The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF sits close to a record high after producing a 319% total return over the past decade, while Lululemon shares trade 80% below their December 2023 peak. Lululemon's latest quarterly results showed falling revenue and profit, extending a slide that has pushed the stock down sharply since early September. The comparison highlights a wide gap between the diversified index fund and the struggling apparel retailer.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF trades about 1% off the all-time high it set in August. The fund has generated a 319% total return over the past decade through Sept. 24. It carries a 0.03% expense ratio and tracks the S&P 500 index across nearly every sector of the U.S. economy. The fund holds $1.8 trillion in assets.
Lululemon's losing streak deepens
Lululemon shares, trading under $105 apiece, have fallen a further 17% since Sept. 3, when the company reported its fiscal 2026 second-quarter results. That report showed a 4% year-over-year revenue decline. Same-store sales fell 9%. Net income dropped 11%. The stock now trades 80% below its December 2023 peak.
That decline has left Lululemon with a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.3, a level that could draw value investors betting management can reverse the slide. However, Motley Fool analyst Neil Patel calls that a risky bet, since it is difficult to predict when the retailer's revenue and profits will recover.
Why the index fund still wins the comparison
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF's information technology holdings carry a weighting of about 38%, led by Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft, which have built large market caps as the AI infrastructure buildout continues. Buying the ETF spreads exposure across roughly 80% of the U.S. stock market's value, removing the need to analyze any single company's prospects.
There are valid concerns about the S&P 500 index's valuation, but similar worries surfaced more than a decade ago without derailing the index's performance since.
Source: The Motley Fool
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