Figures as of the Nov 13, 2026 close. Updated after each trading day. Not a recommendation or a forecast.
From Nov 13, 2025 to the Nov 13, 2026 close, $1,000 in Microsoft (MSFT) became $1,049 and $1,000 in SPY became $1,135, with dividends reinvested.
From Nov 13, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026, Microsoft grew 4.9% a year and SPY grew 13.5%. The higher rate, SPY's, came with narrower daily swings. Volatility was 34.0% for Microsoft and 13.6% for SPY. The Sharpe ratio is the yearly return above a fixed 5% risk-free rate, per unit of volatility.
Sharpe ratios were 0.00 for Microsoft and 0.62 for SPY. A Sharpe ratio below zero means the yearly return was under 5%. Over the same dates, the price record shows deepest falls of 30.4% for Microsoft and 8.9% for SPY.
From Nov 14, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026, betas to the S&P 500 were 1.01 for Microsoft and 1.00 for SPY.
The growth line has 13 month ends, from Nov 2025 to Nov 2026. At each of them, the $1,000 in SPY was worth more than the $1,000 in Microsoft.
At the end of Jun 2026, $1,000 had become $746 in Microsoft and $1,120 in SPY. In relative terms, that was the widest gap between them at any month end. Neither the $1,000 in Microsoft nor the $1,000 in SPY reached $2,000 at a month end.
The highest month-end values were $1,049 for Microsoft (Nov 2026) and $1,151 for SPY (Aug 2026).
Every row ends at the Nov 13, 2026 close. The "a year" columns give the yearly rate from each start date. The yearly rates were furthest apart over the last 10 years. Over that span, Microsoft grew 26.1% a year and SPY grew 15.1%. The rates were closest over the last 5 years: 10.1% for Microsoft and 11.5% for SPY.
Both had a lower rate over the last year than their 10-year rate. For Microsoft it was 4.9% against 26.1%, and for SPY 13.5% against 15.1%. In every row, $1,000 in Microsoft and $1,000 in SPY both ended above $1,000.
| Period | $1,000 in Microsoft | $1,000 in SPY | Microsoft a year | SPY a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Since both startedfrom Jan 29, 1993 | $319,281 | $31,362 | 18.6% | 10.7% |
| Last 20 yearsfrom Nov 13, 2006 | $25,480 | $7,846 | 17.6% | 10.8% |
| Last 10 yearsfrom Nov 14, 2016 | $10,151 | $4,078 | 26.1% | 15.1% |
| Last 5 yearsfrom Nov 12, 2021 | $1,621 | $1,726 | 10.1% | 11.5% |
| Last yearfrom Nov 13, 2025 | $1,049 | $1,135 | 4.9% | 13.5% |
At the Nov 13, 2026 close, Microsoft was at its month-end high. At the same close, SPY was 1.4% below its Aug 2026 month-end high. On daily closes, the deepest falls of Microsoft and SPY came in the same stretch. Microsoft fell 30.4% from Nov 14, 2025 to Jun 25, 2026.
SPY fell 8.9% from Jan 27, 2026 to Mar 30, 2026. Microsoft closed back at its old high on Aug 28, 2026, 2 months after the low. SPY closed back at its old high on Apr 14, 2026, within a month after the low. Microsoft was 20% or more below its high at 2 of 13 month ends.
SPY was 20% or more below its high at 0.
This page tracks four S&P 500 falls: dot-com, 2008, COVID and 2022. All four lie outside the Microsoft and SPY dates, from Nov 13, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026.
No full calendar year lies from Nov 13, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026, so there are no yearly bars yet for Microsoft and SPY.
These counts cover 11 full months, Dec 2025 to Oct 2026. Microsoft rose in 6 of them and SPY in 6. Both rose in 4, both fell in 3, and in 4 one rose while the other fell, more than one month in three. Microsoft's largest monthly fall was −17.2% in Jun 2026, and SPY's −4.9% in Mar 2026.
Microsoft's largest monthly rise was +24.6% in Jul 2026, and SPY's +10.5% in Apr 2026. Microsoft's longest run of falling months was 4, ending in Mar 2026. SPY's longest run of falling months was 2, ending in Mar 2026.
The latest cell is a part month, from the Oct 30, 2026 close to the Nov 13, 2026 close. Over those days, Microsoft changed +0.4% and SPY −0.2%.
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −11.0 | −8.5 | −5.7 | +10.2 | +10.7 | −17.2 | +24.6 | +9.4 | +1.1 | +1.8 | +0.4 | |
| 2025 | −1.7 |
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | +1.5 | −0.9 | −4.9 | +10.5 | +5.3 | −1.0 | +0.0 | +2.7 | −0.3 | −0.9 | −0.2 | |
| 2025 | +0.1 |
The rolling 1-year return is the change over the 12 months to each month end. From Nov 2026 to Nov 2026, Microsoft's rolling 1-year return ran from +7.2% (12 months to Nov 2026) to +7.2% (to Nov 2026). Over the same months, SPY's ran from +11.6% (12 months to Nov 2026) to +11.6% (to Nov 2026).
Neither Microsoft nor SPY had a 12-month loss at any of those 1 month ends. SPY's 12-month change was the higher of the two at every one of those 1 month ends.
These measures cover Nov 13, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026. Over those dates, volatility was 34.0% for Microsoft and 13.6% for SPY. The Sortino ratio counts only falling days as risk. Against the same 5% rate, Sortino ratios were 0.00 for Microsoft and 0.89 for SPY. The Calmar ratio is the yearly return divided by the deepest fall.
Calmar ratios were 0.16 for Microsoft and 1.52 for SPY.
Beta shows how much Microsoft tended to move on the days the S&P 500 (SPY) moved. A beta of 1 means moving by the same amount as the index. From Nov 14, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026, Microsoft's beta was 1.01, so it tended to move about as much as the index.
SPY's beta is 1.00 by definition, since SPY stands for the index here. The correlation of Microsoft's and SPY's daily moves was 0.40, a partial link. A correlation of 1 would mean they always moved together, 0 no link and −1 always opposite.
| Measure | Microsoft | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Volatility, a year | 34.0% | 13.6% |
| Sharpe ratio | −0.00 | 0.62 |
| Sortino ratio | −0.00 | 0.89 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.16 | 1.52 |
| Deepest fall | 30.4% | 8.9% |
| Beta to the S&P 500from Nov 14, 2025 | 1.01 | 1.00 |
| Upside capturemonths from Dec 2016 | 131% | 100% |
| Downside capturemonths from Dec 2016 | 90% | 100% |
| Biggest one-day rise | +15.51%Jul 30, 2026 | +2.91%Mar 31, 2026 |
| Biggest one-day fall | −9.99%Jan 29, 2026 | −4.41%Nov 5, 2026 |
| Price against its 50-day average | +0.9% | −1.3% |
| Price against its 200-day average | +18.9% | +3.4% |
| Correlation of daily movesfrom Nov 14, 2025 | 0.40 | |
What Microsoft does and what SPY holds, from their latest filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Microsoft Corporation, founded in 1975, develops and supports software, services, devices and solutions. It reports three segments. Productivity and Business Processes includes Microsoft 365 commercial and consumer products and cloud services, LinkedIn, and Dynamics business applications. Intelligent Cloud includes server products and cloud services, among them Azure and GitHub cloud services.
More Personal Computing includes Windows and Devices, with Surface; XBOX hardware, content and services; and search advertising through Bing, Copilot, Microsoft News and Microsoft Edge. The corporate headquarters is in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft's fiscal year ends on June 30, so the latest annual report covers the year ended June 30, 2026.
Source: 10-K (fiscal 2026, ended June 30, 2026), filed Jul 29, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
The State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund structured as a unit investment trust. A unit investment trust is a type of registered investment company. The issuer states that the fund seeks to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Index.
The issuer describes that index as designed to measure the performance of the large-cap segment of the US equity market, weighted by float-adjusted market capitalization. The fund's inception date is January 22, 1993, and it lists on NYSE Arca. Its trustee is State Street Global Advisors Trust Company.
Its fiscal year ends on September 30, according to its SEC filer record.
Source: Issuer fund page (State Street, ssga.com) (issuer page)
It depends on the period. Microsoft had the higher total return over the full span since Jan 1993 and the last 20 and 10 years. SPY had the higher total return over the last 5 years and the last year. From Jan 29, 1993 to the Nov 13, 2026 close, Microsoft returned +31,828% in total and SPY +3,036%.
Both include reinvested dividends, before taxes and fees. Over the last 10 years, Microsoft returned +915% and SPY +308%. Over the last 5 years, Microsoft returned +62.1% and SPY +72.6%. Over the last year, Microsoft returned +4.9% and SPY +13.5%. None of these Microsoft and SPY figures is a forecast.
SmartFin does not say which to buy. This page reports what Microsoft and SPY prices did. From Nov 13, 2025 to Nov 13, 2026, Microsoft grew 4.9% a year and SPY grew 13.5%. The record shows deepest falls of 30.4% for Microsoft and 8.9% for SPY. Past returns for Microsoft and SPY do not show what either will do next.
Yes. Every MSFT and SPY figure here uses closing prices adjusted for stock splits and dividends, so dividends count as reinvested. Taxes, fees and trading costs are left out of the Microsoft and SPY figures.
At the Nov 13, 2026 close, Microsoft was at its highest month-end value. At the same close, SPY was 1.4% below its highest month-end value, set in Aug 2026. Microsoft's deepest fall on daily closes was 30.4%, from Nov 2025 to Jun 2026. SPY's deepest fall was 8.9%, from Jan 2026 to Mar 2026.
Compare Microsoft and SPY with your own amount and dates in Compare Two Stocks
Daily closing prices adjusted for stock splits, with dividends reinvested, before taxes and fees. Both amounts are invested at the same close and valued at the Nov 13, 2026 close. See also: What if you invested in Microsoft · What if you invested in SPY.
This page presents historical market data and calculated results for a defined period. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold the security, fund, or index shown. Past performance is not indicative of future results.