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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLC returned −10.4% and XLK +27.1%.

Which is cheaper, XLC or XLK?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLC vs XLK: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLC returned −10.4% to XLK's +27.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $22.1bn for State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF and $125.0bn for State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLC on its own →XLK on its own →

At a glance

−10.4%

XLC total return, 1 year

+27.1%

XLK total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLC expense ratio

0.08%

XLK expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 37.5 points; XLK is 5.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

XLC vs XLK: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLC	XLK
Return
Measure	XLC	XLK
Total return, 1 year	−10.4%	+27.1%
Drawdown
Measure	XLC	XLK
Below its high	13.3%, high on Jan 30, 2026	5.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLC	XLK
What it tracks	Communication Services Select Sector Index	Technology Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLC	XLK
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$22.1bn	$125.0bn
Holdings
Measure	XLC	XLK
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	75.3%	64.6%

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

Risk and return

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

XLC XLK

Return

Total return edge XLK +131.1% +469.1%

Annualized edge XLK +10.6% +23.2%

Price return edge XLK +113.0% +427.5%

Risk

Volatility edge XLC 20.0% 23.9%

Max drawdown edge XLK −45.9% −32.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLK 0.46 0.88

Sortino edge XLK 0.66 1.33

Calmar edge XLK 0.23 0.71

Reading

XLK returned more: +469.1% to +131.1%. XLC swung less: 20.0% to 23.9%. XLK fell less at its worst: −32.6% to −45.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLC vs XLK: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLC	XLK	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+131.1%	+469.1%	XLK	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.6%	+23.2%	XLK	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+113.0%	+427.5%	XLK	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	20.0%	23.9%	XLC	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.0%	15.7%	XLC	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−45.9%	−32.6%	XLK	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.46	0.88	XLK	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.66	1.33	XLK	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.23	0.71	XLK	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 XLK 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 XLK

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 XLK

NVIDIA CORP 15.22%

APPLE INC 14.62%

MICROSOFT CORP 11.38%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.78%

BROADCOM INC 4.70%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC 4.02%

INTEL CORP 2.72%

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC A 2.67%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLC State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF XLK State Street Technology 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 Technology

Total return, 1 year −10.4% +27.1%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.6% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +13.5 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.9%

Holdings 23 76

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $22.1bn $125.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-F560362422

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

What each follows. XLC follows Communication Services Select Sector Index and XLK follows Technology 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 XLK +27.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 37.5 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

XLK

XLK tracks an index of Technology. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +27.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. 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 76 positions, with the top ten at 64.6%. It sat 5.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLC or XLK?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLC returned −10.4% and XLK +27.1%.
Which is cheaper, XLC or XLK?: Neither: XLC and XLK both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLC and XLK overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLC and 100% of XLK by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VGT vs XLC IYW vs XLC FTEC vs XLC IGM vs XLC VOX vs XLK VHT vs XLK XLI vs XLK XLK vs XLP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLC and XLK filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLC and XLK 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 XLK, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlc-vs-xlk

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