Are IBB and IXUS in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and IXUS is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, IBB or IXUS?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IXUS +14.1%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or IXUS?

IXUS 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 IBB and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to IXUS's +14.1%, and IXUS charges 0.07% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $57.6bn for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.

IBB on its own →IXUS on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IXUS total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.07%

IXUS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXUS costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 23.4 points; IXUS is 5.2 times larger.

IBB vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	IXUS
Return
Measure	IBB	IXUS
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	IXUS
Below its high		4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	IXUS
What it tracks	Biotech	MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	IXUS
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$57.6bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	IXUS
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	13.5%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IBB and IXUS 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 IBB IXUS

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42% 0.13%

GENMAB SPONSORED ADR 1.72% 0.07%

BEONE MEDICINES AG 2.15% 0.06%

EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS 0.02% 0.09%

10X GENOMICS CLASS A 0.63% 0.01%

ABIVAX AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES 0.44% 0.01%

AKERO THERAPEUTICS CVR 0.00% 0.01%

CARIS LIFE SCIENCES 0.30% 0.00%

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNA 1.18% 0.00%

CHINOOK THERAPEUTICS INC 0.00% 0.00%

LAKEFRONT BIOTHERAPEUTICS ADR NV 0.10% 0.00%

LEGEND BIOTECH ADR REP 0.25% 0.00%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IBB

GILEAD SCIENCES 8.56%

AMGEN INC 8.20%

VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.53%

REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.64%

MODERNA 5.29%

NATERA 3.85%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

BIOGEN 2.58%

Only in IXUS

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 4.39%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 1.90%

ASML HOLDING 1.53%

SK HYNIX 1.35%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.82%

SHELL 0.73%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 0.73%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.72%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF IXUS iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the MSCI Total International Stock

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +14.1%

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

Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.2 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 0.0%

Holdings 245 4584

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $57.6bn

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

Alert

About each fund

IBB

By weight, 40% of IBB's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 50% of the fund across 245 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +37.5% with distributions reinvested.

IXUS

IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 4,584 positions, with the top ten at 13.5%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and IXUS in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and IXUS is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, IBB or IXUS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and IXUS +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or IXUS?: IXUS 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 IBB and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs VEU IBB vs SCHF EFA vs IBB IBB vs IDEV IXUS vs XBI AIRR vs IXUS GDX vs IXUS IXUS vs REMX

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB and IXUS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

IXUS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IXUS ↗

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, IBB against IXUS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-ixus

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