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 9, 2026
45 beat the index calmly
Over three years the S&P 500 returned +21.7% a year with 15% volatility. 45 stocks beat that return while swinging less than the typical stock (30%). BNY earned the most per unit of swing among them.
The 60 smoothest climbers
The calmer half of stocks, ranked by return per unit of volatility over three years. Select a row for its chart. 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 | +50% | 21% | −18% | Financials | |
| WELL Welltower | 98Smooth | 1.90 | +40% | 21% | −13% | Real Estate | |
| C Citigroup | 97Smooth | 1.61 | +47% | 29% | −31% | Financials | |
| WAB Wabtec | 96Smooth | 1.60 | +40% | 25% | −24% | Industrials | |
| STT State Street Corporation | 96Smooth | 1.58 | +39% | 25% | −26% | Financials | |
| RTX RTX Corporation | 96Smooth | 1.54 | +37% | 24% | −20% | Industrials | |
| JCI Johnson Controls | 95Smooth | 1.53 | +44% | 29% | −21% | Industrials | |
| CAH Cardinal Health | 95Smooth | 1.52 | +38% | 25% | −21% | Health Care | |
| TRV Travelers Companies (The) | 93Smooth | 1.40 | +31% | 22% | −13% | Financials | |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase | 93Smooth | 1.38 | +32% | 23% | −25% | Financials | |
| ETR Entergy | 93Smooth | 1.38 | +30% | 22% | −17% | Utilities | |
| NTRS Northern Trust | 92Smooth | 1.36 | +36% | 26% | −26% | Financials | |
| HLT Hilton Worldwide | 91Smooth | 1.31 | +30% | 23% | −26% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| WMT Walmart | 91Smooth | 1.24 | +29% | 23% | −24% | Consumer Staples | |
| PH Parker Hannifin | 90Smooth | 1.22 | +35% | 28% | −27% | Industrials | |
| WMB Williams Companies | 90Smooth | 1.21 | +28% | 23% | −14% | Energy | |
| PM Philip Morris International | 89Smooth | 1.20 | +30% | 25% | −22% | Consumer Staples | |
| TT Trane Technologies | 89Smooth | 1.18 | +33% | 28% | −25% | Industrials | |
| VTR Ventas | 88Smooth | 1.17 | +26% | 22% | −20% | Real Estate | |
| MS Morgan Stanley | 88Smooth | 1.16 | +33% | 29% | −29% | Financials | |
| KMI Kinder Morgan | 87Smooth | 1.14 | +25% | 22% | −19% | Energy | |
| KO Coca-Cola Company (The) | 87Smooth | 1.13 | +19% | 16% | −17% | Consumer Staples | |
| CSCO Cisco | 87Smooth | 1.12 | +30% | 27% | −18% | Information Technology | |
| BAC Bank of America | 86Smooth | 1.10 | +27% | 25% | −28% | Financials | |
| HIG Hartford (The) | 85Smooth | 1.08 | +22% | 20% | −16% | Financials | |
| ALL Allstate | 85Smooth | 1.07 | +26% | 24% | −19% | Financials | |
| L Loews Corporation | 85Smooth | 1.07 | +19% | 18% | −13% | Financials | |
| EVRG Evergy | 84Smooth | 1.06 | +18% | 17% | −12% | Utilities | |
| MCK McKesson Corporation | 84Smooth | 1.04 | +28% | 27% | −27% | Health Care | |
| ROST Ross Stores | 83Smooth | 1.04 | +25% | 24% | −21% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| SPG Simon Property Group | 83Smooth | 1.03 | +24% | 23% | −25% | Real Estate | |
| DGX Quest Diagnostics | 83Smooth | 1.02 | +23% | 22% | −13% | Health Care | |
| AXP American Express | 82Smooth | 1.00 | +27% | 27% | −29% | Financials | |
| GILD Gilead Sciences | 82Smooth | 1.00 | +26% | 26% | −28% | Health Care | |
| WFC Wells Fargo | 82Smooth | 1.00 | +28% | 28% | −25% | Financials | |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | 82Smooth | 1.00 | +18% | 18% | −15% | Health Care | |
| FITB Fifth Third Bancorp | 81Smooth | 0.99 | +28% | 28% | −31% | Financials | |
| MMM 3M | 81Smooth | 0.99 | +29% | 29% | −19% | Industrials | |
| NDAQ Nasdaq, Inc. | 81Smooth | 0.98 | +23% | 24% | −24% | Financials | |
| AEP American Electric Power | 81Smooth | 0.97 | +19% | 19% | −15% | Utilities | |
| NI NiSource | 80Smooth | 0.94 | +17% | 19% | −21% | Utilities | |
| COST Costco | 80Smooth | 0.94 | +19% | 20% | −21% | Consumer Staples | |
| AIZ Assurant | 80Smooth | 0.93 | +22% | 24% | −21% | Financials | |
| ECL Ecolab | 79Steady | 0.93 | +19% | 20% | −20% | Materials | |
| CB Chubb Limited | 79Steady | 0.92 | +17% | 19% | −15% | Financials | |
| GWW W. W. Grainger | 79Steady | 0.92 | +21% | 23% | −25% | Industrials | |
| ABBV AbbVie | 79Steady | 0.91 | +23% | 25% | −21% | Health Care | |
| MAR Marriott International | 78Steady | 0.91 | +23% | 26% | −31% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| FOXA Fox Corporation (Class A) | 78Steady | 0.90 | +26% | 29% | −36% | Communication Services | |
| BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway | 78Steady | 0.90 | +14% | 16% | −15% | Financials | |
| PNC PNC Financial Services | 78Steady | 0.90 | +22% | 24% | −30% | Financials | |
| FAST Fastenal | 77Steady | 0.89 | +22% | 24% | −22% | Industrials | |
| V Visa Inc. | 77Steady | 0.89 | +18% | 20% | −21% | Financials | |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 76Steady | 0.88 | +23% | 27% | −33% | Information Technology | |
| SCHW Charles Schwab Corporation | 76Steady | 0.87 | +23% | 27% | −22% | Financials | |
| CBOE Cboe Global Markets | 76Steady | 0.86 | +23% | 27% | −37% | Financials | |
| ATO Atmos Energy | 75Steady | 0.86 | +14% | 16% | −19% | Utilities | |
| WRB W. R. Berkley Corporation | 75Steady | 0.86 | +19% | 22% | −19% | Financials | |
| TJX TJX Companies | 75Steady | 0.86 | +16% | 19% | −27% | Consumer Discretionary | |
| LYV Live Nation Entertainment | 75Steady | 0.86 | +25% | 29% | −28% | 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 ›