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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +19.1% and XLC returned −2.0%, so GLD returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, GLD or XLC?

GLD charges 0.40% a year and XLC charges 0.08%, so XLC is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

GLD vs XLC: how they differ

GLD is a commodity fund and XLC an equity index fund, and over the year GLD returned more, +19.1% against −2.0%.

SPDR Gold Shares and State Street(R) Communication Services Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.

GLD and XLC on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	GLD SPDR Gold Shares	XLC State Street(R) Communication Services Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	State Street	State Street
What it is	Gold	Communication services
Total return, 1 year	+19.1%	−2.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+1.6 pts	−19.5 pts
Expense ratio	0.40%	0.08%
Holdings	not filed	26

GLD in plain words

GLD is a commodity fund tracking the Gold. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +19.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.40% a year. It sat 19.6% below its high of Jan 29, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

XLC in plain words

XLC is an index equity fund tracking the Communication services. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −2.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 26 positions, with the top ten at 70.4%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Jan 30, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, GLD or XLC?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, GLD returned +19.1% and XLC returned −2.0%, so GLD returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, GLD or XLC?: GLD charges 0.40% a year and XLC charges 0.08%, so XLC is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

GLD against XLC, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, GLD against XLC, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/gld-vs-xlc Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources