USO vs DBO Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
USO and DBO sit in related but distinct corners of the ETF landscape — USO centers on the most direct, liquid way to trade crude oil price movements, while DBO focuses on crude oil futures exposure with a contango-minimizing futures strategy. Investors choosing between them should weigh how each fund's strategy lines up with their own goals rather than assuming they're interchangeable.
Choosing between USO and DBO comes down to which specific exposure — the most direct, liquid way to trade crude oil price movements or crude oil futures exposure with a contango-minimizing futures strategy — better matches the role you want this holding to play in a diversified portfolio.
DBO holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. USO has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+128.02% vs +107.45% for DBO).
- want the most direct, liquid way to trade crude oil price movements
- prefer USCF's approach and fund lineup
- value direct commodity exposure without owning energy-company equity risk
- are comfortable with futures 'roll' costs (contango) can erode returns over long holding periods
- want crude oil futures exposure with a contango-minimizing futures strategy
- prefer Invesco's approach and fund lineup
- value optimum-yield methodology aims to reduce futures-roll cost drag versus USO
- are comfortable with still exposed to extreme oil-price volatility and geopolitical risk
| Metric | USO | DBO |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 25.7 | 28.5 |
| Latest closei | $157.31 | $25.24 |
| 1M returni | -2.81% | -4.21% |
| 3M returni | +31.86% | +27.28% |
| 6M returni | +25.01% | +25.01% |
| 1Y returni | +128.02% | +107.45% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | USO | DBO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $22.8K (+128.0%) started 2025-10-15 | $21.47K (+114.7%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $27.53K (+175.3%) started 2021-10-15 | $22.13K (+121.3%) started 2021-10-15 |
| 10Y ago | $17.29K (+72.9%) started 2016-10-17 | $38.71K (+287.1%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | USO | DBO |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.86% | 0.75% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $1.69B | $257.86M |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 1.81% |
| Trailing P/Ei | N/A | 5.01 |
| Betai | -0.05 | 0.10 |
| 52-week change | 128.02% | 107.45% |
| Metric | USO | DBO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +128.02% | +107.45% |
| 6M returni | +25.01% | +25.01% |
| 3M returni | +31.86% | +27.28% |
| 1M returni | -2.81% | -4.21% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | 1.83 | 1.87 |
| Betai | -0.05 | 0.10 |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 1.81% |
| 5Y CAGR | +22.45% | +14.03% |
Over the past year, USO and DBO have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.92), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | USO | DBO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +128.02% | +107.45% |
| CAGRi | +128.15% | +107.55% | |
| Volatilityi | 49.44% | 41.44% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.83 | 1.87 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 2.89 | 2.88 | |
| Max drawdowni | 32.49% | 27.73% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.81% | 4.21% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.15% | 6.40% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 11.50% | 9.11% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.78% | 8.85% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.94% | 14.04% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +175.26% | +92.74% |
| CAGRi | +22.45% | +14.03% | |
| Volatilityi | 37.65% | 33.95% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.61 | 0.43 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.87 | 0.59 | |
| Max drawdowni | 36.23% | 37.67% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.81% | 4.21% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 17.90% | 21.44% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 19.71% | 23.76% | |
| Max daily dropi | 11.66% | 11.88% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 19.67% | 17.30% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +72.94% | +224.75% |
| CAGRi | +5.63% | +12.51% | |
| Volatilityi | 39.46% | 32.45% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.23 | 0.39 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.31 | 0.53 | |
| Max drawdowni | 86.75% | 61.69% | |
| Current drawdowni | 2.81% | 4.21% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 36.76% | 20.93% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 42.75% | 25.02% | |
| Max daily dropi | 25.32% | 16.65% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 43.34% | 22.68% |
| Category | USO | DBO |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | United States Oil Fund, LP | Invesco DB Oil Fund |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.86% | 0.75% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $1.69B | $257.86M |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.00% | 1.81% |
- Direct commodity exposure without owning energy-company equity risk
- Highly liquid, widely used oil-price trading vehicle
- No exposure to individual company management or balance-sheet risk
- Optimum-yield methodology aims to reduce futures-roll cost drag versus USO
- Direct commodity exposure without individual energy-stock risk
- Established, long-running commodity futures fund
- Futures 'roll' costs (contango) can erode returns over long holding periods
- Extremely volatile and sensitive to geopolitical and OPEC+ supply news
- Not a buy-and-hold investment; designed for shorter-term tactical use
- Still exposed to extreme oil-price volatility and geopolitical risk
- Optimum-yield strategy doesn't eliminate contango cost entirely
- Not designed as a long-term buy-and-hold position
Compare more than two at a time
This page is a fixed writeup on USO and DBO. Our comparison engine is the interactive version: load up to five tickers, switch timeframes, and get the correlation, drawdown, and overlap analysis that a static page can't show.
Add three more names beside USO and DBO, mixing stocks and ETFs in the same table — useful when the real question is which of a whole peer group to own.
AI score, forward P/E, analyst target upside, operating margin, and revenue growth are scored head-to-head, with a running tally of which ticker leads on how many metrics.
Volatility, Sharpe and Sortino ratios, maximum, current, and average drawdown, Ulcer Index, and worst single-day and single-week drops across every timeframe.
Pairwise daily-return correlation for every combination, so you can see whether two holdings actually diversify each other or just move together.
A scatter plot of forward P/E against return on equity, plus drawdown and 30-day rolling volatility charts, to separate what is cheap from what is merely beaten down.
For ETFs, a top-holdings comparison that exposes hidden overlap between funds. Every comparison exports to CSV for your own spreadsheet work.
Two comparisons a week are free without an account. A 14-day trial removes the limit and adds AI price forecasts, stock rankings, saved watchlists, and the intrinsic value calculator — no credit card required.
Want deeper AI forecasts?
This comparison page is public and free forever. Subscribers can unlock saved watchlists, full AI rankings, detailed forecasts, and interactive analysis tools.