Are IBB and XLC in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and XLC 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 XLC?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XLC −10.4%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or XLC?

XLC is cheaper, by 0.36 percentage points a year. That is about $36 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 100% of XLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to XLC's −10.4%, and XLC charges 0.08% to IBB's 0.44%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $11.0bn for iShares Biotechnology ETF and $22.1bn for State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF.

IBB on its own →XLC on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

−10.4%

XLC total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.08%

XLC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLC costs 0.36 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 47.9 points; XLC is 2.0 times larger.

IBB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	XLC
Return
Measure	IBB	XLC
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	−10.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	XLC
Below its high		13.3%, high on Jan 30, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	XLC
What it tracks	Biotech	Communication Services Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	XLC
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$22.1bn
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	XLC
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	75.3%

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

What they share

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

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 XLC

META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 21.45%

ALPHABET INC CL A 12.27%

ALPHABET INC CL C 9.82%

WALT DISNEY CO 5.33%

TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWRE 4.80%

COMCAST CORP CLASS A 4.48%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 4.45%

APPLOVIN CORP CLASS A 4.34%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF XLC State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Biotech Tracks an index of Communication services

Total return, 1 year +37.5% −10.4%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 99.8%

Holdings 245 23

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $22.1bn

IBB and XLC 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.

XLC

XLC tracks an index of Communication services. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −10.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 23 positions, with the top ten at 75.3%. It sat 13.3% below its high of Jan 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and XLC in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and XLC 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 XLC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XLC −10.4%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or XLC?: XLC is cheaper, by 0.36 percentage points a year. That is about $36 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IBB and XLC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 100% of XLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs VOX IBB vs VHT IBB vs XLP IBB vs SCHH XBI vs XLC XLC vs XLCI BITO vs XLC IWO vs XLC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

XLC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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