AIT vs COST: Correlation
How closely do Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT) and Costco (COST) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.38, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AIT and COST?
Over the past 3 years, AIT and COST moved with a correlation of 0.38, which is moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.36 over 1 year against 0.38 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.38, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 194.3 %².
Within AIT's tracked universe of 26 assets, COST comes in at #21 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months AIT outperformed by 27.9 percentage points (+26.9% for AIT against -1.0% for COST).
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
AIT vs COST: side by side
| AIT (Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc.) | COST (Costco) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.9% | -1.0% |
| 5-year return | +291.4% | +116.3% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 26.0% | 19.8% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.03 | 0.45 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -26.4% | -20.7% |
| Market cap | $12.4B | $414.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | 31.2 | 48.1 |
| Dividend yield | 0.57% | 0.56% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | Consumer Staples |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AIT | COST |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +24.2% | -19.0% |
| 2023 | +38.4% | +49.0% |
| 2024 | +39.7% | +39.6% |
| 2025 | +8.0% | -5.4% |
| 2026 | +32.4% | +8.9% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AIT and COST good diversifiers for each other?
A fair diversifier. At 0.38, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AIT and COST?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between AIT and COST is 0.38 over 3 years, 0.36 over 1 year and 0.38 over 5 years.
Is COST a good diversifier for AIT?
A fair diversifier. At 0.38, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
What does a correlation of 0.38 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.38 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/ait-vs-cost.json
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Related comparisons
Hubs: AIT correlations · COST correlations
