This essay aims the empirical analysis of the performance of a representative sample of brazilian companies and their sectors over the period 1999-2008, through the measure of performance that has greater relation to the return of assets in the capital market. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to obtain values of traditional performance measures, such as ROI, ROA, ROE and EPS, as well as measures based on the creation of shareholder value, such as EVA (Economic Value Added), to, afterwards, correlate them with the external performance measure, MVA (Market Value Added), regarded as the one that best reflects the return of assets, because it considers the company s current performance and takes into account future market expectations. This essay was based on a sample of 47 companies traded on BOVESPA, distributed in 12 sectors of the Brazilian economy. The highest correlation obtained was between EVA and MVA corroborating with Stern Stewart & Co’s statement that EVA is a superior measure of business performance. When using EVA as the performance measure, it was noted that only five of 47 companies evaluated built shareholder value over the decade, that the petroleum and mining sectors were the ones that have created more wealth for the country, and that the period associated with the Lula’s Government was marked by a sharp increase in expectations of future growth of EVAs.