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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLE +61.2%.

Which is cheaper, XLB or XLE?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLB vs XLE: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% to XLE's +61.2%; 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 $45.2bn for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLB on its own →XLE on its own →

At a glance

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

+61.2%

XLE total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

0.08%

XLE expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 42.7 points; XLE is 5.6 times larger.

XLB vs XLE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLE
Return
Measure	XLB	XLE
Total return, 1 year	+18.5%	+61.2%
Benchmark
Measure	XLB	XLE
What it tracks	Materials Select Sector Index	Energy Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLB	XLE
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.1bn	$45.2bn
Holdings
Measure	XLB	XLE
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	58.5%	78.1%

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

Risk and return

Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,451 weekly returns

XLB XLE

Return

Total return edge XLE +771.9% +1,121.8%

Annualized edge XLE +8.1% +9.4%

Price return edge XLE +368.2% +494.1%

Risk

Volatility edge XLB 22.5% 26.8%

Max drawdown edge XLB −59.0% −68.9%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLE (slight) 0.38 0.41

Sortino edge XLE (slight) 0.55 0.57

Calmar edge Tie 0.14 0.14

Reading

XLE returned more: +1,121.8% to +771.9%. XLB swung less: 22.5% to 26.8%. XLB fell less at its worst: −59.0% to −68.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLB vs XLE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLE	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+771.9%	+1,121.8%	XLE	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.1%	+9.4%	XLE	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+368.2%	+494.1%	XLE	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.5%	26.8%	XLB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.6%	19.1%	XLB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−59.0%	−68.9%	XLB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.38	0.41	XLE (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.55	0.57	XLE (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.14	0.14	Tie	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,451 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XLB and XLE 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 XLE

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 XLE

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 23.98%

CHEVRON CORP 18.21%

CONOCOPHILLIPS 7.18%

MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP 4.67%

PHILLIPS 66 4.41%

VALERO ENERGY CORP 4.26%

WILLIAMS COS INC 4.22%

EOG RESOURCES INC 4.07%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF XLE State Street Energy 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 Energy

Total return, 1 year +18.5% +61.2%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.8%

Holdings 25 22

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.1bn $45.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-864CBD0DE6

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

What each follows. XLB follows Materials Select Sector Index and XLE follows Energy 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 XLE +61.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 42.7 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%.

XLE

XLE tracks an index of Energy. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +61.2% 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 22 positions, with the top ten at 78.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLB or XLE?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLE +61.2%.
Which is cheaper, XLB or XLE?: Neither: XLB and XLE both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLB and XLE overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLB and 100% of XLE by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VDE vs XLB XLB vs XOP IYE vs XLB XLB vs XLV XLE vs XLP XLC vs XLE XLE vs XLU XLE vs XLI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLB and XLE filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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