CMG vs QUAL: Correlation
Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.43.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are CMG and QUAL?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of CMG and QUAL correlate at 0.43, moderate. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.40 lands near the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.51, with an annualized covariance of 212.4 %².
By 3-year correlation, QUAL places #11 of the 36 assets tracked against CMG. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QUAL outperformed by 32.4 percentage points (-12.7% for CMG against +19.7% for QUAL). The rolling one-year correlation stayed in a tight band between 0.35 and 0.53 over the past three years, which points to a structural rather than episodic relationship. One caveat on sizing: CMG is 2.6 times as volatile as the other leg, so an equal-dollar split is far from equal-risk.
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.
CMG vs QUAL: side by side
| CMG (Chipotle Mexican Grill) | QUAL (iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -12.7% | +19.7% |
| 5-year return | -2.9% | +68.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 35.7% | 14.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.89 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -58.9% | -18.0% |
| Market cap | $47.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 34.5 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.86% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $46.5B |
| Sector / category | Consumer Discretionary | ETF · US Style |
QUAL, iShares's Large Blend fund, carries $46.5B under management, 123 holdings, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 0.86% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | CMG | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -20.6% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | +64.8% | +30.9% |
| 2024 | +31.8% | +22.3% |
| 2025 | -38.6% | +12.7% |
| 2026 | +0.6% | +13.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
Keep in mind that QUAL holds CMG at a 0.97% weight, which makes a slice of this correlation mechanical rather than coincidental.
Are CMG and QUAL good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.43, CMG and QUAL keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between CMG and QUAL?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.43 over 3 years, with 0.40 over the last year and 0.51 over 5 years.
Is QUAL a good diversifier for CMG?
Reasonably. At 0.43, CMG and QUAL keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.43 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.43 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/cmg-vs-qual.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/cmg-vs-qual/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: CMG correlations · QUAL correlations
