# How Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/tsm
> 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 TSM alone. It places TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited) 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 TSM stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: TSM's full trading record, from October 1997 through September 2026. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **Right now:** TSM has outpaced the market, rising 16.6% over the past 6 months against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Its semiconductor peers split over the past 6 months: MU (Micron Technology) rose 99.9%, while AVGO (Broadcom) fell 16.0%.
- **Stock or market?:** TSM held up far better than its industry: it rose 5.9% over the past 3 months while the semiconductors ETF SMH (VanEck Semiconductor ETF) 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:** Over the past year, TSM rose 44.3% against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100. The same gap shows up over 3 years (382% against 89.3%). The last two calendar years both went the same way: TSM rose 55.7% in 2025, against 15.8% for the S&P 500 and 17.9% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Long term:** TSM turned $10,000 into $161,000 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. TSM's 10-year return of 1,505% puts it ahead of 97% of the stocks worth at least $300 million with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** Across seven sell-offs, TSM has typically fallen 1.2 times as far as the S&P 500. The 2022 bear market took 54.3% off TSM, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than AVGO (Broadcom, 34.3%) but less than NVDA (NVIDIA, 60.7%).
- **Diversification:** TSM is some diversification, but not a hedge: a correlation of 0.58 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.58 with the total US market, more closely than 87% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Over 10 years, TSM's beta versus the S&P 500 was 1.15: in the S&P 500's rising months it gained 1.4 times as much as the index, and in falling months it lost 75% as much.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** DELL (Dell Technologies, computer hardware) and STX (Seagate Technology, computer hardware) were ahead of TSM in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (54.4% and 48.7% volatility against 38.5%).
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 29 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than TSM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY (Eli Lilly and Company), HSBC and GE (GE Aerospace).

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

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in TSM over the past 28 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of TSM over the same span and TSM's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in TSM at the end of September 1998 would have grown to $2,315,706 by September 2026, more than the $121,630 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of TSM, and AAPL finished highest, at $11,681,338.

## TSM 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.

- TSM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1997 was 84.6%, from February 2000 to October 2002. It took about ten years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 28 full calendar years, TSM's best was 1999, when it returned 290%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 54.8%. It lost money in seven of those years.
- TSM is 12.5% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Technology (Semiconductors)
- Trading since: October 8, 1997
- Market value: $2.2T
- Volatility (5 years): 38.5%; Sharpe ratio: 0.91
- Worst decline ever: −84.6%, from February 3, 2000 to October 9, 2002; back at its high by January 2, 2013

| Period | TSM total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −4.5% |
| 3 months | +5.9% |
| 6 months | +16.6% |
| year to date | +34.0% |
| 1 year | +44.3% |
| 3 years | +382% |
| 5 years | +293% |
| 10 years | +1,505% |

## TSM against the whole market

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

### How does TSM rank among all stocks?

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

- TSM's 10-year return ranks in the top 3% of the 2,202 stocks worth at least $300 million with 10 years of history.

| Measure | TSM | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +44.3% | 643 of 3,287 (top 20%) |
| 3-year return | +382% | 164 of 3,017 (top 6%) |
| 5-year return | +293% | 178 of 2,893 (top 7%) |
| 10-year return | +1,505% | 61 of 2,202 (top 3%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 38.5% | 1,367 of 2,893 (top 48%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.91 | 160 of 2,893 (top 6%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −56.6% | 745 of 2,187 (top 35%) |

### What has beaten TSM 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).

- 29 stocks worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than TSM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half TSM's swings, CAH has the best return for its risk: 42.1% a year at 24.7% volatility, 36% less than TSM's 38.5%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.55 against 0.91 for TSM. MPC earned the most, 51.2% a year, while still swinging less than TSM (33.4% against 38.5%).

### Is there a better investment than TSM?

The table below lists investments that beat TSM 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 TSM's popular alternatives, AVGO earned more for the risk it took than TSM over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 48.3%, against 56.6% for TSM.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, DELL (computer hardware) and STX (computer hardware) were ahead of TSM in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (54.4% and 48.7% volatility against 38.5%).
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only 29 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than TSM with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them LLY, HSBC and GE.

The 15 strongest of 29 investments that beat TSM 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 TSM | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TSM: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (this page) |  | +31.5% | 38.5% | 0.91 | −56.6% | +1,505% |  |  |
| [LLY](https://easycompare.io/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | Pharmaceuticals | +40.7% | 32.8% | 1.21 | −34.5% | +1,807% | 0.02 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods |
| [CAH](https://easycompare.io/research/cah): Cardinal Health, Inc. | Health Care Distribution | +42.1% | 24.7% | 1.55 | −46.1% | +349% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MCK](https://easycompare.io/research/mck): McKesson Corporation | Health Care Distribution | +38.7% | 25.0% | 1.44 | −38.1% | +586% | -0.04 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [APH](https://easycompare.io/research/aph): Amphenol Corporation | Electronic Components | +33.8% | 32.2% | 1.07 | −37.5% | +965% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mfg): Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.6% | 30.6% | 1.10 | −45.7% | +345% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| CIB: Grupo Cibest S.A. | Banks | +32.9% | 32.9% | 1.03 | −70.4% | +345% | 0.13 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [SMFG](https://easycompare.io/research/smfg): Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.7% | 29.4% | 1.14 | −47.6% | +474% | 0.28 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| ESLT: Elbit Systems Ltd. | Aerospace & Defense | +39.8% | 34.6% | 1.15 | −35.4% | +765% | -0.10 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EME: EMCOR Group, Inc. | Engineering & Construction | +43.0% | 35.3% | 1.20 | −48.0% | +1,202% | 0.30 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MPC](https://easycompare.io/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Oil & Gas | +51.2% | 33.4% | 1.41 | −79.7% | +1,387% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [HWM](https://easycompare.io/research/hwm): Howmet Aerospace Inc. | Aerospace & Defense | +47.3% | 32.5% | 1.36 | −68.9% | +1,028% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| USLM: United States Lime & Minerals, Inc. | Construction Materials | +35.6% | 36.1% | 1.03 | −45.9% | +803% | 0.01 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [HSBC](https://easycompare.io/research/hsbc): HSBC Holdings plc | Banks | +33.1% | 25.9% | 1.24 | −62.3% | +319% | 0.37 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [GE](https://easycompare.io/research/ge): GE Aerospace | Aerospace & Defense | +36.0% | 31.0% | 1.15 | −80.9% | +139% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| [MUFG](https://easycompare.io/research/mufg): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | Banks | +33.2% | 29.4% | 1.13 | −54.9% | +483% | 0.27 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## TSM against its popular alternatives

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

### How do TSM'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 19 popular alternatives earned more than TSM over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Ten of the 19 popular alternatives earned less than TSM over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, TSM returned 31.5% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (38.5% against 17.1%).

### Has TSM consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

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

- Three of the 20 popular alternatives, AMD, MU and ASX, outperformed TSM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- ASX, AVGO and KLAC earned more for the risk they took than TSM (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.
- NVDA outperformed TSM over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so TSM has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of TSM | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TSM: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (this page) | +44.3% | +382% | +293% | +1,505% |  |  | 0.91 |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | +122% | +425% | +359% | +7,583% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.82 |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | +334% | +1,246% | +1,244% | +5,243% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 1.20 |
| [ASX](https://easycompare.io/research/asx): ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | +217% | +469% | +631% | +967% | 4/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 1.15 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | +18.8% | +425% | +884% | +13,019% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 1.14 |
| [LRCX](https://easycompare.io/research/lrcx): Lam Research Corporation | +83.7% | +350% | +390% | +2,989% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.89 |
| [KLAC](https://easycompare.io/research/klac): KLA Corporation | +41.0% | +258% | +413% | +2,534% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.94 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | −3.5% | +305% | +617% | +2,380% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 1.11 |
| [MRVL](https://easycompare.io/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | +181% | +390% | +264% | +1,874% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [UMC](https://easycompare.io/research/umc): United Microelectronics Corporation | +166% | +202% | +147% | +1,610% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.63 |
| [ASML](https://easycompare.io/research/asml): ASML Holding N.V. | +57.5% | +188% | +123% | +1,628% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| [ADI](https://easycompare.io/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | +63.3% | +150% | +144% | +652% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.69 |
| [TXN](https://easycompare.io/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | +58.7% | +105% | +60.5% | +424% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [INTC](https://easycompare.io/research/intc): Intel Corp. | +141% | +167% | +79.8% | +219% | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [AMAT](https://easycompare.io/research/amat): Applied Materials, Inc. | +78.5% | +209% | +215% | +1,488% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [STM](https://easycompare.io/research/stm): STMicroelectronics N.V. | +52.9% | +18.8% | +11.6% | +525% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.28 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | +37.8% | −10.9% | +66.0% | +540% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.46 |
| [QCOM](https://easycompare.io/research/qcom): QUALCOMM Incorporated | +7.4% | +72.4% | +48.3% | +239% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.40 |
| [MCHP](https://easycompare.io/research/mchp): Microchip Technology Incorporated | +16.0% | +8.5% | +13.0% | +207% | 1/5 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% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| GFS: GLOBALFOUNDRIES Inc. | +32.7% | −13.2% | — | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |

### How did TSM do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 1998, along with where TSM ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- TSM finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 18 of its 28 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, TSM finished in the top quarter in eight of 28 years and in the bottom quarter in three. In 2025, it ranked 9 of 21.
- Among its popular alternatives, NVDA came out ahead of TSM most often, in 17 of the 26 years both traded.

| Year | TSM | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +55.7% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +92.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +41.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −37.0% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +11.7% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +91.6% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +63.3% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −4.3% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +37.9% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +31.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How TSM 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 TSM's worst declines?

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

- In all five of TSM's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- Not every decline was the market's doing: TSM fell 53.3% from October 1997 to January 1998, while the S&P 500 slipped only 4.3%.
- The slowest recovery came after TSM fell 84.6% from February 2000 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until January 2013, ten years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −84.6% | February 3, 2000 | October 9, 2002 | January 2, 2013 | −43.6% | dot-com bust |
| −56.6% | January 14, 2022 | November 3, 2022 | March 4, 2024 | −19.2% | 2022 bear market |
| −53.3% | October 10, 1997 | January 9, 1998 | January 15, 1999 | −4.3% |  |
| −36.9% | January 23, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | June 26, 2025 | −18.3% |  |
| −26.7% | January 14, 2020 | March 19, 2020 | July 6, 2020 | −26.6% | Covid crash |

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

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

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than TSM in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- TSM fell further than the S&P 500 in five of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when TSM fell 82.4% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

| Crash | Dates | TSM fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −82.4% | −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 | 0.0% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −15.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −13.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −9.3% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −21.4% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −23.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −54.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.9% | −3.4% |

### How closely does TSM 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, TSM captured 138% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 75% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.15. Its share of the market's gains was larger than its share of the losses.
- Only KLAC, UMC and AVGO had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than TSM's 1.84, out of 19 popular alternatives with the same record.
- UMC took just 52% of the S&P 500's losses, against 75% for TSM, while still keeping 133% of its gains.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TSM: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (this page) | 138% | 75.0% | 1.15 |
| [AMD](https://easycompare.io/research/amd): Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 254% | 179% | 2.25 |
| [MU](https://easycompare.io/research/mu): Micron Technology, Inc. | 204% | 114% | 1.75 |
| [ASX](https://easycompare.io/research/asx): ASE Technology Holding Co., Ltd. | 126% | 79.0% | 1.38 |
| [NVDA](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda): NVIDIA Corporation | 248% | 140% | 1.83 |
| [LRCX](https://easycompare.io/research/lrcx): Lam Research Corporation | 183% | 104% | 1.56 |
| [KLAC](https://easycompare.io/research/klac): KLA Corporation | 152% | 59.0% | 1.32 |
| [AVGO](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo): Broadcom Inc. | 158% | 86.0% | 1.19 |
| [MRVL](https://easycompare.io/research/mrvl): Marvell Technology, Inc. | 167% | 116% | 1.68 |
| [UMC](https://easycompare.io/research/umc): United Microelectronics Corporation | 133% | 52.0% | 1.33 |
| [ASML](https://easycompare.io/research/asml): ASML Holding N.V. | 170% | 132% | 1.44 |
| [ADI](https://easycompare.io/research/adi): Analog Devices, Inc. | 117% | 92.0% | 1.20 |
| [TXN](https://easycompare.io/research/txn): Texas Instruments Incorporated | 113% | 108% | 1.18 |
| [INTC](https://easycompare.io/research/intc): Intel Corp. | 98.0% | 100% | 1.43 |
| [AMAT](https://easycompare.io/research/amat): Applied Materials, Inc. | 152% | 97.0% | 1.51 |
| [STM](https://easycompare.io/research/stm): STMicroelectronics N.V. | 122% | 104% | 1.72 |
| ON: ON Semiconductor Corporation | 161% | 185% | 1.95 |
| [QCOM](https://easycompare.io/research/qcom): QUALCOMM Incorporated | 115% | 139% | 1.51 |
| [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 |

### What diversifies TSM?

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 TSM into XLE would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 20% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+34.3% for TSM alone, +34.1% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, GCOW and EMLP have moved largely independently of TSM over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.33 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- XLE made money in four of the seven calendar years in which TSM lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with TSM | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in TSM's 7 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.33 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 7 |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | 0.23 | +93.4% | 13.6% | 1.04 | 1 of 7 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.24 | +101% | 14.5% | 1.04 | 1 of 7 |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | 0.14 | +83.3% | 13.0% | 1.00 | 1 of 7 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.21 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 7 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | -0.09 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 4 of 7 |
| [VTV](https://easycompare.io/research/vtv): Vanguard Morningstar Value ETF | 0.37 | +76.6% | 13.7% | 0.90 | 0 of 7 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.46 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 0 of 7 |

## Common questions

### What was TSM's worst drawdown?

TSM's deepest decline since it began trading in 1997 was 84.6%, from February 2000 to October 2002. It took about ten years from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 28 full calendar years, TSM's best year was 1999, when it returned 290%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -54.8%.

### Is there a better investment than TSM?

Among TSM's popular alternatives, AVGO earned more for the risk it took than TSM over the past 5 years, and its worst fall in 10 years was 48.3%, against 56.6% for TSM. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, DELL (computer hardware) and STX (computer hardware) were ahead of TSM in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (54.4% and 48.7% volatility against 38.5%).

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

Yes. TSM's volatility over the past 5 years was 38.5%, 2.2 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, TSM's return lands within 38.5% 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 TSM's Sharpe ratio?

TSM's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.91, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so TSM earned more 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 TSM with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, TSM'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 TSM instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a TSM holding.

### What are the best alternatives to TSM?

Of the 20 popular alternatives we compared, three outperformed TSM in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: AMD, MU and ASX.

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

TSM finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 18 of 28 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +55.7%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

TSM fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in four of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in five. The clearest case was the dot-com bust, when TSM fell 82.4% and the S&P 500 fell 47.5%.

### What diversifies TSM?

These had a low correlation with TSM over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.33), GCOW (correlation 0.23) and EMLP (correlation 0.24); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.14), CLS (correlation 0.48) and FIX (correlation 0.37). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/amd)
- [Micron Technology (MU) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mu)
- [ASE Technology Holding (ASX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/asx)
- [NVIDIA (NVDA) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/nvda)
- [Lam Research (LRCX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/lrcx)
- [KLA (KLAC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/klac)
- [Broadcom (AVGO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/avgo)
- [Marvell Technology (MRVL) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mrvl)
- [United Microelectronics (UMC) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/umc)
- [ASML Holding (ASML) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/asml)
- [Analog Devices (ADI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/adi)
- [Texas Instruments (TXN) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/txn)

## Explore further

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