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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLC returned −10.4% and XLF +7.6%.

Which is cheaper, XLC or XLF?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLC vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLC returned −10.4% to XLF's +7.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about XLC and XLF

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $22.1bn for State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF and $51.6bn for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLC on its own →XLF on its own →

At a glance

−10.4%

XLC total return, 1 year

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLC expense ratio

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 18.0 points; XLF is 2.3 times larger.

XLC vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLC	XLF
Return
Measure	XLC	XLF
Total return, 1 year	−10.4%	+7.6%
Drawdown
Measure	XLC	XLF
Below its high	13.3%, high on Jan 30, 2026	3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLC	XLF
What it tracks	Communication Services Select Sector Index	Financial Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLC	XLF
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$22.1bn	$51.6bn
Holdings
Measure	XLC	XLF
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	75.3%	57.4%

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

Risk and return

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

XLC XLF

Return

Total return edge XLF +131.1% +145.6%

Annualized edge XLF (slight) +10.6% +11.4%

Price return edge XLC (slight) +113.0% +110.2%

Risk

Volatility edge XLC 20.0% 22.9%

Max drawdown edge XLF −45.9% −39.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge Tie 0.46 0.46

Sortino edge Tie 0.66 0.66

Calmar edge XLF 0.23 0.29

Reading

XLF returned more: +145.6% to +131.1%. XLC swung less: 20.0% to 22.9%. XLF fell less at its worst: −39.3% to −45.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLC vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLC	XLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+131.1%	+145.6%	XLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.6%	+11.4%	XLF (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+113.0%	+110.2%	XLC (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	20.0%	22.9%	XLC	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.0%	16.0%	XLC	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−45.9%	−39.3%	XLF	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.46	0.46	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.66	0.66	Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.23	0.29	XLF	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, XLC 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 XLC XLF

Only in one fund ↓

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%

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

XLC State Street Communication Services 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 Communication services Tracks an index of Financials

Total return, 1 year −10.4% +7.6%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.8%

Holdings 23 77

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $22.1bn $51.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-1D25889485

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

What each follows. XLC follows Communication Services 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 XLC returned −10.4% and XLF +7.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 18.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

About each fund

XLC

XLC tracks an index of Communication services. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −10.4% 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 23 positions, with the top ten at 75.3%. It sat 13.3% below its high of Jan 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

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, XLC or XLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLC returned −10.4% and XLF +7.6%.
Which is cheaper, XLC or XLF?: Neither: XLC and XLF both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLC and XLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLC and 100% of XLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

KRE vs XLC XLC vs XLV XLC vs XLE XLC vs XLI VOX vs XLF XLF vs XLU VHT vs XLF XLF vs XLI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLC and XLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

Open data →

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