Are EEM and XBI in the same category?

EEM is a stock ETF and XBI 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 XBI?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and XBI +41.2%.

Which is cheaper, EEM or XBI?

XBI is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EEM and 13% of XBI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EEM vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EEM returned +16.3% to XBI's +41.2%, and XBI charges 0.35% to EEM's 0.72%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $29.1bn for iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF and $10.3bn for State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF.

EEM on its own →XBI on its own →

At a glance

+16.3%

EEM total return, 1 year

+41.2%

XBI total return, 1 year

0.72%

EEM expense ratio

0.35%

XBI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XBI costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 24.9 points; EEM is 2.8 times larger.

EEM vs XBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EEM	XBI
Return
Measure	EEM	XBI
Total return, 1 year	+16.3%	+41.2%
Drawdown
Measure	EEM	XBI
Below its high	10.8%, high on Jun 22, 2026
Below its all-time high		8.9%, high on Feb 8, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	EEM	XBI
What it tracks	MSCI Emerging Markets Index	Biotech
Cost and size
Measure	EEM	XBI
Expense ratio	0.72%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$29.1bn	$10.3bn
Active share vs the S&P 500		98%
Holdings
Measure	EEM	XBI
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37.2%	18%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EEM and XBI 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 XBI

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 XBI

MODERNA INC 2.24%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP 1.86%

NATERA INC 1.82%

BIOGEN INC 1.75%

HALOZYME THERAPEUTICS INC 1.75%

UNITED THERAPEUTICS CORP 1.71%

AMGEN INC 1.68%

ABBVIE INC 1.67%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EEM iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF XBI State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Thematic ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks an index of Emerging markets Biotech

Total return, 1 year +16.3% +41.2%

Expense ratio 0.72% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 13.2%

Holdings 1186 165

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $29.1bn $10.3bn

EEM and XBI 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.

XBI

By weight, 13% of XBI'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 18% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +41.2% with distributions reinvested. It sits 8.9% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.

Questions people ask

Are EEM and XBI in the same category?: EEM is a stock ETF and XBI 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 XBI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EEM returned +16.3% and XBI +41.2%.
Which is cheaper, EEM or XBI?: XBI is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EEM and XBI overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EEM and 13% of XBI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

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

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EEM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EEM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EEM ↗

XBI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XBI 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.

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

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