UCO vs. LABU

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) and Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares (LABU).

UCO and LABU are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. UCO is a passively managed fund by ProShares that tracks the performance of the Dow Jones-UBS Crude Oil Sub-Index (200%). It was launched on Nov 24, 2008. LABU is a passively managed fund by Direxion that tracks the performance of the S&P Biotechnology Select Industry Index (300%). It was launched on May 28, 2015. Both UCO and LABU are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

UCO vs. LABU - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) and Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares (LABU). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

UCO vs. LABU - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil	103.42%	-29.75%	5.36%	-13.89%	39.71%	139.26%	-92.91%	53.83%	-43.26%	0.34%
LABU Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares	4.20%	79.17%	-26.02%	-13.41%	-80.36%	-64.15%	74.66%	75.50%	-57.61%	149.12%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, UCO achieves a 103.42% return, which is significantly higher than LABU's 4.20% return. Over the past 10 years, UCO has outperformed LABU with an annualized return of -9.17%, while LABU has yielded a comparatively lower -11.81% annualized return.

UCO

• 1D: -8.13%
• 1M: 53.88%
• YTD: 103.42%
• 6M: 74.82%
• 1Y: 45.23%
• 3Y*: 14.08%
• 5Y*: 22.69%
• 10Y*: -9.17%

LABU

• 1D: 22.31%
• 1M: -3.83%
• YTD: 4.20%
• 6M: 78.34%
• 1Y: 175.22%
• 3Y*: 19.86%
• 5Y*: -36.38%
• 10Y*: -11.81%

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

UCO vs. LABU - Expense Ratio Comparison

UCO has a 0.95% expense ratio, which is lower than LABU's 1.12% expense ratio.

LABU

Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares

UCO

ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil

Return for Risk

UCO vs. LABU — Risk / Return Rank

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

UCO

UCO Risk / Return Rank: 48
UCO Sharpe Ratio Rank: 47
UCO Sortino Ratio Rank: 54
UCO Omega Ratio Rank: 47
UCO Calmar Ratio Rank: 63
UCO Martin Ratio Rank: 31

LABU

LABU Risk / Return Rank: 90
LABU Sharpe Ratio Rank: 92
LABU Sortino Ratio Rank: 90
LABU Omega Ratio Rank: 82
LABU Calmar Ratio Rank: 94
LABU Martin Ratio Rank: 91

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.

UCO vs. LABU - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) and Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares (LABU). 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.

	UCO	LABU	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	0.80	2.04	-1.24
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.34	2.48	-1.14
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.17	1.31	-0.14
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.50	3.74	-2.23
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	2.52	11.90	-9.38
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

UCO vs. LABU - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current UCO Sharpe Ratio is 0.80, which is lower than the LABU Sharpe Ratio of 2.04. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of UCO and LABU, 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

	UCO	LABU	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	0.80	2.04	-1.24
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.39	-0.38	+0.77
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	-0.13	-0.12	-0.01
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	-0.36	-0.24	-0.12

Correlation

The correlation between UCO and LABU is 0.13, 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

UCO vs. LABU - Dividend Comparison

UCO has not paid dividends to shareholders, while LABU's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 0.74%.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
LABU Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares	0.74%	0.84%	0.35%	0.35%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.28%	0.64%	0.17%

Drawdowns

UCO vs. LABU - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum UCO drawdown since its inception was -99.95%, roughly equal to the maximum LABU drawdown of -99.18%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for UCO and LABU.

Drawdown Indicators

	UCO	LABU	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-99.95%	-99.18%	-0.77%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-34.77%	-36.66%	+1.89%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-67.24%	-97.75%	+30.51%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-98.75%	-98.96%	+0.21%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-99.37%	-96.33%	-3.04%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-85.35%	-81.45%	-3.90%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	20.74%	12.01%	+8.73%

Volatility

UCO vs. LABU - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil (UCO) is 24.72%, while Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3x Shares (LABU) has a volatility of 33.99%. This indicates that UCO experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than LABU based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	UCO	LABU	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	24.72%	33.99%	-9.27%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	40.37%	56.88%	-16.51%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	57.29%	87.36%	-30.07%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	59.14%	95.74%	-36.60%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	71.30%	95.91%	-24.61%