Are IBB and XRT in the same category?

IBB is a thematic ETF and XRT 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 XRT?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XRT +2.4%.

Which is cheaper, IBB or XRT?

XRT 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 XRT overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 22% of XRT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IBB vs XRT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IBB returned +37.5% to XRT's +2.4%, and XRT 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 $362m for State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF.

IBB on its own →XRT on its own →

At a glance

+37.5%

IBB total return, 1 year

+2.4%

XRT total return, 1 year

0.44%

IBB expense ratio

0.35%

XRT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XRT costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 35.1 points; IBB is far larger, $11.0bn against $362m.

IBB vs XRT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IBB	XRT
Return
Measure	IBB	XRT
Total return, 1 year	+37.5%	+2.4%
Drawdown
Measure	IBB	XRT
Below its high		9.9%, high on Nov 16, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	IBB	XRT
What it tracks	Biotech	S&P Retail Select Industry Index
Cost and size
Measure	IBB	XRT
Expense ratio	0.44%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$11.0bn	$362m
Active share vs the S&P 500	99%
Holdings
Measure	IBB	XRT
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50%	16.6%

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

What they share

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

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 XRT

KOHLS CORP 1.85%

MAPLEBEAR INC 1.76%

BATH + BODY WORKS INC 1.69%

ETSY INC 1.68%

VICTORIA S SECRET + CO 1.66%

BJ S WHOLESALE CLUB HOLDINGS 1.62%

GAMESTOP CORP CLASS A 1.60%

OLLIE S BARGAIN OUTLET HOLDI 1.60%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IBB iShares Biotechnology ETF XRT State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF

Where it sits Thematic ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Biotech Tracks the S&P Retail

Total return, 1 year +37.5% +2.4%

Expense ratio 0.44% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 40.2% 22.5%

Holdings 245 74

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $11.0bn $362m

IBB and XRT 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.

XRT

XRT tracks the S&P Retail. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 74 positions, with the top ten at 16.6%. It sat 9.9% below its high of Nov 16, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Are IBB and XRT in the same category?: IBB is a thematic ETF and XRT 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 XRT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IBB returned +37.5% and XRT +2.4%.
Which is cheaper, IBB or XRT?: XRT 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 XRT overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 40% of IBB and 22% of XRT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IBB vs XHB IBB vs XLY IBB vs IYR IBB vs XOP XBI vs XRT CGBL vs XRT BITO vs XRT IWO vs XRT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IBB ↗

XRT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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