How Can I Beat the S&P 500? What the Evidence Says
The honest answer to the most asked question in investing: how many people beat the index, why it is so hard, why investors trail even their own funds, and how daily market context fits in.
Enterprise Products Partners L.P., energy (market value $79.5 billion): how it compared with the S&P 500, how it behaved in every crash since 2008, its risk‑adjusted returns and what analysts said. Data as of Sep 30, 2026.
Exent re-checks this page every day. Ratings appear 30 days after they are published; the top‑ranked analysts’ calls are not counted here, they are in Gems.
Over the 5 years to Sep 30, 2026, Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (EPD) returned +131.2% including dividends, versus +90.0% for the S&P 500 (SPY). It beat the index by 41.2 percentage points, or +18.3% a year against +13.7%.
| Period | EPD | S&P 500 | EPD per year | S&P 500 per year | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | +19.5% | +15.7% | +19.5% | +15.7% | Beat |
| 3 years | +57.4% | +85.0% | +16.3% | +22.8% | Lagged |
| 5 years | +131.2% | +90.0% | +18.3% | +13.7% | Beat |
| 10 years | +158.2% | +312.9% | +10.0% | +15.2% | Lagged |
Total return with dividends reinvested, from month-end prices to Sep 30, 2026. Beating the index on raw return is only half the story: the next section adjusts for the risk taken. See also how to beat the S&P 500.
EPD beat the S&P 500 in 3 of the 9 full calendar years shown.
| Year | EPD | S&P 500 | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to Sep 30, 2026) | +14.5% | +12.7% | +1.8% |
| 2025 | +9.4% | +17.7% | −8.3% |
| 2024 | +28.0% | +24.9% | +3.1% |
| 2023 | +17.7% | +26.2% | −8.5% |
| 2022 | +18.3% | −18.2% | +36.5% |
| 2021 | +21.4% | +28.7% | −7.3% |
| 2020 | −23.6% | +18.3% | −41.9% |
| 2019 | +21.8% | +31.2% | −9.4% |
| 2018 | −1.3% | −4.6% | +3.3% |
| 2017 | +4.2% | +21.7% | −17.5% |
Over 5 years, EPD had a Sharpe ratio of 0.79 against 0.67 for the S&P 500, so it earned more return per unit of risk than the index. Its annualized volatility was 18.9% and its beta 0.49: it tended to move about 0.5× as much as the market.
| Metric | EPD | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Annual return | +18.3% | +13.7% |
| Volatility (annualized) | 18.9% | 15.7% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.79 | 0.67 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.33 | 1.08 |
| Max drawdown (month-end) | −11.7% | −23.9% |
| Beta to the S&P 500 | 0.49 | 1.00 |
Sharpe divides return above cash by total volatility; Sortino counts only downside volatility. Both use monthly returns and the 1–3 month T‑bill ETF (BIL) as the risk‑free rate.
EPD’s deepest fall in the crises below was −53.2% in the covid crash (feb–mar 2020), against −34.1% for the S&P 500. The last column turns that into money: what a $100,000 position would have lost from peak to trough.
| Crisis | EPD | S&P 500 | Loss on $100,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global financial crisis (2007–09) | −46.9% | −56.5% | −$46,860 |
| 2018 trade-war selloff | −19.8% | −20.2% | −$19,840 |
| COVID crash (Feb–Mar 2020) | −53.2% | −34.1% | −$53,200 |
| 2022 inflation bear market | −19.5% | −25.4% | −$19,530 |
| 2025 tariff selloff | −15.0% | −19.0% | −$14,990 |
| Window | EPD max drawdown |
|---|---|
| Last 1 year | −10.6% |
| Last 3 years | −15.4% |
| Last 5 years | −18.1% |
| Last 10 years | −60.0% |
Peak‑to‑trough declines from daily prices inside each crisis window. A crash replay does not predict the next crisis; it shows how much room a holding needs. Run the same replay on a whole portfolio with the crash test.
Correlation runs from −1 (moves opposite) to +1 (moves in lockstep). Over the last 60 months of monthly returns, EPD’s correlation with the S&P 500 was 0.41, with the Nasdaq‑100 0.19, with long Treasuries (TLT) 0.21 and with gold (GLD) 0.04.
Adding a 5% EPD position to an S&P 500 portfolio would have moved its 5‑year volatility from 15.7% to 15.3%.
| Least correlated large caps | Correlation | Most correlated large caps | Correlation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AVGO | −0.12 | CVX | 0.70 |
| PANW | −0.10 | EOG | 0.67 |
| DDOG | −0.09 | XOM | 0.67 |
| CRWD | −0.08 | WMB | 0.67 |
| LLY | −0.06 | PSX | 0.66 |
Holdings that are highly correlated behave like one position in a selloff. See how to find hidden overlap.
In the 12 months to 30 days ago, 18 analysts published 222 ratings on EPD. Their latest calls were 50% Buy, 39% Hold and 11% Sell. 13 of them rank 4★ or higher in Exent’s analyst scoring, which is based on each analyst’s past price‑target hit rate and returns.
The consensus 12‑month price target was $38.43 (range $32.00–$45.00), +5.0% from the last price. Remember that the average analyst’s target is hit only about half the time: how accurate are price targets?
| Top‑ranked analyst covering | Firm | Stars | Price‑target hit rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.0★ | 43.2% | ||
| 5.0★ | 72.1% | ||
| 5.0★ | 45.9% | ||
| 5.0★ | 47.2% | ||
| 5.0★ | 57.9% |
Ratings are shown with a 30‑day delay. Who the top‑ranked analysts on EPD are, their live calls and the median target of only the top‑rated analysts are in Exent Gems.
| Date | Rating and target | Analyst |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | New coverage Hold | Robert Hodges |
| Aug 19 | Target raised Sell | Robert Kad |
Named analysts’ rating and price‑target changes on EPD in the 5 weeks to Sep 22, 2026, shown 30 days after publication (the free analysts’ calls 3 days after). The top‑ranked analysts’ calls are in Exent Gems. See all of the latest analyst upgrades and downgrades.
Of the 235 analyst price targets on EPD set from 2019 until a year ago, 48.1% were reached within 12 months (data to Oct 20, 2026), 20.5 points below the 68.6% hit rate of the median stock in Exent’s study of 794 stocks. Targets that were reached took a median of 199 days. The median target sat 18.1% above the share price on the day it was set.
Where analysts said EPD would be by now: a year ago, 7 analysts had a price target on EPD, and the median of their latest targets was $35.00. On Oct 20, 2026 EPD closed at $36.98, 5.7% above it.
| After | Calls | Move on the call | 3 months vs S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upgrades of EPD | 4 | +4.3% | −0.5% |
| Upgrades, all stocks | 11,514 | +2.5% | +3.4% |
| Downgrades of EPD | 8 | −0.2% | +10.1% |
| Downgrades, all stocks | 10,700 | −3.0% | −1.6% |
The move on the call runs from the close before the rating change to the close after it; the last column is the stock’s return minus the S&P 500’s over the next three months. Averages of rating changes on EPD through Sep 15, 2026; analysts are not named here. Do analyst upgrades move stocks?
EPD beat the consensus earnings‑per‑share estimate in 5 of its last 12 quarterly reports, through the one on Jul 30, 2026, and the revenue estimate in 9 of 12. From the close before each report to the close after it, the stock moved 1.6% on average, up or down, against 6.8% for the average report across the 1,002 US stocks Exent tracks. It rose after 4 of the 12 reports. In 4 of the 5 beats the stock still fell. The next report is expected on Oct 29, 2026.
| Report | EPS vs estimate | Revenue vs estimate | Stock move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 30, 2026 | $0.84 vs $0.75 | +33.5% | −0.1% |
| Apr 28, 2026 | $0.68 vs $0.71 | +5.7% | +1.5% |
| Feb 3, 2026 | $0.75 vs $0.69 | +11.6% | +6.3% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | $0.61 vs $0.65 | +1.6% | +0.7% |
| Jul 28, 2025 | $0.66 vs $0.65 | −19.8% | −0.4% |
| Apr 29, 2025 | $0.64 vs $0.70 | +10.1% | −3.0% |
| Feb 4, 2025 | $0.74 vs $0.70 | +0.5% | −0.3% |
| Oct 29, 2024 | $0.65 vs $0.66 | −0.7% | +0.4% |
Reported earnings per share against the consensus estimate, revenue surprise in percent, and the stock’s price change over the two sessions around the report. How stocks move after earnings
In fiscal 2025, EPD’s largest segment was NGL Pipelines and Services, with 45.8% of $184.1 billion revenue (+22.1% on the year before).
| Segment | Revenue | Share | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| NGL Pipelines and Services | $84.4 billion | 45.8% | +22.1% |
| Onshore Crude Oil Pipelines and Services | $63.1 billion | 34.3% | −16.9% |
| Petrochemical and Refined Products Services | $31.5 billion | 17.1% | −14.2% |
| Onshore Natural Gas Pipelines and Services | $5.1 billion | 2.8% | +39.7% |
From EPD’s annual filings; segment growth compares fiscal 2025 with the year before. Regions are as each company reports them, so one company’s “Asia Pacific” is not another’s. China counts the regions a company reports as China, Greater China or Hong Kong; a separately reported Taiwan is not counted. Which S&P 500 companies depend most on China?
As of Oct 20, 2026, 11 members of Congress had disclosed 59 trades in EPD (45 buys and 14 sales) in STOCK Act disclosures filed with the House and Senate. The latest public trade is dated Mar 13, 2026.
| Trade date | Member | Type | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 2026 | August Pfluger | Buy | $15,001–$50,000 |
| Jun 23, 2022 | Virginia Foxx | Sale | $100,001–$250,000 |
| May 13, 2022 | Virginia Foxx | Buy | $1,001–$15,000 |
| Apr 19, 2022 | Trey Hollingsworth | Sale | $500,001–$1,000,000 |
| Feb 14, 2022 | Virginia Foxx | Buy | $1,001–$15,000 |
| Jan 24, 2022 | Virginia Foxx | Buy | $15,001–$50,000 |
| Jan 18, 2022 | Pete Sessions | Sale | $1,001–$15,000 |
| Dec 3, 2021 | Trey Hollingsworth | Buy | $15,001–$50,000 |
| Dec 2, 2021 | Trey Hollingsworth | Buy | $50,001–$100,000 |
| Nov 19, 2021 | Virginia Foxx | Buy | $1,001–$15,000 |
Amounts are the ranges members report, not exact values. The STOCK Act gives members up to 45 days to disclose a trade, so trades appear weeks after they are made. See every member’s disclosed trades
In the 12 months to Oct 20, 2026, EPD insiders made 2 open‑market purchases worth $581,403 by 2 insiders and no sales, according to SEC Form 4 filings.
After the 118 insider purchases of $10,000 or more since 2012, EPD lagged the S&P 500 by an average of 2.8 percentage points over the next 12 months; 48% of them were followed by a beat. Across all 17,865 insider purchases in Exent’s study, the average was +17.2% and the median +1.0% against the index.
| Date | Insider | Role | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2026 | Teague Aj | Director, officer: CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $100,069 |
| Dec 29, 2025 | Rutherford John R | Director | $481,334 |
| Jul 30, 2025 | Montgomery William C | Director | $504,864 |
| Jul 29, 2025 | Rutherford John R | Director | $470,220 |
| Aug 27, 2024 | Teague Aj | Director, officer: CO-CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER | $122,681 |
The table lists the latest open‑market purchases on record, leaving out the last 30 days. The chart counts Form 4 purchases and sales by calendar quarter. Purchases are open‑market buys; sales include planned sales under 10b5‑1 trading plans. Do insider buys beat the market?
As of the Sep 30, 2026 settlement date, 1.20% of EPD’s float was sold short: 17.4 million shares, or 4.9 days of average trading volume to cover. A year earlier (Oct 15, 2025) it was 2.09%. The median across the 997 US stocks Exent tracks was 4.77%, so EPD is less heavily shorted than most.
From FINRA short‑interest reports, filed twice a month; the bars show the short share of the float at each month‑end. Days to cover divides the shares short by the average daily volume. The most shorted stocks
At the end of Q2 2026 (Jun 30, 2026), 1,618 institutions reported holding EPD in 13F filings, down 22 from the quarter before and up from 1,470 a year earlier. Their reported holdings add up to 24.8% of EPD’s shares. In the quarter 665 institutions added to their positions and 452 cut them.
Investment managers with over $100 million in US equities file 13F reports within 45 days of each quarter end, so this is the latest complete quarter. Holdings can add up to more than 100% when shares are lent and counted twice. Which stocks institutions are buying and selling
EPD’s diluted share count fell 0.6% over the five fiscal years to fiscal 2025 and fell 0.2% in fiscal 2025 alone. Each share now owns a larger slice of the company. The median change across the 1,005 US stocks Exent tracks was −0.1%.
EPD spent $300.0 million buying back shares, a buyback yield of 0.35% of its market value; stock pay equaled 0.0% of the buybacks.
Weighted‑average diluted shares from EPD’s annual income statements; stock‑based compensation and buybacks from its cash‑flow statement. Stock dilution and stock‑based compensation, explained
In Exent’s Oct 20, 2026 snapshot, EPD’s Altman Z‑score was 1.95, in the grey zone (where 149 of the 794 non‑financial US stocks Exent tracks sit). Its Piotroski F‑score was 6 out of 9; 62% of scored stocks reach 6 or more.
The Altman Z‑score combines five balance‑sheet and earnings ratios into one bankruptcy‑risk score: below 1.81 is the distress zone, 1.81–2.99 grey, above 2.99 safe. It is not meaningful for banks, insurers and REITs. The Piotroski F‑score counts nine yes/no tests of profitability, leverage and efficiency; 8–9 is strong, 0–2 weak. Both come from the latest annual statements. Which stocks have the highest bankruptcy risk?
As of Oct 20, 2026, 4 of the 304 ETFs Exent tracks held EPD. Its largest weight is in MLPA (Global X MLP ETF), at 13.19% of the fund.
| ETF | Fund | Weight of EPD |
|---|---|---|
| MLPA | Global X MLP ETF | 13.19% |
| AMZA | InfraCap MLP ETF | 12.36% |
| AMLP | Alerian MLP ETF | 12.13% |
| MLPX | Global X MLP & Energy Infrastructure ETF | 4.37% |
Owning several of these funds stacks the same position. How much do VOO, QQQ and VTI overlap?
Exent matches every holding to the index with the most similar risk. For EPD that is SPY (the S&P 500). Comparing a holding with an index that carries very different risk makes good results look bad and risky ones look clever. Read why the S&P 500 is the wrong benchmark for most portfolios.
| Ticker | Name | 5‑year return | Volatility (5y) |
|---|---|---|---|
| XOM | Exxon Mobil Corporation | +227.5% | 26.7% |
| CVX | Chevron Corporation | +143.8% | 25.2% |
| COP | ConocoPhillips | +119.1% | 32.6% |
| MPC | Marathon Petroleum Corporation | +615.2% | 33.1% |
| VLO | Valero Energy Corporation | +541.3% | 37.0% |
| PSX | Phillips 66 | +334.9% | 33.3% |
| WMB | The Williams Companies, Inc. | +221.7% | 23.6% |
| EOG | EOG Resources, Inc. | +115.4% | 32.3% |
Returns are total returns from month‑end adjusted closing prices (dividends reinvested) through Sep 30, 2026. Crisis drawdowns and trailing maximum drawdowns use daily prices. Analyst coverage counts ratings published in the last 12 months, shown with a 30‑day delay. Full method: Exent methodology.
Company data as of Oct 20, 2026. The move around an earnings report runs from the close before it to the close after it; a price target counts as hit when the stock closed at or beyond it within 12 months (Exent analyst data). Revenue by region and segment, share counts and executive pay come from company filings; insider trades from SEC Form 4, short interest from FINRA, institutional ownership from 13F filings, Congress trades from STOCK Act disclosures filed with the House and Senate, federal contracts from USAspending.gov. Filings from the last 30 days are shown as counts only.
Past performance does not guarantee future results. Historical figures are calculated by Exent from market data and are for education only; they are not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
No. EPD returned +158.2% (+10.0% a year) over the 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, versus +312.9% (+15.2% a year) for the S&P 500, including dividends.
No. As of Oct 20, 2026, EPD (Enterprise Products Partners L.P.) is not one of the 503 stocks in the S&P 500.
EPD fell −46.9% from peak to trough during the global financial crisis (2007–09), versus −56.5% for the S&P 500.
EPD fell −53.2% from peak to trough during the covid crash (feb–mar 2020), versus −34.1% for the S&P 500.
EPD fell −19.5% from peak to trough during the 2022 inflation bear market, versus −25.4% for the S&P 500.
Over the 5 years to Sep 30, 2026, EPD’s Sharpe ratio was 0.79 and its Sortino ratio 1.33, versus 0.67 and 1.08 for the S&P 500.
EPD’s 5‑year annualized volatility was 17.2%, higher than the S&P 500’s 17.0%, with a beta of 0.49.
Among large US stocks, the lowest correlations with EPD over the last 60 months were AVGO (−0.12), PANW (−0.10), DDOG (−0.09). Its correlation with long Treasuries (TLT) was 0.21 and with gold (GLD) 0.04.
EPD beat the consensus earnings-per-share estimate in 5 of its last 12 quarterly reports through Jul 30, 2026, and the revenue estimate in 9 of 12. The stock moved 1.6% on average, up or down, from the close before each report to the close after it. Its next report is expected on Oct 29, 2026.
Yes. As of Oct 20, 2026, 11 members of Congress had disclosed 59 trades in EPD (45 buys and 14 sales) in STOCK Act disclosures filed with the House and Senate.
As of the Sep 30, 2026 settlement date, 1.20% of EPD’s float was sold short (17.4 million shares, 4.9 days to cover), according to FINRA short-interest reports. A year earlier it was 2.09%.
No. EPD’s diluted share count fell 0.6% over the five fiscal years to fiscal 2025 and fell 0.2% in the latest year. Stock-based compensation was 0.0% of revenue, and buybacks totaled $300.0 million.
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Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.