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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and XLB +18.5%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or XLB?

XLB is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to XLB's +18.5%; 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 $8.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF.

EWJ on its own →XLB on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLB costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.4 points; EWJ is 2.9 times larger.

EWJ vs XLB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	XLB
Return
Measure	EWJ	XLB
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	+18.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	XLB
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	XLB
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	Materials Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	XLB
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$8.1bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	XLB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	58.5%

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

What they share

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

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 XLB

LINDE PLC 12.96%

NEWMONT CORP 6.56%

FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 5.23%

ECOLAB INC 4.98%

VULCAN MATERIALS CO 4.89%

NUCOR CORP 4.89%

AIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC 4.84%

STEEL DYNAMICS INC 4.77%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks an index of Materials

Total return, 1 year +18.1% +18.5%

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% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 99.8%

Holdings 169 25

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLB as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $8.1bn

EWJ and XLB 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.

XLB

XLB tracks an index of Materials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. 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 25 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or XLB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and XLB +18.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or XLB?: XLB is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWJ and XLB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 100% of XLB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs XHB EWJ vs XLV EWJ vs XLF EWJ vs VPU EWY vs XLB VYMI vs XLB VGK vs XLB IDEV vs XLB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

XLB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLB 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 XLB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-xlb

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