Are IBB and NOBL in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and NOBL 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 NOBL?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and NOBL +15.5%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or NOBL?

NOBL is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IBB and NOBL overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 98% of NOBL by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs NOBL: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to NOBL's +15.5%, and NOBL charges 0.35% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $11.6bn on Oct 28, 2026 for ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF.

IBB on its own →NOBL on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+15.5%

NOBL total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.35%

NOBL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

NOBL costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 22.0 points; NOBL is 1.1 times larger.

IBB vs NOBL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	NOBL
Return
Measure	IBB	NOBL
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+15.5%
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	NOBL
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	NOBL
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$11.7bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	NOBL
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	17.0%

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

What they share

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

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%

ARGENX SE ADR 3.42%

ILLUMINA INC 2.93%

Only in NOBL

ROPER TECHNOLOGIES INC 1.81%

BECTON DICKINSON AND CO 1.78%

FACTSET RESEARCH SYSTEMS INC 1.77%

INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 1.70%

AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING 1.69%

EMERSON ELECTRIC CO 1.67%

CHEVRON CORP 1.66%

ERIE INDEMNITY COMPANY-CL A 1.64%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF NOBL ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares ProShares

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +15.5%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 98.3%

Holdings 245 69

Net assets, IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 and NOBL as of Oct 28, 2026 $11.0bn $11.6bn

IBB and NOBL 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.

NOBL

NOBL tracks the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 98% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 69 positions, with the top ten at 17.0%.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and NOBL in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and NOBL 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 NOBL?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and NOBL +15.5%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or NOBL?: NOBL is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and NOBL overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 98% of NOBL by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs SDY IBB vs VOE DVY vs IBB COWZ vs IBB NOBL vs XBI GDX vs NOBL LYTE vs NOBL AIRR vs NOBL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

NOBL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NOBL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

ProShares page for NOBL ↗

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 NOBL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ibb-vs-nobl

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