Which returned more over the last year, XHB or XLC?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XHB returned −8.6% and XLC −10.4%.

Which is cheaper, XHB or XLC?

XLC is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 46% of XHB and 100% of XLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XHB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XHB returned −8.6% to XLC's −10.4%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.5bn for State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF and $22.1bn for State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XHB on its own →XLC on its own →

At a glance

−8.6%

XHB total return, 1 year

−10.4%

XLC total return, 1 year

0.35%

XHB expense ratio

0.08%

XLC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLC costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.8 points; XLC is 14.7 times larger.

XHB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XHB	XLC
Return
Measure	XHB	XLC
Total return, 1 year	−8.6%	−10.4%
Drawdown
Measure	XHB	XLC
Below its high	20.5%, high on Oct 18, 2024	13.3%, high on Jan 30, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XHB	XLC
What it tracks	S&P Homebuilders Select Industry Index	Communication Services Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XHB	XLC
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.5bn	$22.1bn
Holdings
Measure	XHB	XLC
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	35.4%	75.3%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XHB 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 XHB XLC

Only in one fund ↓

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%

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

XHB State Street SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF XLC State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Tracks the S&P Homebuilders Tracks an index of Communication services

Total return, 1 year −8.6% −10.4%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 45.7% 99.8%

Holdings 34 23

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.5bn $22.1bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

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

Which returned more over the last year, XHB or XLC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XHB returned −8.6% and XLC −10.4%.
Which is cheaper, XHB or XLC?: XLC is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XHB and XLC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 46% of XHB and 100% of XLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VOX vs XHB XHB vs XLB XHB vs XRT XHB vs XLU XLC vs XRT XLC vs XLY XLC vs XLV XLC vs XLF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XHB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XHB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

XLC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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