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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLC −10.4%.

Which is cheaper, XLB or XLC?

Neither: XLB and XLC both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% to XLC's −10.4%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $8.1bn for State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF and $22.1bn for State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLB on its own →XLC on its own →

At a glance

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

−10.4%

XLC total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

0.08%

XLC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 28.9 points; XLC is 2.7 times larger.

XLB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLC
Return
Measure	XLB	XLC
Total return, 1 year	+18.5%	−10.4%
Drawdown
Measure	XLB	XLC
Below its high		13.3%, high on Jan 30, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLB	XLC
What it tracks	Materials Select Sector Index	Communication Services Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLB	XLC
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.1bn	$22.1bn
Holdings
Measure	XLB	XLC
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	58.5%	75.3%

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

Risk and return

Jun 29, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 434 weekly returns

XLB XLC

Return

Total return edge XLC +108.7% +131.1%

Annualized edge XLC +9.2% +10.6%

Price return edge XLC +76.7% +113.0%

Risk

Volatility edge XLC (slight) 21.9% 20.0%

Max drawdown edge XLB −33.5% −45.9%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLC 0.38 0.46

Sortino edge XLC 0.57 0.66

Calmar edge XLB 0.28 0.23

Reading

XLC returned more: +131.1% to +108.7%. XLC swung slightly less: 20.0% to 21.9%. XLB fell less at its worst: −33.5% to −45.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLB vs XLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLC	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+108.7%	+131.1%	XLC	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.2%	+10.6%	XLC	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+76.7%	+113.0%	XLC	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.9%	20.0%	XLC (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.9%	14.0%	XLC (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.5%	−45.9%	XLB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.38	0.46	XLC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.57	0.66	XLC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.28	0.23	XLB	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 434 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XLB 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 XLB XLC

Only in one fund ↓

Only in XLB

LINDE PLC 12.96%

NEWMONT CORP 6.56%

FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 5.23%

ECOLAB INC 4.98%

VULCAN MATERIALS CO 4.89%

NUCOR CORP 4.89%

AIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC 4.84%

STEEL DYNAMICS INC 4.77%

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

XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR 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 an index of Materials Tracks an index of Communication services

Total return, 1 year +18.5% −10.4%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.8%

Holdings 25 23

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.1bn $22.1bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-37A96AD197

XLB and XLC do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. XLB follows Materials Select Sector Index and XLC follows Communication Services Select Sector Index.
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 XLC −10.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 28.9 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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%.

XLC

XLC tracks an index of Communication services. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −10.4% with distributions reinvested. 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, XLB or XLC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLC −10.4%.
Which is cheaper, XLB or XLC?: Neither: XLB and XLC both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLB and XLC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLB and 100% of XLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VOX vs XLB XLB vs XLU VHT vs XLB XLB vs XLI VDC vs XLC XLC vs XOP XLC vs XLP KRE vs XLC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLB and XLC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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