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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLV +25.6%.

Which is cheaper, XLB or XLV?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLB vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLB returned +18.5% to XLV's +25.6%; 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 $47.0bn for State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLB on its own →XLV on its own →

At a glance

+18.5%

XLB total return, 1 year

+25.6%

XLV total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLB expense ratio

0.08%

XLV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 7.1 points; XLV is 5.8 times larger.

XLB vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLB	XLV
Return
Measure	XLB	XLV
Total return, 1 year	+18.5%	+25.6%
Benchmark
Measure	XLB	XLV
What it tracks	Materials Select Sector Index	Health Care Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLB	XLV
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.1bn	$47.0bn
Holdings
Measure	XLB	XLV
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	58.5%	60.6%

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

What they share

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

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 XLV

ELI LILLY + CO 15.77%

JOHNSON + JOHNSON 9.96%

ABBVIE INC 7.78%

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC 5.66%

MERCK + CO. INC. 5.38%

THERMO FISHER SCIENTIFIC INC 3.94%

AMGEN INC 3.72%

GILEAD SCIENCES INC 3.03%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLB State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF XLV State Street Health Care 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 Health care

Total return, 1 year +18.5% +25.6%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.7%

Holdings 25 62

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.1bn $47.0bn

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

Alert

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%.

XLV

XLV tracks an index of Health care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.6% 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 62 positions, with the top ten at 60.6%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLB or XLV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLB returned +18.5% and XLV +25.6%.
Which is cheaper, XLB or XLV?: Neither: XLB and XLV both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLB and XLV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLB and 100% of XLV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VHT vs XLB XLB vs XLE XLB vs XLF XLB vs XLK VDC vs XLV VDE vs XLV VOX vs XLV XLV vs XOP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLB and XLV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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