Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or XHB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and XHB −8.6%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or XHB?

XHB is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do EWJ and XHB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 46% of XHB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs XHB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to XHB's −8.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF, and $1.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF.

EWJ on its own →XHB on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

−8.6%

XHB total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.35%

XHB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XHB costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.7 points; EWJ is 15.9 times larger.

EWJ vs XHB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	XHB
Return
Measure	EWJ	XHB
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	−8.6%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	XHB
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	20.5%, high on Oct 18, 2024
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	XHB
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	XHB
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$1.5bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	XHB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	35.4%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and XHB 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 EWJ XHB

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EWJ

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.40%

TOYOTA MOTOR 3.59%

ADVANTEST 3.03%

HITACHI 3.03%

RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 3.03%

SONY GROUP 2.89%

SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 2.83%

TOKYO ELECTRON 2.55%

Only in XHB

ALLEGION PLC 3.83%

SHARKNINJA INC 3.76%

WAYFAIR INC CLASS A 3.63%

WILLIAMS SONOMA INC 3.54%

SIMPSON MANUFACTURING CO INC 3.49%

MASCO CORP 3.49%

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATION 3.46%

DR HORTON INC 3.41%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF XHB State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks the S&P Homebuilders

Total return, 1 year +18.1% −8.6%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX not measured

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 45.7%

Holdings 169 34

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and XHB as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $1.5bn

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

Alert

About each fund

EWJ

EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% 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 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

XHB

XHB tracks the S&P Homebuilders. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −8.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 46% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 34 positions, with the top ten at 35.4%. It sat 20.5% below its high of Oct 18, 2024 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or XHB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and XHB −8.6%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or XHB?: XHB is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWJ and XHB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 46% of XHB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs XRT EWJ vs XLY EWJ vs IYE EWJ vs VHT EWT vs XHB EWZ vs XHB EZU vs XHB VPL vs XHB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

XHB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XHB 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, EWJ against XHB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-xhb

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