Data as of Sep 4, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QQQ vs XAR
Invesco QQQ Trust and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Aerospace & Defense ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QQQ and XAR hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QQQ | XAR |
|---|---|---|
| Axon Enterprise, Inc. | 0.16% | 3.23% |
| Only in QQQ | Only in XAR |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. 8.16% | VSE Corp 3.40% |
| Apple Inc. 7.29% | StandardAero Inc 3.11% |
| Microsoft Corp. 5.32% | FTAI Aviation Ltd 3.09% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 4.80% | Carpenter Technology Corp 3.04% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. 4.62% | General Electric Co 3.02% |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 3.70% | Woodward Inc 2.98% |
| Alphabet Inc. 3.52% | HEICO Corp 2.86% |
| Tesla, Inc. 3.46% | Moog Inc 2.86% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings as filed for Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust | XAR State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Aerospace & Defense ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Themes desk |
| Issuer | Invesco | State Street |
| What it is | Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM | Defense |
| Total return, 1 year | +25.6% | +17.9% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +20.0% | +20.0% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +5.6 pts | −2.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.35% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 96.7% | 32.4% |
| Holdings | 101 | 48 |
QQQ in plain words
QQQ is a index equity fund tracking Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +25.6% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 101 positions, with the top ten at 47.5%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Jun 2, 2026 on Sep 4, 2026.
XAR in plain words
By weight, 32% of XAR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 30% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +17.9% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 2.1 pts. It sits 14.8% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or XAR?
- In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +25.6% and XAR returned +17.9%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or XAR?
- QQQ charges 0.18% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do QQQ and XAR overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 97% of QQQ and 32% of XAR by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
- Are QQQ and XAR the same kind of fund?
- No. QQQ is an index ETF and XAR is a thematic ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QQQ against XAR, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QQQ-XAR.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
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