Risk
Beta
Beta measures how much a stock's price has tended to move compared with the overall market (the S&P 500).
Why does it matter?
It gives a sense of how bumpy the stock's ride has been compared with the market as a whole.
How do I read it?
A beta of 1 means the stock moved about as much as the market. Above 1, it moved more; below 1, it moved less. It is based on the past and can change. It doesn't say whether a company is doing well, and it doesn't capture every kind of risk.
How StockLab calculates it
Based on the last 5 years of monthly price changes: covariance with the S&P 500 ÷ variance of the S&P 500.
Example
With a Beta of 1.5, a share has tended to move about 1.5% for every 1% move in the market; with a Beta of 0.5, about half as much.
On StockLab
It is in the Advanced View of every company page, based on 60 months of prices.