ROI GRIDHEAD TO HEAD

XOM vs DIA: which was the better investment?

Exxon Mobil Corporation against SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF on real daily total-return data — every dividend reinvested, from Jan 20, 1998 to Aug 28, 2026.

Exxon Mobilthe Dow (DIA)
29 years of daily dataDividends reinvestedUpdated daily

Set up your comparison

1

What are you comparing?

Pick one investment — or add several to build a portfolio.

XOMExxon Mobil Corporation
2

Compare against

The benchmark your investment has to beat.

3

Time & money

When the money goes in, and how much.

Leave empty for earliest

Leave empty for today

$
$

0 for a one-time investment

Rebalance portfolio

Daily total-return data — dividends reinvested. Monthly additions buy on the first trading day.

Track your entire portfolio in one free Google Sheet

Enter your trades once and values update automatically. We'll send it straight to your inbox.

I'll occasionally send investing tools and insights.

Related comparisons

Browse all match-ups on the comparison hub, build your own in the Compare Investments tool, or check a single asset's exact-date returns with the Investment Calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Did XOM beat DIA?

It was effectively a tie over the full overlap period (Jan 20, 1998 to Aug 28, 2026): $10,000 grew to $124,739 in XOM and $123,135 in DIA, a difference of under 2%.

What would $10,000 in XOM be worth today?

$10,000 invested in Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) on Jan 20, 1998 would be worth about $124,739 as of Aug 28, 2026, a total return of 1147.4% (9.2% per year). The same $10,000 in DIA would be worth $123,135.

Which was riskier — XOM or DIA?

XOM swung with an annualized volatility of 26.3% and a worst peak-to-trough drop of -62.4%; DIA ran at 18.5% volatility with a -51.9% maximum drawdown. Risk-adjusted (Sharpe ratio), that is 0.27 for XOM vs 0.39 for DIA.

What data is this comparison based on?

Daily adjusted closing prices covering Jan 20, 1998 through Aug 28, 2026 — the full period where both assets have price history. Adjusted prices include dividends and splits, so these are total returns. The page refreshes with new market data every day.

Can I change the dates, amounts, or add monthly investing?

Yes — the interactive tool on this page is pre-loaded with XOM vs DIA. You can set any start and end date, change the starting amount, add monthly contributions, or build a multi-asset portfolio and compare it against any benchmark.