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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and XLC −10.4%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or XLC?

XLC 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 XLC overlap with the S&P 500?

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to XLC's −10.4%; 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 $22.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF.

EWJ on its own →XLC on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

−10.4%

XLC total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.08%

XLC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLC costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 28.5 points; EWJ is 1.1 times larger.

EWJ vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	XLC
Return
Measure	EWJ	XLC
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	−10.4%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	XLC
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	13.3%, high on Jan 30, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	XLC
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	Communication Services Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	XLC
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$22.1bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	XLC
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	75.3%

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

What they share

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

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 XLC

META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 21.45%

ALPHABET INC CL A 12.27%

ALPHABET INC CL C 9.82%

WALT DISNEY CO 5.33%

TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWRE 4.80%

COMCAST CORP CLASS A 4.48%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 4.45%

APPLOVIN CORP CLASS A 4.34%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF XLC State Street Communication Services 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 Communication services

Total return, 1 year +18.1% −10.4%

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 23

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLC as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $22.1bn

EWJ and XLC 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.

XLC

XLC tracks an index of Communication services. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −10.4% 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 23 positions, with the top ten at 75.3%. It sat 13.3% below its high of Jan 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or XLC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and XLC −10.4%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or XLC?: XLC 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 XLC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 100% of XLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs VOX EWJ vs XLY EWJ vs XLU EWJ vs VHT EWT vs XLC EWZ vs XLC EZU vs XLC VPL vs XLC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

XLC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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