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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLK returned +27.1% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, XLK or XLU?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLK vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLK returned +27.1% to XLU's −3.0%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $125.0bn for State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF and $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLK on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+27.1%

XLK total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLK expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 30.1 points; XLK is 5.2 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

XLK vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLK	XLU
Return
Measure	XLK	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+27.1%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	XLK	XLU
Below its high	5.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLK	XLU
What it tracks	Technology Select Sector Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLK	XLU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$125.0bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	XLK	XLU
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	64.6%	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

XLK XLU

Return

Total return edge XLK +1,419.1% +640.5%

Annualized edge XLK +10.2% +7.4%

Price return edge XLK +1,023.1% +181.6%

Risk

Volatility edge XLU 23.7% 18.1%

Max drawdown edge XLU −81.4% −48.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLK 0.46 0.39

Sortino edge XLK 0.65 0.55

Calmar edge XLU 0.13 0.15

Reading

XLK returned more: +1,419.1% to +640.5%. XLU swung less: 18.1% to 23.7%. XLU fell less at its worst: −48.3% to −81.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLK vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLK	XLU	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+1,419.1%	+640.5%	XLK	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.2%	+7.4%	XLK	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+1,023.1%	+181.6%	XLK	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	23.7%	18.1%	XLU	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.6%	12.8%	XLU	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−81.4%	−48.3%	XLU	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.46	0.39	XLK	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.65	0.55	XLK	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.13	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, XLK 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 XLK XLU

Only in one fund ↓

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%

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

XLK State Street Technology 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 Technology Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +27.1% −3.0%

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

Gap to its benchmark +13.5 pts vs SPY not measured

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.9% 99.7%

Holdings 76 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $125.0bn $23.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-EE5ED4A9C1

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

What each follows. XLK follows Technology 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 XLK returned +27.1% and XLU −3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 30.1 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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. 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 76 positions, with the top ten at 64.6%. It sat 5.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

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, XLK or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLK returned +27.1% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, XLK or XLU?: Neither: XLK and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLK and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLK and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VPU vs XLK XLK vs XLP XLK vs XLV XLK vs XOP VGT vs XLU FTEC vs XLU IGM vs XLU IYW vs XLU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLK and XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLK 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, XLK against XLU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/xlk-vs-xlu

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