As volatility has increased among AI-related stocks, we thought it would be a good time to revisit our rolling beta dataset across sectors, industries, and sub-industries to assess how current levels compare with historical norms. The table below highlights the 20 groups with the highest 252-day rolling beta relative to the S&P 500. Not surprisingly, technology dominates the list, although several industrial and materials groups also appear.
With semiconductor equipment ranking as the highest-beta group, let’s examine a chart to get a perspective on how its current relative volatility compares to history.
The semiconductor equipment sub-industry group’s 252-day rolling beta recently surpassed the peak reached during the 1990s Dot-com era, pushing its volatility relative to the broader market into unprecedented territory.
Interestingly, the semiconductor sub-industry group’s 252-day rolling beta reached a record high of 2.62 in February 2025, then declined to a low of 1.79 in March of this year. Since then, relative volatility has steadily increased, with beta once again trending higher.
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