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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, XLB or XLU?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLB vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% to XLU's −3.0%; 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 $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLB on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 21.5 points; XLU is 3.0 times larger.

XLB vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLU
Return
Measure	XLB	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+18.5%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	XLB	XLU
Below its high		9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLB	XLU
What it tracks	Materials Select Sector Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLB	XLU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.1bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	XLB	XLU
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	58.5%	58.7%

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 XLU

Return

Total return edge XLB +771.9% +640.5%

Annualized edge XLB (slight) +8.1% +7.4%

Price return edge XLB +368.2% +181.6%

Risk

Volatility edge XLU 22.5% 18.1%

Max drawdown edge XLU −59.0% −48.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLU (slight) 0.38 0.39

Sortino edge Tie 0.55 0.55

Calmar edge XLU 0.14 0.15

Reading

XLB returned more: +771.9% to +640.5%. XLU swung less: 18.1% to 22.5%. XLU fell less at its worst: −48.3% to −59.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLB vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLU	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+771.9%	+640.5%	XLB	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.1%	+7.4%	XLB (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+368.2%	+181.6%	XLB	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.5%	18.1%	XLU	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.6%	12.8%	XLU	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−59.0%	−48.3%	XLU	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.38	0.39	XLU (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.55	0.55	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.14	0.15	XLU	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 XLU 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 XLU

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 XLU

NEXTERA ENERGY INC 12.76%

SOUTHERN CO 7.91%

DUKE ENERGY CORP 7.22%

CONSTELLATION ENERGY 6.33%

AMERICAN ELECTRIC POWER 5.26%

DOMINION ENERGY INC 4.26%

SEMPRA 4.12%

ENTERGY CORP 3.75%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF XLU State Street Utilities 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 Utilities

Total return, 1 year +18.5% −3.0%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.7%

Holdings 25 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.1bn $23.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-371753E6BD

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

What each follows. XLB follows Materials Select Sector Index and XLU follows Utilities 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 XLU −3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 21.5 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%.

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% 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 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLB or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, XLB or XLU?: Neither: XLB and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLB and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLB and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VPU vs XLB XLB vs XLY XLB vs XLC XLB vs XLI VDC vs XLU XLU vs XOP XLP vs XLU KRE vs XLU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLB and XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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