SPY vs WABC: Correlation
How closely do SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Westamerica Bancorporation (WABC) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.36, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and WABC?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of SPY and WABC correlate at 0.36, moderate. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.10 versus 0.36 over 3 years. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.37, with an annualized covariance of 127.9 %².
By 3-year correlation, WABC places #1600 of the 4755 assets tracked against SPY. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +20.6% for SPY and +19.8% for WABC. Risk is not evenly split, since WABC carries 1.7 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.
SPY vs WABC: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | WABC (Westamerica Bancorporation) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +19.8% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +22.6% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 24.4% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.61 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -24.7% |
| Market cap | – | $1.3B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 12.9 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 3.20% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | US Listed |
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 | SPY | WABC |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | +5.2% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | -3.6% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | -5.4% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +24.9% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are SPY and WABC good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.36, SPY and WABC keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and WABC?
The SPY/WABC correlation stands at 0.36 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.10, 5 years: 0.37), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is WABC a good diversifier for SPY?
Reasonably. At 0.36, SPY and WABC keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.36 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.36 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-wabc.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-wabc/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · WABC correlations
