SPY vs UPS: Correlation
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and United Parcel Service (UPS) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.40.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and UPS?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of SPY and UPS correlate at 0.40, moderate. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.23) runs below the 3-year figure (0.40). Stretching to 5 years gives 0.52, with an annualized covariance of 168.8 %².
Within SPY's tracked universe of 4755 assets, UPS comes in at #1188 by 3-year correlation. On 12-month performance UPS holds a 7.6-point edge, +20.6% against +28.2%. Do not treat this figure as fixed: across three years the rolling one-year correlation ranged all the way from 0.14 to 0.74. Note the risk asymmetry: UPS runs 2.0 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
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.
SPY vs UPS: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | UPS (United Parcel Service) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +28.2% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | -31.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 29.4% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.81 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -46.5% |
| Market cap | – | $89.9B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 19.6 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 6.21% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | Industrials |
SPY, State Street Investment Management's Large Blend fund, carries $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SPY | UPS |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | -16.2% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | -6.0% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | -15.9% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | -15.9% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +11.6% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
Keep in mind that SPY holds UPS at a 0.12% weight, which makes a slice of this correlation mechanical rather than coincidental.
Are SPY and UPS good diversifiers for each other?
A fair diversifier. At 0.40, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and UPS?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between SPY and UPS is 0.40 over 3 years, 0.23 over 1 year and 0.52 over 5 years.
Is UPS a good diversifier for SPY?
A fair diversifier. At 0.40, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
What does a correlation of 0.40 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.40 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/spy-vs-ups.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-ups/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · UPS correlations
