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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLE returned +61.2% and XLV +25.6%.

Which is cheaper, XLE or XLV?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLE vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLE returned +61.2% to XLV's +25.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about XLE and XLV

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $45.2bn for State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF and $47.0bn for State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLE on its own →XLV on its own →

At a glance

+61.2%

XLE total return, 1 year

+25.6%

XLV total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLE expense ratio

0.08%

XLV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 35.6 points.

XLE vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLE	XLV
Return
Measure	XLE	XLV
Total return, 1 year	+61.2%	+25.6%
Benchmark
Measure	XLE	XLV
What it tracks	Energy Select Sector Index	Health Care Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLE	XLV
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$45.2bn	$47.0bn
Holdings
Measure	XLE	XLV
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	78.1%	60.6%

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

Risk and return

Dec 31, 1998 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,451 weekly returns

XLE XLV

Return

Total return edge XLE +1,121.8% +938.5%

Annualized edge XLE (slight) +9.4% +8.7%

Price return edge XLV +494.1% +589.5%

Risk

Volatility edge XLV 26.8% 17.4%

Max drawdown edge XLV −68.9% −37.9%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLV 0.41 0.47

Sortino edge XLV 0.57 0.67

Calmar edge XLV 0.14 0.23

Reading

XLE returned more: +1,121.8% to +938.5%. XLV swung less: 17.4% to 26.8%. XLV fell less at its worst: −37.9% to −68.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLE vs XLV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLE	XLV	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+1,121.8%	+938.5%	XLE	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.4%	+8.7%	XLE (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+494.1%	+589.5%	XLV	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	26.8%	17.4%	XLV	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	19.1%	12.2%	XLV	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−68.9%	−37.9%	XLV	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.41	0.47	XLV	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.57	0.67	XLV	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.14	0.23	XLV	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, XLE 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 XLE XLV

Only in one fund ↓

Only in XLE

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 23.98%

CHEVRON CORP 18.21%

CONOCOPHILLIPS 7.18%

MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP 4.67%

PHILLIPS 66 4.41%

VALERO ENERGY CORP 4.26%

WILLIAMS COS INC 4.22%

EOG RESOURCES INC 4.07%

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

XLE State Street Energy 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 Energy Tracks an index of Health care

Total return, 1 year +61.2% +25.6%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.8% 99.7%

Holdings 22 62

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $45.2bn $47.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B044499437

XLE and XLV do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. XLE follows Energy Select Sector Index and XLV follows Health Care 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 XLE returned +61.2% and XLV +25.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 35.6 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

XLE

XLE tracks an index of Energy. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +61.2% 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 22 positions, with the top ten at 78.1%.

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, XLE or XLV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLE returned +61.2% and XLV +25.6%.
Which is cheaper, XLE or XLV?: Neither: XLE and XLV both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLE and XLV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLE and 100% of XLV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VHT vs XLE XLE vs XLF XLE vs XLU XLE vs XLK VDE vs XLV XLV vs XOP IYE vs XLV VNQ vs XLV

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLE and XLV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLE 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, XLE against XLV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xle-vs-xlv

Open data →

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