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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLF +7.6%.

Which is cheaper, XLB or XLF?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLB vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% to XLF's +7.6%; 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 $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLB on its own →XLF on its own →

At a glance

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 10.9 points; XLF is 6.4 times larger.

XLB vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLF
Return
Measure	XLB	XLF
Total return, 1 year	+18.5%	+7.6%
Drawdown
Measure	XLB	XLF
Below its high		3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLB	XLF
What it tracks	Materials Select Sector Index	Financial Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLB	XLF
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.1bn	$51.6bn
Holdings
Measure	XLB	XLF
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	58.5%	57.4%

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 XLF

Return

Total return edge XLB +771.9% +402.6%

Annualized edge XLB +8.1% +6.0%

Price return edge XLB +368.2% +138.5%

Risk

Volatility edge XLB 22.5% 26.2%

Max drawdown edge XLB −59.0% −82.7%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLB 0.38 0.28

Sortino edge XLB 0.55 0.42

Calmar edge XLB 0.14 0.07

Reading

XLB returned more: +771.9% to +402.6%. XLB swung less: 22.5% to 26.2%. XLB fell less at its worst: −59.0% to −82.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLB vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+771.9%	+402.6%	XLB	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.1%	+6.0%	XLB	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+368.2%	+138.5%	XLB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.5%	26.2%	XLB	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.6%	17.8%	XLB	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−59.0%	−82.7%	XLB	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.38	0.28	XLB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.55	0.42	XLB	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.14	0.07	XLB	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 XLF 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 XLF

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 XLF

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CL B 12.84%

JPMORGAN CHASE + CO 11.33%

VISA INC CLASS A SHARES 8.69%

MASTERCARD INC A 6.26%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP 4.18%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 3.37%

WELLS FARGO + CO 3.17%

MORGAN STANLEY 2.83%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF XLF State Street Financial 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 Financials

Total return, 1 year +18.5% +7.6%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.8%

Holdings 25 77

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.1bn $51.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-526F26ED09

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

What each follows. XLB follows Materials Select Sector Index and XLF follows Financial 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 XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.9 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%.

XLF

XLF tracks an index of Financials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.6% 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 77 positions, with the top ten at 57.4%. It sat 3.8% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLB or XLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLF +7.6%.
Which is cheaper, XLB or XLF?: Neither: XLB and XLF both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLB and XLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLB and 100% of XLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

KRE vs XLB XLB vs XLE XLB vs XLC XLB vs XLP XLF vs XLRE VDC vs XLF XLF vs XOP XLF vs XLP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLB and XLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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