Which stocks climb with the least drama?
Two stocks can end with the same gain while one gets there through deep, frightening drops. Return earned per unit of volatility shows which ones rewarded holders without testing their nerve, and a smoother path is easier to stick with.
Updated Oct 6, 2026
41 beat the index calmly
Over three years the S&P 500 returned +21.9% a year with 15% volatility. 41 stocks beat that return while swinging less than the typical stock (29%). BNY earned the most per unit of swing among them.
Three years of growth
Select any stock below. Each line is $100 invested three years ago, against the same in the S&P 500.
The 60 smoothest climbers
The calmer half of stocks, ranked by return per unit of volatility over three years. Select a column to sort.
| Stock | Smoothness | Return per swing | Return a year | Volatility | Worst fall | Sector | 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BNY BNY Mellon | 99Smooth | 2.38 | +51% | 21% | −18% | Financials | |
| WELL Welltower | 98Smooth | 1.92 | +40% | 21% | −13% | Real Estate | |
| WAB Wabtec | 97Smooth | 1.65 | +41% | 25% | −24% | Industrials | |
| C Citigroup | 96Smooth | 1.61 | +47% | 29% | −31% | Financials | |
| RTX RTX Corporation | 96Smooth | 1.59 | +38% | 24% | −19% | Industrials | |
| STT State Street Corporation | 96Smooth | 1.58 | +39% | 25% | −26% | Financials | |
| JCI Johnson Controls | 95Smooth | 1.55 | +45% | 29% | −21% | Industrials | |
| CAH Cardinal Health | 95Smooth | 1.50 | +37% | 25% | −21% | Health Care | |
| ETR Entergy | 93Smooth | 1.41 | +31% | 22% | −17% | Utilities | |
| NTRS Northern Trust | 93Smooth | 1.37 | +36% | 26% | −26% | Financials | |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase | 92Smooth | 1.37 | +32% | 23% | −25% | Financials | |
| TRV Travelers Companies (The) | 92Smooth | 1.36 | +30% | 22% | −13% | Financials | |
| PH Parker Hannifin | 91Smooth | 1.27 | +36% | 28% | −27% | Industrials | |
| HLT Hilton Worldwide | 91Smooth | 1.26 | +29% | 23% | −26% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| WMB Williams Companies | 90Smooth | 1.24 | +29% | 23% | −14% | Energy | |
| VTR Ventas | 90Smooth | 1.22 | +27% | 22% | −19% | Real Estate | |
| TT Trane Technologies | 89Smooth | 1.18 | +33% | 28% | −25% | Industrials | |
| KMI Kinder Morgan | 89Smooth | 1.17 | +26% | 22% | −19% | Energy | |
| WMT Walmart | 88Smooth | 1.17 | +27% | 23% | −24% | Consumer Staples | |
| MS Morgan Stanley | 88Smooth | 1.16 | +33% | 29% | −29% | Financials | |
| CSCO Cisco | 87Smooth | 1.13 | +30% | 27% | −18% | Information Technology | |
| BAC Bank of America | 86Smooth | 1.11 | +28% | 25% | −28% | Financials | |
| PM Philip Morris International | 86Smooth | 1.11 | +27% | 25% | −22% | Consumer Staples | |
| L Loews Corporation | 85Smooth | 1.08 | +19% | 18% | −13% | Financials | |
| SPG Simon Property Group | 85Smooth | 1.07 | +25% | 23% | −25% | Real Estate | |
| EVRG Evergy | 84Smooth | 1.07 | +18% | 17% | −12% | Utilities | |
| KO Coca-Cola Company (The) | 84Smooth | 1.07 | +17% | 16% | −17% | Consumer Staples | |
| ROST Ross Stores | 84Smooth | 1.06 | +26% | 24% | −21% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| ALL Allstate | 84Smooth | 1.05 | +26% | 24% | −19% | Financials | |
| HIG Hartford (The) | 84Smooth | 1.04 | +21% | 20% | −16% | Financials | |
| MMM 3M | 83Smooth | 1.03 | +30% | 29% | −19% | Industrials | |
| MCK McKesson Corporation | 82Smooth | 1.03 | +27% | 27% | −27% | Health Care | |
| FITB Fifth Third Bancorp | 82Smooth | 1.01 | +28% | 28% | −31% | Financials | |
| DGX Quest Diagnostics | 82Smooth | 1.01 | +22% | 22% | −13% | Health Care | |
| AEP American Electric Power | 81Smooth | 0.99 | +19% | 19% | −15% | Utilities | |
| NI NiSource | 81Smooth | 0.98 | +18% | 19% | −21% | Utilities | |
| AXP American Express | 81Smooth | 0.98 | +27% | 27% | −29% | Financials | |
| WFC Wells Fargo | 81Smooth | 0.97 | +27% | 28% | −25% | Financials | |
| AIZ Assurant | 80Smooth | 0.96 | +23% | 24% | −21% | Financials | |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | 80Smooth | 0.96 | +17% | 18% | −15% | Health Care | |
| NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc. | 80Smooth | 0.96 | +23% | 24% | −24% | Financials | |
| GILD Gilead Sciences | 80Steady | 0.94 | +24% | 26% | −28% | Health Care | |
| COST Costco | 79Steady | 0.92 | +19% | 20% | −21% | Consumer Staples | |
| FOXA Fox Corporation (Class A) | 79Steady | 0.92 | +27% | 29% | −36% | Communication Services | |
| GWW W. W. Grainger | 79Steady | 0.92 | +21% | 23% | −25% | Industrials | |
| PNC PNC Financial Services | 78Steady | 0.91 | +22% | 25% | −30% | Financials | |
| FAST Fastenal | 78Steady | 0.91 | +22% | 24% | −22% | Industrials | |
| ECL Ecolab | 78Steady | 0.90 | +18% | 20% | −20% | Materials | |
| CB Chubb Limited | 78Steady | 0.88 | +17% | 19% | −15% | Financials | |
| MAR Marriott International | 77Steady | 0.88 | +23% | 26% | −31% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| SCHW Charles Schwab Corporation | 77Steady | 0.88 | +23% | 27% | −22% | Financials | |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 77Steady | 0.88 | +23% | 27% | −33% | Information Technology | |
| ABBV AbbVie | 76Steady | 0.86 | +22% | 25% | −21% | Health Care | |
| LYV Live Nation Entertainment | 76Steady | 0.86 | +25% | 29% | −28% | Communication Services | |
| AME Ametek | 76Steady | 0.86 | +19% | 22% | −23% | Industrials | |
| ATO Atmos Energy | 75Steady | 0.86 | +14% | 16% | −19% | Utilities | |
| BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway | 75Steady | 0.84 | +13% | 16% | −15% | Financials | |
| TJX TJX Companies | 75Steady | 0.83 | +16% | 19% | −27% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| MNST Monster Beverage | 74Steady | 0.82 | +20% | 24% | −26% | Consumer Staples | |
| T AT&T | 74Steady | 0.82 | +19% | 23% | −31% | Communication Services |
How to read this page
How it’s measured. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 stocks with three full years of prices. The list keeps the calmer half, by volatility, and ranks them by yearly return divided by volatility; the score ranks that ratio across all stocks.
Sources. Daily prices from Financial Modeling Prep.
Return per swing is the yearly return divided by annualized volatility: a Sharpe ratio without the cash rate. Worst fall is the largest drop from a peak within the three years.
This describes the path a stock has taken. In our research, a smooth past did not reliably carry into the next period of market stress.
This page is information, not investment advice. About our data and methods ›