Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or XLU?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, DGRO or XLU?

Neither: DGRO and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do DGRO and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 92% of DGRO and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

DGRO vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DGRO returned +18.8% to XLU's −3.0%; 7% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $44.6bn for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF and $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

DGRO on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+18.8%

DGRO total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.08%

DGRO expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 21.8 points; DGRO is 1.9 times larger.

DGRO vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	DGRO	XLU
Return
Measure	DGRO	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+18.8%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	DGRO	XLU
Below its high		9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	DGRO	XLU
What it tracks	Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	DGRO	XLU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$44.6bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	DGRO	XLU
Holdings in common	7%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	27.2%	58.7%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and XLU hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

7% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first DGRO XLU

NEXTERA ENERGY 1.13% 12.76%

SOUTHERN 0.81% 7.91%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 0.77% 7.22%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER INC 0.48% 5.26%

SEMPRA 0.38% 4.12%

XCEL ENERGY INC 0.34% 3.62%

CONSOLIDATED EDISON 0.31% 3.16%

PUBLIC SERVICE ENTERPRISE GROUP 0.29% 2.69%

WEC ENERGY GROUP 0.29% 2.69%

ENTERGY CORP 0.26% 3.75%

DTE ENERGY 0.21% 2.05%

AMEREN 0.19% 2.23%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in DGRO

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 3.24%

MICROSOFT 3.14%

APPLE 3.11%

ABBVIE 3.00%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2.77%

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 2.68%

BROADCOM INC 2.55%

PROCTER & GAMBLE 2.42%

Only in XLU

CONSTELLATION ENERGY 6.33%

DOMINION ENERGY INC 4.26%

EXELON CORP 3.42%

P G + E CORP 2.12%

PPL CORP 1.96%

EVERSOURCE ENERGY 1.89%

FIRSTENERGY CORP 1.79%

EDISON INTERNATIONAL 1.66%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

DGRO iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF XLU State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of Dividend Growth Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +18.8% −3.0%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 91.8% 99.7%

Holdings 393 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $44.6bn $23.9bn

DGRO and XLU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

DGRO

DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% with distributions reinvested. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +18.8% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, DGRO or XLU?: Neither: DGRO and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do DGRO and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 92% of DGRO and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

DGRO vs VPU DGRO vs XLY DGRO vs XLC DGRO vs VHT VTV vs XLU FDVV vs XLU VLUE vs XLU SPYD vs XLU

Where to next

DGRO on its own →XLU on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →DGRO dividend history →DGRO holdings →XLU dividend history →XLU holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

DGRO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

DGRO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for DGRO ↗

XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, DGRO against XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-xlu

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.