Which returned more over the last year, SPYD or XLU?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPYD returned +15.3% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, SPYD or XLU?

SPYD is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do SPYD and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 99% of SPYD and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SPYD vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYD returned +15.3% to XLU's −3.0%; 10% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about SPYD and XLU

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $7.5bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF and $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

SPYD on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+15.3%

SPYD total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.07%

SPYD expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPYD costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 18.3 points; XLU is 3.2 times larger.

SPYD vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SPYD	XLU
Return
Measure	SPYD	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+15.3%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	SPYD	XLU
Below its high	4.1%, high on Aug 24, 2026	9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SPYD	XLU
What it tracks	S&P 500 High Dividend Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	SPYD	XLU
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$7.5bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	SPYD	XLU
Holdings in common	10%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	16.1%	58.7%

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

What they share

10%

By the books each fund has filed, SPYD and XLU hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

10% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first SPYD XLU

EVERGY INC 1.28% 1.46%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 1.27% 7.22%

EXELON CORP 1.24% 3.42%

FIRSTENERGY CORP 1.22% 1.79%

DOMINION ENERGY INC 1.20% 4.26%

EVERSOURCE ENERGY 1.18% 1.89%

PINNACLE WEST CAPITAL 1.30% 0.96%

EDISON INTERNATIONAL 0.94% 1.66%

AES CORP 1.31% 0.80%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in SPYD

ACCENTURE PLC CL A 2.18%

HP INC 1.74%

HASBRO INC 1.73%

PFIZER INC 1.56%

CHEVRON CORP 1.54%

MEDTRONIC PLC 1.49%

CROWN CASTLE INC 1.47%

BEST BUY CO INC 1.47%

Only in XLU

NEXTERA ENERGY INC 12.76%

SOUTHERN CO 7.91%

CONSTELLATION ENERGY 6.33%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER 5.26%

SEMPRA 4.12%

ENTERGY CORP 3.75%

XCEL ENERGY INC 3.62%

VISTRA CORP 3.43%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

SPYD State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF XLU State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Tracks the S&P 500 High Dividend Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +15.3% −3.0%

Expense ratio 0.07% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.3% 99.7%

Holdings 79 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $7.5bn $23.9bn

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

Alert

About each fund

SPYD

SPYD tracks the S&P 500 High Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 99% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 79 positions, with the top ten at 16.1%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% 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 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SPYD or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPYD returned +15.3% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, SPYD or XLU?: SPYD is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do SPYD and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 99% of SPYD and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

SPYD vs VPU SPYD vs XLY SPYD vs XLC SPYD vs VHT VLUE vs XLU AVLV vs XLU FNDX vs XLU CGDV vs XLU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

SPYD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPYD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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, SPYD against XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spyd-vs-xlu

Open data →

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