underperform

American  

[uhn-der-per-fawrm] / ˌʌn dər pərˈfɔrm /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to perform less well than (another of its kind, a general average, etc.) or less well than expected.

   Surprisingly, the stock has underperformed the market indexes all year. Several of our best players consistently underperform.

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Other Word Forms

• underperformance
  noun

Etymology

Origin of underperform

under- + perform

Example Sentences

Macquarie cuts its target price on the stock 10% to A$7.65 and maintains an underperform rating.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026

Macquarie cuts its target price 3.1% to A$31.00 and keeps an underperform rating on the stock, which is up 4.2% at A$39.19.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

The Stifel analysts also noted that “discounts often widen during market downturns, causing share prices to underperform the underlying assets.”

From Barron's • May 5, 2026

Credit-research company CreditSights reiterated its underperform rating on Meta’s bonds on Thursday, saying that the price of Meta’s bonds might drop because the company is flooding the market with debt.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 30, 2026

They would bet, for instance, that bonds with large numbers of loans made in California would underperform bonds with very little of California in them.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis