 | −49.1% | +1,196% | 0.18 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CRWD](https://easycompare.io/research/crwd): CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. | Cybersecurity | +26.3% | 52.7% | 0.71 | −67.7% | — | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| VCTR: Victory Capital Holdings, Inc. | Asset Management | +28.1% | 35.0% | 0.89 | −45.2% | — | 0.38 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| NHC: National HealthCare Corporation | Medical - Care Facilities | +32.0% | 28.5% | 1.12 | −35.3% | +394% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |

## SHOP against its popular alternatives

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

### How do SHOP'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.

- Six of the 18 popular alternatives, led by EBAY, SAP and GDDY, were both more rewarding and calmer than SHOP over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, SHOP returned 3.1% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (66.9% against 17.1%).

### Has SHOP consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- None of the 18 popular alternatives outperformed SHOP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was AMZN.
- SAP, EBAY and GDDY earned more for the risk they took than SHOP (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 SHOP | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SHOP: Shopify Inc. (this page) | +5.3% | +239% | +16.6% | +3,916% |  |  | 0.38 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | +21.3% | +110% | +53.8% | +548% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.42 |
| [EBAY](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay): eBay Inc. | +28.3% | +213% | +74.2% | +374% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.50 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | −16.6% | +81.3% | +72.6% | +205% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | −10.6% | +60.7% | +17.2% | +1,002% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.31 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | −52.1% | +33.3% | +45.1% | +300% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.38 |
| GDDY: GoDaddy Inc. | −17.9% | +46.1% | +55.8% | +206% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.43 |
| FIVN: Five9, Inc. | +53.0% | −42.9% | −78.4% | +141% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.24 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | −3.9% | +21.3% | −14.8% | +240% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.12 |
| WIX: Wix.com Ltd. | −42.5% | −5.0% | −59.9% | +76.4% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.00 |
| GPN: Global Payments Inc. | −1.3% | −21.1% | −44.7% | +22.4% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.14 |
| YEXT: Yext, Inc. | −14.6% | +20.3% | −42.6% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| HUBS: HubSpot, Inc. | −44.5% | −41.6% | −68.5% | +377% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.11 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | −25.2% | −52.5% | −59.4% | +135% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.28 |
| [PYPL](https://easycompare.io/research/pypl): PayPal Holdings, Inc. | −16.5% | +8.2% | −77.6% | +44.1% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.47 |
| CMRC: Commerce.com, Inc. | −21.6% | −59.8% | −93.0% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.42 |
| FOUR: Shift4 Payments, Inc. | −46.7% | −20.1% | −47.4% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.07 |
| LSPD: Lightspeed Commerce Inc. | −4.7% | −17.2% | −88.4% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.40 |
| TOST: Toast, Inc. | −13.3% | +85.7% | −35.9% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.15 |

### How did SHOP do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2016, along with where SHOP ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- SHOP finished ahead of the S&P 500 in eight of its ten full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, SHOP finished in the top quarter in eight of ten years and in the bottom quarter in one. In 2025, it ranked 1 of 19.
- None of the 17 popular alternatives came out ahead of SHOP in most of the years they have in common.

| Year | SHOP | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +51.4% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +36.5% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +124% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −74.8% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +21.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +185% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +187% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | +37.1% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +135% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +66.3% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How SHOP 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 SHOP's worst declines?

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

- In all five of SHOP's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: SHOP fell 46.7% from October 2025 to May 2026, while the S&P 500 rose 8.6%.
- The slowest recovery came after SHOP fell 84.8% from November 2021 to October 2022; it did not regain that peak until October 2025, three years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −84.8% | November 19, 2021 | October 11, 2022 | October 24, 2025 | −22.6% | 2022 bear market |
| −52.2% | August 3, 2015 | February 12, 2016 | August 19, 2016 | −10.1% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −46.7% | October 29, 2025 | May 13, 2026 | October 12, 2026 | +8.6% |  |
| −40.7% | February 19, 2020 | March 16, 2020 | April 17, 2020 | −29.1% | Covid crash |
| −31.5% | July 25, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | February 8, 2019 | −16.6% | late-2018 sell-off |

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

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

- SHOP fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the six crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when SHOP fell 79.0% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.
- Among its popular alternatives, SAP held up best, falling less than SHOP in five of the six crashes they both traded through.
- SHOP began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but eight of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was ORCL's 41.1%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.

| Crash | Dates | SHOP 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 | −49.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −5.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −27.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −40.7% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −79.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −5.1% | −3.4% |

### How closely does SHOP 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, SHOP captured 233% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 203% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 2.09. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Only MELI had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than SHOP's 1.15, out of 13 popular alternatives with the same record.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SHOP: Shopify Inc. (this page) | 233% | 203% | 2.09 |
| [AMZN](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn): Amazon.com, Inc. | 134% | 139% | 1.31 |
| [EBAY](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay): eBay Inc. | 113% | 133% | 1.23 |
| [SAP](https://easycompare.io/research/sap): SAP SE | 112% | 152% | 1.10 |
| [MELI](https://easycompare.io/research/meli): MercadoLibre, Inc. | 135% | 111% | 1.44 |
| [ORCL](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl): Oracle Corporation | 131% | 159% | 1.30 |
| GDDY: GoDaddy Inc. | 79.0% | 87.0% | 0.97 |
| FIVN: Five9, Inc. | 85.0% | 114% | 1.05 |
| [CRM](https://easycompare.io/research/crm): Salesforce, Inc. | 115% | 143% | 1.16 |
| WIX: Wix.com Ltd. | 106% | 171% | 1.21 |
| GPN: Global Payments Inc. | 76.0% | 139% | 0.98 |
| HUBS: HubSpot, Inc. | 121% | 149% | 1.46 |
| [ADBE](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe): Adobe Inc. | 123% | 184% | 1.24 |
| [PYPL](https://easycompare.io/research/pypl): PayPal Holdings, Inc. | 106% | 186% | 1.25 |

### What diversifies SHOP?

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 SHOP into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 19% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+1.8% for SHOP alone, +7.8% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and GCOW have moved largely independently of SHOP over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.31 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- In 2022, the one year SHOP lost money (-74.8%), XLE returned +64.4%.

| Investment | Correlation with SHOP | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in SHOP's 1 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.31 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 1 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.28 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 1 |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | 0.29 | +93.4% | 13.6% | 1.04 | 1 of 1 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.35 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 1 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.48 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 0 of 1 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.09 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 1 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.47 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 0 of 1 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.09 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 1 |

## Common questions

### What was SHOP's worst drawdown?

SHOP's deepest decline since it began trading in 2015 was 84.8%, from November 2021 to October 2022. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high. Because SHOP launched in May 2015, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or two other sell-offs.

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

Over ten full calendar years, SHOP's best year was 2019, when it returned 187%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -74.8%.

### Is there a better investment than SHOP?

Among SHOP's popular alternatives, SAP, EBAY and AMZN earned more than SHOP with less volatility over the past 5 years. SAP returned 11.5% a year at 30.0% volatility, against 3.1% a year at 66.9%. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MU (semiconductors) and AMD (semiconductors) earned more than SHOP with less volatility over the past 5 years. MU returned 68.1% a year at 57.1% volatility, against 3.1% a year at 66.9%.

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

Yes. SHOP's volatility over the past 5 years was 66.9%, 3.9 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, SHOP's return lands within 66.9% 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 SHOP's Sharpe ratio?

SHOP's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.38, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so SHOP 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 SHOP with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, SHOP's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.69 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 SHOP instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a SHOP holding.

### What are the best alternatives to SHOP?

None of the 18 popular alternatives we compared outperformed SHOP in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, which says more about SHOP's strength than about its alternatives.

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

SHOP finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in eight of ten full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +51.4%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

SHOP fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the six major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when SHOP fell 79.0% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies SHOP?

These had a low correlation with SHOP over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.31), DXJ (correlation 0.28) and GCOW (correlation 0.29); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.30), CLS (correlation 0.36) and FIX (correlation 0.27). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Amazon.com (AMZN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amzn)
- [EBAY Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ebay)
- [SAP Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/sap)
- [MercadoLibre (MELI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/meli)
- [Oracle (ORCL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/orcl)
- [Salesforce (CRM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/crm)
- [Adobe (ADBE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/adbe)
- [PayPal (PYPL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/pypl)
- [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)

## Explore further

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