SO vs SPY: Correlation
How closely do Southern Company (SO) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of -0.02, which is near-zero.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SO and SPY?
On 3 years of weekly data the SO/SPY correlation comes out at -0.02, near zero, meaning they move largely independently. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (-0.21) runs below the 3-year figure (-0.02). The 5-year figure is 0.22, and annualized covariance runs at -5.2 %².
Among the 48 assets we track against SO, SPY ranks #28 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months SPY outperformed by 22.0 percentage points (-1.4% for SO against +20.6% for SPY). Do not treat this figure as fixed: across three years the rolling one-year correlation ranged all the way from -0.24 to 0.36.
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.
SO vs SPY: side by side
| SO (Southern Company) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | -1.4% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | +62.6% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 16.5% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | -0.02 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -15.0% | -18.8% |
| Market cap | $102.4B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 21.7 | – |
| Dividend yield | 3.32% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | – | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | Utilities | ETF · US Large Cap |
SPY is a Large Blend fund from State Street Investment Management: $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SO | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +8.2% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +2.2% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +21.7% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | +9.5% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | +4.6% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 0.15% of SPY is SO itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are SO and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
Yes. With a correlation of -0.02, SO and SPY have moved largely independently, which makes them a genuinely diversifying pair by historical standards.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SO and SPY?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: -0.02 over 3 years, with -0.21 over the last year and 0.22 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for SO?
Yes. With a correlation of -0.02, SO and SPY have moved largely independently, which makes them a genuinely diversifying pair by historical standards.
What does a correlation of -0.02 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, -0.02 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/so-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/so-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SO correlations · SPY correlations
