# How Williams Companies (WMB) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/wmb
> 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 WMB alone. It places WMB (The Williams Companies, 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 WMB stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: WMB'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:** Over the past 6 months, WMB rose 0.6% against 9.1% for the S&P 500 and 11.2% for the Nasdaq 100. Its oil & gas midstream peers split over the past 6 months: KMI (Kinder Morgan) rose 7.1%, while NFG (National Fuel Gas) fell 6.5%.
- **Stock or market?:** WMB fell 4.5% over the past 3 months, 2.9 points behind the oil & gas midstream ETF AMLP (Alerian MLP ETF), which fell 1.6%. The S&P 500 rose 3.9%. Its oil & gas midstream peers did not move as one over the past 3 months: MPLX rose 4.1%, while DTM (DT Midstream) fell 14.2%.
- **Long term:** WMB turned $10,000 into $38,800 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. On the flip side, the past 5 years have been the better stretch: WMB rose 200% against 81.7% for the S&P 500, after trailing over the decade.
- **In a crash:** WMB has tended to fall harder than the S&P 500 in crashes, about 2.1 times the index's decline.
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, WMB has a correlation of 0.42 over 5 years, more closely than 57% of stocks worth at least $300 million. Next to an index fund it is some diversification, but not a hedge.
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** LNG (Cheniere Energy) fell less than WMB in each recent sell-off and kept up with it over the past decade.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** MPC (Marathon Petroleum, oil & gas) and TRGP (Targa Resources, oil & gas midstream) were ahead of WMB in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (33.4% and 31.7% volatility against 24.0%).
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only one of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WMB with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them DXJ (WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund).

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

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

- $10,000 invested in WMB at the end of September 1997 would have grown to $472,016 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 WMB, and AAPL finished highest, at $20,534,853.

## WMB 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.

- WMB's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 98.1%, from June 1999 to July 2002. It took 23 months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 29 full calendar years, WMB's best was 2003, when it returned 457%, and its worst was 2002, when it lost 75.2%. It lost money in seven of those years.
- WMB is 10.1% below its all-time high.

- Type: Stock, Energy (Oil & Gas Midstream)
- Trading since: October 20, 1986
- Market value: $86B
- Volatility (5 years): 24.0%; Sharpe ratio: 1.04
- Worst decline ever: −98.1%, from June 8, 1999 to July 25, 2002; back at its high by June 1, 2004

| Period | WMB total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −1.8% |
| 3 months | −4.5% |
| 6 months | +0.6% |
| year to date | +18.1% |
| 1 year | +14.9% |
| 3 years | +125% |
| 5 years | +200% |
| 10 years | +288% |

## WMB against the whole market

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

### How does WMB rank among all stocks?

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

- On return for the risk taken (the Sharpe ratio), WMB ranks in the top 3% of the 2,893 stocks worth at least $300 million.

| Measure | WMB | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +14.9% | 1,405 of 3,287 (top 43%) |
| 3-year return | +125% | 736 of 3,017 (top 25%) |
| 5-year return | +200% | 314 of 2,893 (top 11%) |
| 10-year return | +288% | 618 of 2,202 (top 29%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 24.0% | 265 of 2,893 (top 10%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 1.04 | 76 of 2,893 (top 3%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −68.1% | 1,225 of 2,187 (top 57%) |

### What has beaten WMB 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).

- One ETF worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than WMB 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 WMB's swings, DXJ has the best return for its risk: 26.6% a year at 19.1% volatility, 21% less than WMB's 24.0%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.34 against 1.04 for WMB.

### Is there a better investment than WMB?

The table below lists investments that beat WMB 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 WMB's popular alternatives, LNG fell less than WMB in each recent sell-off and kept up with it over the past decade.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MPC (oil & gas) and TRGP (oil & gas midstream) were ahead of WMB in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (33.4% and 31.7% volatility against 24.0%).
- Few investments have done better on both counts: only one of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than WMB with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them DXJ.

The 1 strongest of 1 investments that beat WMB 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 WMB | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WMB: The Williams Companies, Inc. (this page) |  | +24.6% | 24.0% | 1.04 | −68.1% | +288% |  |  |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | International Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +428% | 0.33 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline; Higher return in most periods; Smaller losses in recent crashes |

## WMB against its popular alternatives

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

### How do WMB'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 WMB over the past 5 years with smaller price swings, so every higher return on the map came with a bumpier ride.
- Nine of the 18 popular alternatives earned less than WMB over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, WMB returned 24.6% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (24.0% against 17.1%).

### Has WMB consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares WMB 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 WMB in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes. The closest was LNG.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of WMB | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WMB: The Williams Companies, Inc. (this page) | +14.9% | +125% | +200% | +288% |  |  | 1.04 |
| [LNG](https://easycompare.io/research/lng): Cheniere Energy, Inc. | +29.3% | +69.8% | +186% | +616% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.85 |
| PAA: Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | +70.2% | +105% | +230% | +64.0% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.06 |
| PAGP: Plains GP Holdings LP | +73.6% | +113% | +228% | +56.3% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.05 |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | +27.2% | +105% | +187% | +350% | 4/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.22 |
| [TRP](https://easycompare.io/research/trp): TC Energy Corporation | +24.9% | +136% | +66.7% | +160% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| GLNG: Golar LNG Limited | +19.2% | +108% | +262% | +117% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| DTM: DT Midstream, Inc. | +14.4% | +147% | +199% | — | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 1.00 |
| [OKE](https://easycompare.io/research/oke): ONEOK, Inc. | +42.8% | +59.9% | +86.8% | +233% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.59 |
| [KMI](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | +26.9% | +129% | +136% | +163% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.88 |
| [EOG](https://easycompare.io/research/eog): EOG Resources, Inc. | +53.1% | +31.9% | +115% | +131% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.64 |
| [EPD](https://easycompare.io/research/epd): Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | +28.4% | +65.2% | +113% | +178% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.98 |
| WES: Western Midstream Partners, LP | +27.6% | +110% | +187% | +128% | 4/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.91 |
| NFG: National Fuel Gas Company | −5.2% | +64.1% | +59.3% | +113% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.53 |
| EQT: EQT Corporation | −1.8% | +35.0% | +175% | +69.1% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| UNG: United States Natural Gas Fund LP | −18.8% | −61.3% | −85.6% | −92.9% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | -0.30 |
| [ENB](https://easycompare.io/research/enb): Enbridge Inc. | +8.5% | +84.0% | +54.3% | +103% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| AM: Antero Midstream Corporation | +17.2% | +95.0% | +149% | — | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.84 |
| HESM: Hess Midstream LP | +0.8% | +27.1% | +67.9% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.52 |

### How did WMB do year by year?

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

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, WMB finished in the top quarter in eight of 29 years and in the bottom quarter in five. In 2025, it ranked 8 of 19.
- WMB finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 15 of its 29 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, HESM came out ahead of WMB most often, in five of the eight years both traded.

| Year | WMB | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +14.9% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +62.4% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +11.8% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | +32.9% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +38.4% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | −8.2% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +14.2% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −23.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +2.0% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +31.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How WMB 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 WMB's worst declines?

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

- In all three of WMB's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after WMB fell 81.0% from June 2015 to February 2016; it did not regain that peak until November 2023, eight years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −98.1% | June 8, 1999 | July 25, 2002 | June 1, 2004 | −34.0% | dot-com bust |
| −81.0% | June 22, 2015 | February 8, 2016 | November 30, 2023 | −11.5% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |
| −75.3% | June 30, 2008 | March 6, 2009 | January 25, 2012 | −45.4% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −45.6% | October 9, 1989 | August 23, 1990 | February 12, 1992 | — |  |
| −44.4% | October 2, 1987 | December 4, 1987 | October 26, 1988 | — |  |

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

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

- WMB fell further than the S&P 500 in eight of the ten crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when WMB fell 78.9% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.
- Among its popular alternatives, EPD held up best, falling less than WMB in all ten crashes they both traded through.

| Crash | Dates | WMB fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | −98.0% | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −75.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −3.4% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −26.7% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −78.9% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −7.0% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −25.4% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −57.0% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −23.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.4% | −3.4% |

### How closely does WMB 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.

- Only LNG and MPLX had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than WMB's 1.08, out of 15 popular alternatives with the same record.
- LNG took just 30% of the S&P 500's losses, against 78% for WMB, while still keeping 79% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, WMB captured 85% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 78% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.02. That is a defensive profile: it gave up some of the market's upside in exchange for smaller losses.

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

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| WMB: The Williams Companies, Inc. (this page) | 85.0% | 78.0% | 1.02 |
| [LNG](https://easycompare.io/research/lng): Cheniere Energy, Inc. | 79.0% | 30.0% | 0.77 |
| PAA: Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. | 81.0% | 127% | 1.36 |
| PAGP: Plains GP Holdings LP | 77.0% | 123% | 1.29 |
| [MPLX](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | 87.0% | 76.0% | 1.16 |
| [TRP](https://easycompare.io/research/trp): TC Energy Corporation | 67.0% | 73.0% | 0.72 |
| GLNG: Golar LNG Limited | 67.0% | 67.0% | 0.47 |
| [OKE](https://easycompare.io/research/oke): ONEOK, Inc. | 103% | 126% | 1.38 |
| [KMI](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi): Kinder Morgan, Inc. | 68.0% | 82.0% | 0.82 |
| [EOG](https://easycompare.io/research/eog): EOG Resources, Inc. | 92.0% | 135% | 1.17 |
| [EPD](https://easycompare.io/research/epd): Enterprise Products Partners L.P. | 81.0% | 94.0% | 0.93 |
| WES: Western Midstream Partners, LP | 121% | 175% | 2.23 |
| NFG: National Fuel Gas Company | 53.0% | 61.0% | 0.53 |
| EQT: EQT Corporation | 62.0% | 101% | 0.90 |
| UNG: United States Natural Gas Fund LP | −25.0% | 122% | 0.30 |
| [ENB](https://easycompare.io/research/enb): Enbridge Inc. | 60.0% | 74.0% | 0.73 |

### What diversifies WMB?

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 WMB into DXJ would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 16% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+26.7% for WMB alone, +27.3% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, DXJ, SMH and DBEF have moved largely independently of WMB over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.41 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- FIX made money in four of the seven calendar years in which WMB lost money.

| Investment | Correlation with WMB | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in WMB's 7 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.33 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 2 of 7 |
| [SMH](https://easycompare.io/research/smh): VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.19 | +323% | 36.9% | 0.97 | 1 of 7 |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | 0.41 | +85.0% | 13.8% | 0.96 | 2 of 7 |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.26 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 2 of 7 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 0.38 | +136% | 20.8% | 0.93 | 1 of 7 |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | 0.43 | +109% | 18.4% | 0.90 | 0 of 7 |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 0.26 | +153% | 24.2% | 0.89 | 2 of 7 |
| EUFN: iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF | 0.39 | +133% | 21.8% | 0.89 | 0 of 7 |

## Common questions

### What was WMB's worst drawdown?

WMB's deepest decline since it began trading in 1986 was 98.1%, from June 1999 to July 2002. It took 23 months from the low to climb back to its old high.

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

Over 29 full calendar years, WMB's best year was 2003, when it returned 457%. Its worst was 2002, with a return of -75.2%.

### Is there a better investment than WMB?

Among WMB's popular alternatives, LNG fell less than WMB in each recent sell-off and kept up with it over the past decade. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, MPC (oil & gas) and TRGP (oil & gas midstream) were ahead of WMB in most short and long periods, though with much bigger swings (33.4% and 31.7% volatility against 24.0%).

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

Yes. WMB's volatility over the past 5 years was 24.0%, 1.4 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, WMB's return lands within 24.0% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is WMB's Sharpe ratio?

WMB's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 1.04, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so WMB 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 WMB with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, WMB's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.42 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 WMB instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a WMB holding.

### What are the best alternatives to WMB?

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

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

WMB finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 15 of 29 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +14.9%, against +17.7% for the index.

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

WMB fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the ten major crashes it has traded through, and further in eight. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when WMB fell 78.9% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies WMB?

These had a low correlation with WMB over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, DXJ (correlation 0.33), SMH (correlation 0.19) and DBEF (correlation 0.41); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.37), CLS (correlation 0.24) and FIX (correlation 0.28). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [Cheniere Energy (LNG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/lng)
- [MPLX Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/mplx)
- [TC Energy (TRP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/trp)
- [ONEOK (OKE) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/oke)
- [Kinder Morgan (KMI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/kmi)
- [EOG Resources (EOG) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/eog)
- [Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/epd)
- [Enbridge (ENB) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/enb)
- [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/wmb
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against WMB live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=WMB&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research