SPY vs YUM: Correlation
Measured on weekly returns over the past three years, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and Yum! Brands (YUM) carry a correlation of 0.23, a weak link.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SPY and YUM?
On 3 years of weekly data the SPY/YUM correlation comes out at 0.23, weak. The link has loosened recently: the 1-year correlation (0.09) runs below the 3-year figure (0.23). The 5-year figure is 0.41, and annualized covariance runs at 72.0 %².
By 3-year correlation, YUM places #2998 of the 4755 assets tracked against SPY. Over the last 12 months SPY came out ahead by 14.9 percentage points (+20.6% against +5.7%). Do not treat this figure as fixed: across three years the rolling one-year correlation ranged all the way from 0.06 to 0.62.
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 YUM: side by side
| SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | YUM (Yum! Brands) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +20.6% | +5.7% |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | +26.2% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 14.5% | 21.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.00 | 0.34 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -18.8% | -14.5% |
| Market cap | – | $41.1B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 19.0 |
| Dividend yield | 1.01% | 0.95% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | – |
| Assets under management | $795.3B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Large Cap | Consumer Discretionary |
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 | YUM |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -18.2% | -6.0% |
| 2023 | +26.2% | +3.9% |
| 2024 | +24.9% | +4.7% |
| 2025 | +17.7% | +14.9% |
| 2026 | +13.7% | +0.6% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 0.06% of SPY is YUM itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are SPY and YUM good diversifiers for each other?
A fair diversifier. At 0.23, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SPY and YUM?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.23 over 3 years, with 0.09 over the last year and 0.41 over 5 years.
Is YUM a good diversifier for SPY?
A fair diversifier. At 0.23, enough of each asset's movement is its own that the pair has smoothed outcomes historically.
What does a correlation of 0.23 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.23 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-yum.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/spy-vs-yum/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SPY correlations · YUM correlations
