Presidential Comparison

Nixon vs Ford

Last updated: May 17th, 2024

This page has the comparisons between Nixon vs Ford across all the metrics we track. President Nixon and President Ford data are no longer in office. Their data has been set to be as equivalent by days in office to make a fair comparison of their performance. This accounts for presidents that had one term vs two terms, or presidents that had a much shortened term.

With respect to cumulative performance, Richard Nixon has performed better on 2 out of the 5 metrics we track.  President Nixon's highest performance difference was on the indicator Job Growth performing 10.59% better than President Ford. President Nixon's lowest performance difference was on S & P 500 Index performing -47.37% worse than President Ford.

We highly recommend you read this article as well prior: What's the best way to interpret the facts and data on Facts First?

Nixon vs. Ford stock market performance

How does Nixon compare to Ford in the stock market? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized performance between Nixon and Ford in the stock market. Cumulatively across the S&P 500, Nixon is at -20.05% compared to Ford at 27.31% a difference of -47.37%. On the NASDAQ, Nixon is at N/A compared to Ford at 38.06%  a difference of N/A. Finally, on the DOW Jones, Nixon is at -16.10% compared to Ford at 23.41% a difference of -39.52%.

Index
Cumulative Performance
Richard NixonGerald FordDifference
NASDAQN/A38.06%N/A
DOW-16.10%23.41%Nixon -39.52%
S&P-20.05%27.31%Nixon -47.37%
Index
Annualized Performance
Richard NixonGerald FordDifference
NASDAQN/A14.06%N/A
DOW-3.11%8.96%Nixon -12.07%
S&P-3.95%10.35%Nixon -14.30%




Nixon vs. Ford GDP performance

How does Nixon compare to Ford with respect to GDP Growth? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized GDP growth. Cumulatively Nixon is at 14.59% compared to Ford at 7.82% a difference of 6.76%

GDP
Richard NixonGerald FordDifference
Cumulative14.59%7.82%Nixon +6.76%
Annualized2.53%3.18%Nixon -0.65%


Nixon vs. Ford jobs growth performance

How does Nixon compare to Ford in non-farm payroll? We share the facts on cumulative and annualized jobs created. Cumulatively Nixon is at 13.22% compared to Ford at 2.63% a difference of 10.59%

Indicator
Cumulative Gain/Loss
Richard NixonGerald FordDifference
Cumulative13.22%2.63%Nixon +10.59%
Annualized2.27%1.09%Nixon +1.18%


How do we calculate data for Nixon vs. Ford?

We capture the data as soon as it’s available to us – stock market data after daily market close, jobs data once a month and GDP data once a quarter. After verifying the raw data, we then calculate updated cumulative and annualized performance data for the current president (the data for previous presidents have been calculated and verified in advance).

Some metrics are measured daily (like stock market performance), monthly (like jobs growth) and quarterly (like GDP growth). We start measurement of performance for a president from the first full time period after their inauguration. For stock market performance, it is the first stock market day in office. For jobs growth, it’s either first full calendar month in office (so if you are inaugurated in the middle of January, the first full month is February). This ensures a consistent starting point across all presidencies.

Also, read these articles in our Learning Center:

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