Are IBB and USO in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and USO is a commodity 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 USO?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and USO +133.3%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or USO?

IBB is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to USO's +133.3%, and IBB charges 0.44% to USO's 0.86%.

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Net assets: $11.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Biotechnology ETF, and $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP.

IBB on its own →USO on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+133.3%

USO total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.86%

USO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IBB costs 0.42 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 95.8 points; IBB is 5.8 times larger.

IBB vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	USO
Return
Measure	IBB	USO
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+133.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	USO
Below its high		82.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	USO
What it tracks	Biotech	Oil futures
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	USO
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.86%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$1.9bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	USO
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	40%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%

Method

Risk and return

Apr 21, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,070 weekly returns

IBB USO

Return

Total return edge IBB +735.5% −70.9%

Annualized edge IBB +10.9% −5.8%

Price return edge IBB +699.8% −70.9%

Risk

Volatility edge IBB 22.7% 37.1%

Max drawdown edge IBB −37.5% −98.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IBB 0.49 −0.02

Sortino edge IBB 0.71 −0.03

Calmar edge IBB 0.29 −0.06

Reading

IBB returned more: +735.5% to −70.9%. IBB swung less: 22.7% to 37.1%. IBB fell less at its worst: −37.5% to −98.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IBB vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	USO	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+735.5%	−70.9%	IBB	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.9%	−5.8%	IBB	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+699.8%	−70.9%	IBB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.7%	37.1%	IBB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.9%	26.9%	IBB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−37.5%	−98.0%	IBB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.49	−0.02	IBB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.71	−0.03	IBB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.29	−0.06	IBB	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,070 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF USO United States Oil Fund, LP

Where it sits Thematic ETF Commodity ETF

Issuer iShares USCF

What it is Biotech Holds oil futures

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +133.3%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.86%

Holdings 245 not counted

Net assets, IBB as of Oct 27, 2026 and USO as of Oct 28, 2026 $11.0bn $1.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-E7CF7217F8

IBB and USO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. IBB follows Biotech and USO follows Oil futures.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IBB returned +37.5% and USO +133.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 95.8 points.
Cost. IBB charges 0.44% of assets a year and USO 0.86%, a gap of 0.42 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

USO

USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and USO in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and USO is a commodity 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 USO?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and USO +133.3%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or USO?: IBB is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IBB vs SIVR BWET vs IBB IBB vs SLV GLDM vs IBB USO vs XBI AIRR vs USO GDX vs USO LYTE vs USO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

USCF website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

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