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Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

SDY vs XLB: how they differ

SDY and XLB hold 5% of their weight in the same names, and XLB returned more over the year.

State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Dividend ETF and State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, SDY and XLB hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Positions SDY and XLB both hold, largest shared weight first
HoldingSDYXLB
PPG Industries Inc1.21%3.62%
Air Products and Chemicals Inc1.03%4.63%
Amcor PLC0.93%2.69%
Nucor Corp0.59%3.88%
Linde PLC0.56%14.08%
Ecolab Inc0.47%4.73%
Sherwin-Williams Co/The0.43%4.95%
Albemarle Corp0.26%2.13%
Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in SDYOnly in XLB
Verizon Communications Inc 2.15%Newmont Corp 5.85%
Realty Income Corp 2.14%Freeport-McMoRan Inc 5.31%
Kenvue Inc 1.76%Corteva Inc 4.97%
Kimberly-Clark Corp 1.75%Vulcan Materials Co 4.72%
AbbVie Inc 1.63%CRH PLC 4.67%
QUALCOMM Inc 1.57%Martin Marietta Materials Inc 4.55%
Texas Instruments Inc 1.56%Steel Dynamics Inc 3.73%
Target Corp 1.55%Smurfit Westrock PLC 3.25%

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 dated Jun 30, 2026.

SDY and XLB on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SDY
State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Dividend ETF
XLB
State Street(R) Materials Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF
Where it sitsCore index fundCore index fund
IssuerState StreetState Street
What it isSPDR S&P DividendMaterials
Total return, 1 year+11.0%+12.0%
S&P 500 over the same days+17.5%+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500−6.5 pts−5.5 pts
Expense ratio0.35%0.08%
Already in the S&P 50084.6%100.0%
Holdings15526

SDY in plain words

SDY is an index equity fund tracking the SPDR S&P Dividend. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +11.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 85% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 155 positions, with the top ten at 17.1%. It sat 3.9% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

XLB in plain words

XLB is an index equity fund tracking the Materials. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +12.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 26 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Aug 26, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SDY or XLB?
In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SDY returned +11.0% and XLB returned +12.0%, so XLB returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, SDY or XLB?
SDY charges 0.35% a year and XLB charges 0.08%, so XLB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do SDY and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 85% of SDY and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 5% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.

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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.

SDY against XLB, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, SDY against XLB, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/SDY-XLB Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources