Are EEM and IBB in the same category?

EEM is a stock ETF and IBB is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, EEM or IBB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and IBB +37.5%.

Which is cheaper, EEM or IBB?

IBB is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do EEM and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EEM and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EEM vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EEM returned +16.3% to IBB's +37.5%, and IBB charges 0.44% to EEM's 0.72%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $29.1bn for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF.

EEM on its own →IBB on its own →

At a glance

+16.3%

EEM total return, 1 year

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

0.72%

EEM expense ratio

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IBB costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.2 points; EEM is 2.6 times larger.

EEM vs IBB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EEM	IBB
Return
Measure	EEM	IBB
Total return, 1 year	+16.3%	+37.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EEM	IBB
Below its high	10.8%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EEM	IBB
What it tracks	MSCI Emerging Markets Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	EEM	IBB
Expense ratio	0.72%	0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$29.1bn	$11.0bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		99%
Holdings
Measure	EEM	IBB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37.2%	50%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EEM and IBB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EEM IBB

BEONE MEDICINES AG 0.19% 2.15%

LEGEND BIOTECH ADR REP 0.01% 0.25%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EEM

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 15.98%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 6.88%

SK HYNIX 4.91%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 2.64%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 1.82%

MEDIATEK 1.54%

CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK CORP H 0.94%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS NON VOTING PRE 0.91%

Only in IBB

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56%

AMGEN INC 8.20%

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64%

MODERNA 5.29%

NATERA 3.85%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Emerging markets Biotech

Total return, 1 year +16.3% +37.5%

Expense ratio 0.72% 0.44%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 40.2%

Holdings 1186 245

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $29.1bn $11.0bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EEM

EEM tracks an index of Emerging markets. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.72% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,186 positions, with the top ten at 37.2%. It sat 10.8% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IBB

By weight, 40% of IBB's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 50% of the fund across 245 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +37.5% with distributions reinvested.

Questions people ask

Are EEM and IBB in the same category?: EEM is a stock ETF and IBB is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, EEM or IBB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and IBB +37.5%.
Which is cheaper, EEM or IBB?: IBB is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EEM and IBB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EEM and 40% of IBB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EEM vs XBI AIRR vs EEM EEM vs REMX EEM vs LYTE EMXC vs IBB AVEM vs IBB IBB vs VWO IBB vs IEMG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EEM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EEM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EEM ↗

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

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, EEM against IBB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/eem-vs-ibb

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