LOCO vs VXX: Correlation
How closely do El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. (LOCO) and iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of -0.38, which is negative.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are LOCO and VXX?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of LOCO and VXX correlate at -0.38, negative, meaning they tend to move in opposite directions. The link has tightened recently: the 1-year correlation (-0.11) runs above the 3-year figure (-0.38). Stretching to 5 years gives -0.33, with an annualized covariance of -789.9 %².
Out of 12 assets tracked against LOCO, VXX lands near the bottom at #11. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months LOCO outperformed by 92.0 percentage points (+42.3% for LOCO against -49.7% for VXX). Risk is not evenly split, since VXX carries 1.8 times the volatility of the other side.
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.
LOCO vs VXX: side by side
| LOCO (El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc.) | VXX (iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +42.3% | -49.7% |
| 5-year return | -3.0% | -95.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 33.9% | 60.9% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.82 | -3.31 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -35.9% | -83.3% |
| Market cap | $0.5B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 13.3 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| Sector / category | US Listed | US Listed |
Year-by-year returns
| Year | LOCO | VXX |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -19.0% | -23.8% |
| 2023 | -11.4% | -72.5% |
| 2024 | +30.8% | -26.2% |
| 2025 | -9.4% | -42.2% |
| 2026 | +45.3% | -31.6% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are LOCO and VXX good diversifiers for each other?
Yes: at -0.38, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
FAQ
What is the correlation between LOCO and VXX?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between LOCO and VXX is -0.38 over 3 years, -0.11 over 1 year and -0.33 over 5 years.
Is VXX a good diversifier for LOCO?
Yes: at -0.38, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
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/loco-vs-vxx.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/loco-vs-vxx/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: LOCO correlations · VXX correlations
