V Stock: Golden Cross (50/200 SMA) Backtest — +97.8% vs +118.2% Buy-and-Hold
Real backtest of the Golden Cross (50/200 SMA) strategy on V over 5 years: +97.8% return vs +118.2% buy-and-hold, 3 trades, 100% win rate, 15.0% max drawdown. Computed on real historical data, not simulated — full trade log and verdict inside.
- Total return: +97.8% (trailed buy-and-hold at +118.2%)
- Win rate: 100% over 3 trades
- Max drawdown: 15.0%
- Sharpe ratio: 0.79
- Period: 5 years of real historical price data
What the numbers say
On V, the Golden Cross (50/200 SMA) trailed buy-and-hold over the five years through Nov 2026: +97.8% against +118.2% for simply holding — a gap of 20.4 percentage points. The strategy took 3 completed trades (3 profitable, 0 not), a 100% win rate — a small sample, so read this as a clue about the rule, not proof.
That came with a shallower worst stretch: the strategy's max drawdown was 15.0% versus 20.4% for buy-and-hold. Dollar-cost averaging into V over the same window returned +55.6%. Best single trade: +28.1% (2022-12-23 to 2024-08-13); worst: +22.8% (2026-07-08 to 2026-11-12).
Computed by StratIQ's backtest engine on real daily prices through Nov 2026 (generated 2026-11-12). Fills are assumed at the close with a 5% stop-loss; slippage and commissions are not modeled. This is a historical study of a rule — not a pick, not a recommendation, and not financial advice.
One of the most widely cited trend-following signals: go long Visa (V) when the 50-day SMA crosses above the 200-day SMA (a 'golden cross'), exit when it crosses back below (a 'death cross').
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