SPY vs WAB: Correlation
How closely do SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Wabtec (WAB) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.57, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and WAB?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of SPY and WAB correlate at 0.57, moderate. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.21) runs below the 3-year figure (0.57). Stretching to 5 years gives 0.63, with an annualized covariance of 207.6 %².
Within SPY's tracked universe of 4755 assets, WAB comes in at #239 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months WAB outperformed by 32.3 percentage points (+20.6% for SPY against +52.9% for WAB). The relationship is regime-dependent: the rolling one-year correlation swung between 0.20 and 0.83 over the past three years, so this pair behaves very differently depending on the market environment. One caveat on sizing: WAB is 1.7 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.
SPY vs WAB: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | WAB (Wabtec) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +52.9% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +241.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 25.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.99 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -23.6% |
| Market cap | – | $50.2B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 40.5 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 0.37% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | Industrials |
On the fund side, SPY sits in the Large Blend category at State Street Investment Management, with $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SPY | WAB |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | +9.1% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | +28.0% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | +50.1% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | +13.2% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +39.8% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 0.08% of SPY is WAB itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are SPY and WAB good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.57 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and WAB?
The SPY/WAB correlation stands at 0.57 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.21, 5 years: 0.63), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is WAB a good diversifier for SPY?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.57 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.57 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.57 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-wab.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-wab/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · WAB correlations
