Are IBB and XHB in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and XHB 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 XHB?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XHB −8.6%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or XHB?

XHB 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 XHB overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 46% of XHB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs XHB: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to XHB's −8.6%, and XHB charges 0.35% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $1.5bn for State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF.

IBB on its own →XHB on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

−8.6%

XHB total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.35%

XHB expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XHB costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 46.1 points; IBB is 7.3 times larger.

IBB vs XHB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	XHB
Return
Measure	IBB	XHB
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	−8.6%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	XHB
Below its high		20.5%, high on Oct 18, 2024
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	XHB
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	XHB
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$1.5bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	XHB
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	35.4%

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

What they share

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

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 XHB

ALLEGION PLC 3.83%

SHARKNINJA INC 3.76%

WAYFAIR INC CLASS A 3.63%

WILLIAMS SONOMA INC 3.54%

SIMPSON MANUFACTURING CO INC 3.49%

MASCO CORP 3.49%

JOHNSON CONTROLS INTERNATION 3.46%

DR HORTON INC 3.41%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF XHB State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P Homebuilders

Total return, 1 year +37.5% −8.6%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 45.7%

Holdings 245 34

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $1.5bn

IBB and XHB 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.

XHB

XHB tracks the S&P Homebuilders. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −8.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 46% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 34 positions, with the top ten at 35.4%. It sat 20.5% below its high of Oct 18, 2024 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and XHB in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and XHB 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 XHB?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XHB −8.6%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or XHB?: XHB 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 XHB overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 46% of XHB by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs XRT IBB vs XLY IBB vs IYE IBB vs KRE XBI vs XHB CGBL vs XHB BITO vs XHB IWO vs XHB

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

XHB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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