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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLP returned +13.8% and XLU −3.0%.

Which is cheaper, XLP or XLU?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLP vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLP returned +13.8% to XLU's −3.0%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $14.6bn for State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF and $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF.

XLP on its own →XLU on its own →

At a glance

+13.8%

XLP total return, 1 year

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLP expense ratio

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.08% a year; their one-year returns differ by 16.8 points; XLU is 1.6 times larger.

XLP vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLP	XLU
Return
Measure	XLP	XLU
Total return, 1 year	+13.8%	−3.0%
Drawdown
Measure	XLP	XLU
Below its high	3.5%, high on Oct 22, 2026	9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	XLP	XLU
What it tracks	Consumer Staples Select Sector Index	Utilities Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLP	XLU
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$14.6bn	$23.9bn
Holdings
Measure	XLP	XLU
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	62.9%	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

XLP XLU

Return

Total return edge XLU +522.3% +640.5%

Annualized edge XLU (slight) +6.8% +7.4%

Price return edge XLP +225.0% +181.6%

Risk

Volatility edge XLP 14.3% 18.1%

Max drawdown edge XLP −34.6% −48.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge XLP (slight) 0.41 0.39

Sortino edge XLP (slight) 0.57 0.55

Calmar edge XLP 0.20 0.15

Reading

XLU returned more: +640.5% to +522.3%. XLP swung less: 14.3% to 18.1%. XLP fell less at its worst: −34.6% to −48.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: XLP vs XLU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLP	XLU	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+522.3%	+640.5%	XLU	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+6.8%	+7.4%	XLU (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+225.0%	+181.6%	XLP	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	14.3%	18.1%	XLP	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	10.3%	12.8%	XLP	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−34.6%	−48.3%	XLP	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.41	0.39	XLP (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.57	0.55	XLP (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.20	0.15	XLP	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, XLP 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 XLP XLU

Only in one fund ↓

Only in XLP

WALMART INC 11.05%

COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP 9.14%

PROCTER + GAMBLE CO 7.69%

COCA COLA CO 7.34%

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL 6.56%

ALTRIA GROUP INC 4.54%

COLGATE PALMOLIVE CO 4.39%

MONDELEZ INTERNATIONAL INC A 4.19%

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

XLP State Street Consumer Staples 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 Consumer staples Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +13.8% −3.0%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 99.6% 99.7%

Holdings 36 32

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.6bn $23.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-1648F4DF92

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

What each follows. XLP follows Consumer Staples 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 XLP returned +13.8% and XLU −3.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 16.8 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

XLP

XLP tracks an index of Consumer staples. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.8% 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 36 positions, with the top ten at 62.9%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Oct 22, 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, XLP or XLU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLP returned +13.8% and XLU −3.0%.
Which is cheaper, XLP or XLU?: Neither: XLP and XLU both charge 0.08% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLP and XLU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLP and 100% of XLU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

VPU vs XLP VHT vs XLP XLP vs XLV VDE vs XLP VDC vs XLU SCHH vs XLU VHT vs XLU VDE vs XLU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLP and XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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