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

In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +112.2% and XLU returned +2.4%, so USO returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, USO or XLU?

USO charges 0.45% a year and XLU charges 0.08%, so XLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

USO vs XLU: how they differ

USO is a commodity fund and XLU an equity index fund, and over the year USO returned more, +112.2% against +2.4%.

United States Oil Fund, LP and State Street(R) Utilities Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.

USO and XLU on the fields both publish, as of Sep 13, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	USO United States Oil Fund, LP	XLU State Street(R) Utilities Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	USCF	State Street
What it is	Oil	Utilities
Total return, 1 year	+112.2%	+2.4%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	+94.7 pts	−15.1 pts
Expense ratio	0.45%	0.08%
Holdings	not filed	32

USO in plain words

USO is a commodity fund tracking the Oil. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +112.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.45% a year. It sat 57.1% below its high of Apr 8, 2011 on Sep 11, 2026.

XLU in plain words

XLU is an index equity fund tracking the Utilities. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +2.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.8%. It sat 10.0% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, USO or XLU?: In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, USO returned +112.2% and XLU returned +2.4%, so USO returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, USO or XLU?: USO charges 0.45% a year and XLU charges 0.08%, so XLU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

USO against XLU, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, USO against XLU, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/uso-vs-xlu Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources