The takeaway
United Parcel Service Inc shows a pronounced seasonal pattern over 10 years of data — strongest in November (+5.5%) and softest in January (−3.0%).
Right now
In July, the stock has risen 50% of years, averaging +3.0%, about +0.9 pts better than the S&P 500.
The full picture
United Parcel Service Inc's most dependable month has been November, higher in 9 of 10 years; January has been its least reliable, up just 30% of the time.
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Month by month
The stock's clearest edge over the S&P 500 lands in November (+3.2 pts); it has trailed the market most in January (−2.8 pts).
“vs S&P” is United Parcel Service Inc’s average for a month minus the S&P 500’s average for that same month — isolating United Parcel Service Inc’s own seasonal edge from broad market drift.
Reality check
Over the last 5 years, November has closed higher 80% of the time versus 90% across the last 10 years — the pattern is weakening.
Figures are the typical (median) November return and how often it rose — the last 5 years versus the last 10(the heatmap’s default window). This verdict stays anchored to that 10-year window even if you zoom the chart, so it never disagrees with the badges above.
In plain English
The seasonal story is really one month's story — November. It has closed higher in 9 of 10 Novembers, a concentration the rest of the calendar can't touch.
The strength looks broad-based rather than freakish: its average (+5.5%) and median (+6.0%) sit close together, so no single blow-out year is flattering the figure. Few months are steadier: November's returns vary by just 5.3% year to year, and even its worst November in 10 years lost only 5.5% — the gentlest downside anywhere on its calendar. Better still, that strength is the stock's own and not just a buoyant market — November has outpaced the S&P 500 by +3.2 points on average. Few peers keep such company in November — the typical stock clears it just 62% of the time.
It doesn't stand entirely alone — February, March, and May have leaned firm as well, if less emphatically. At the other end of the calendar, January has been the soft spot — the weakest of 5 months that average a loss (−3.0%), and the edge isn't year-round — the stock has trailed the S&P 500 in January, December, and September. Its roughest month on record was a −17.8% September in 2022 — a reminder of how hard even a seasonal name can fall.
The pattern has softened of late, November's last five years slipping below its longer-run record.
For a stock this dependable in November, the sharper question is the rest of the year — outside its strong stretch, the calendar gives far less to lean on.
Short answers on the stock's best month (November), its worst (January), and whether it really trades seasonally.
Yes, to a pronounced degree. Since 2016 its best month (November, +5.5%) has run well ahead of its worst (January, −3.0%) — the heatmap above shows how steady that gap has been year to year.
November has been the strongest, averaging +5.5% and closing higher in 9 of 10 years since 2016.
It's the weakest, averaging −3.0% — historically a soft spot, though it still varies from year to year.
Explore
These names have the strongest July track records on record — a starting point for comparison.
Before you trade