POWL vs. SPY

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

SPY is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index. It was launched on Jan 22, 1993.

Performance

POWL vs. SPY - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

POWL vs. SPY - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
POWL Powell Industries, Inc.	73.89%	44.49%	152.21%	155.62%	24.34%	3.60%	-37.60%	101.58%	-9.92%	-24.00%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	-3.65%	17.72%	24.89%	26.18%	-18.18%	28.73%	18.33%	31.22%	-4.57%	21.71%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, POWL achieves a 73.89% return, which is significantly higher than SPY's -3.65% return. Over the past 10 years, POWL has outperformed SPY with an annualized return of 37.23%, while SPY has yielded a comparatively lower 14.06% annualized return.

POWL

• 1D: 2.40%
• 1M: 4.05%
• YTD: 73.89%
• 6M: 74.89%
• 1Y: 216.21%
• 3Y*: 136.92%
• 5Y*: 78.42%
• 10Y*: 37.23%

SPY

• 1D: 0.75%
• 1M: -4.28%
• YTD: -3.65%
• 6M: -1.42%
• 1Y: 18.14%
• 3Y*: 18.48%
• 5Y*: 11.86%
• 10Y*: 14.06%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

Return for Risk

POWL vs. SPY — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

POWL

POWL Risk / Return Rank: 96
POWL Sharpe Ratio Rank: 98
POWL Sortino Ratio Rank: 96
POWL Omega Ratio Rank: 93
POWL Calmar Ratio Rank: 97
POWL Martin Ratio Rank: 98

SPY

SPY Risk / Return Rank: 59
SPY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 51
SPY Sortino Ratio Rank: 56
SPY Omega Ratio Rank: 60
SPY Calmar Ratio Rank: 58
SPY Martin Ratio Rank: 69

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

POWL vs. SPY - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	POWL	SPY	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	3.73	0.96	+2.77
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	3.71	1.49	+2.22
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.45	1.23	+0.22
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	7.34	1.53	+5.80
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	23.54	7.27	+16.27
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

POWL vs. SPY - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current POWL Sharpe Ratio is 3.73, which is higher than the SPY Sharpe Ratio of 0.96. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of POWL and SPY, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	POWL	SPY	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	3.73	0.96	+2.77
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	1.25	0.70	+0.55
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.69	0.79	-0.10
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.26	0.56	-0.30

Correlation

The correlation between POWL and SPY is 0.33, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

POWL vs. SPY - Dividend Comparison

POWL's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 0.19%, less than SPY's 1.13% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
POWL Powell Industries, Inc.	0.19%	0.34%	0.48%	1.19%	2.96%	3.53%	3.53%	2.12%	4.16%	3.63%	2.67%	4.00%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	1.13%	1.07%	1.21%	1.40%	1.65%	1.20%	1.52%	1.75%	2.04%	1.80%	2.03%	2.06%

Drawdowns

POWL vs. SPY - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum POWL drawdown since its inception was -73.10%, which is greater than SPY's maximum drawdown of -55.19%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for POWL and SPY.

Drawdown Indicators

	POWL	SPY	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-73.10%	-55.19%	-17.91%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-30.88%	-12.05%	-18.83%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-55.76%	-24.50%	-31.26%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-68.85%	-33.72%	-35.13%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-6.51%	-5.53%	-0.98%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-36.26%	-9.09%	-27.17%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	9.62%	2.54%	+7.08%

Volatility

POWL vs. SPY - Volatility Comparison

Powell Industries, Inc. (POWL) has a higher volatility of 20.88% compared to State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) at 5.35%. This indicates that POWL's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SPY based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	POWL	SPY	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	20.88%	5.35%	+15.53%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	43.67%	9.50%	+34.17%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	58.41%	19.06%	+39.35%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	63.13%	17.06%	+46.07%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	54.20%	17.92%	+36.28%