MO’s worst drop since 1999 was 64%
Altria (MO) fell 64% from Jan 1999 to Feb 2000. It took 2.1 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Mar 2001. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop is milder than most. It ranks 667th of the 986 stocks PortfolioAutopsy tracks, counted from the deepest.
Drawdown from the last high, 1999 to now
How MO held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | MO | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | −35.7% | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −38.5% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −38.8% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −25.8% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
See how MO behaves inside your whole mix, with the worst 12 months, loss odds and crash replays. Free, no signup, and the math runs in your browser.
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What was MO’s maximum drawdown?
MO’s deepest fall since 1999 was 63.9%, from its high on January 11, 1999 to its low on February 14, 2000. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did MO take to recover?
2.1 years. MO first closed above its Jan 1999 high again on March 2, 2001.
Was MO riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, MO’s worst drop was 63.9% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −54.7% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, January 5, 1999 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.