Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
XLB vs XLBI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% to XLBI's +12.1%, and XLB charges 0.08% to XLBI's 0.35%.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about XLB and XLBI
Net assets: $8.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF, and $9.4m on Oct 26, 2026 for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR Premium Income ETF.
Pair scorecard
XLB costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.4 points; XLB is far larger, $8.0bn against $9.4m.
| Measure | XLB | XLBI |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.5% | +12.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 16.4% | fell 3.7% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 15.3% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 66% of the Oct 5, 2026 payment | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Materials Select Sector Index | Benchmark: Materials, measured through XLB |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026 | $8.0bn | $9.4m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 58.5% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 8, 2025 to Oct 23, 2026 · 63 weekly returnsXLB returned more: +18.8% to +14.9%. XLBI swung less: 12.5% to 16.5%. XLBI fell less at its worst: −10.6% to −12.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | XLB | XLBI | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +18.8% | +14.9% | XLB | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +15.3% | +12.1% | XLB | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +16.2% | −3.8% | XLB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.5% | 12.5% | XLBI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.8% | 9.2% | XLBI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −12.0% | −10.6% | XLBI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.71 | 0.67 | XLB (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.09 | 0.92 | XLB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 1.27 | 1.14 | XLB (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 63 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, XLB and XLBI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
XLB and XLBI on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
XLB and XLBI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. XLB follows Materials Select Sector Index and XLBI is measured against Materials through XLB.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 XLB returned +18.5% and XLBI +12.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
XLB
XLB tracks an index of Materials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.5% 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 25 positions, with the top ten at 58.5%.
XLBI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLBI paid 14.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 3.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Materials (XLB) returned +18.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 6.4 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 15.3%, paid monthly. State Street estimates that 66% of the distribution paid Oct 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are XLB and XLBI in the same category?
- XLB is a stock ETF and XLBI is an option-income ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, XLB or XLBI?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLBI +12.1%.
- Which is cheaper, XLB or XLBI?
- XLB 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.
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, XLB against XLBI, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlb-vs-xlbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). XLB against XLBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlb-vs-xlbi
[XLB against XLBI (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlb-vs-xlbi)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.