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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLU returned −3.0% and XRT +2.4%.

Which is cheaper, XLU or XRT?

XLU is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLU and 22% of XRT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

XLU vs XRT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XLU returned −3.0% to XRT's +2.4%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $23.9bn for State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF and $362m for State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF.

XLU on its own →XRT on its own →

At a glance

−3.0%

XLU total return, 1 year

+2.4%

XRT total return, 1 year

0.08%

XLU expense ratio

0.35%

XRT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

XLU costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.4 points; XLU is far larger, $23.9bn against $362m.

XLU vs XRT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	XLU	XRT
Return
Measure	XLU	XRT
Total return, 1 year	−3.0%	+2.4%
Drawdown
Measure	XLU	XRT
Below its high	9.1%, high on Feb 27, 2026	9.9%, high on Nov 16, 2021
Benchmark
Measure	XLU	XRT
What it tracks	Utilities Select Sector Index	S&P Retail Select Industry Index
Cost and size
Measure	XLU	XRT
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.9bn	$362m
Holdings
Measure	XLU	XRT
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	58.7%	16.6%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XLU and XRT 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 XLU XRT

Only in one fund ↓

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%

Only in XRT

KOHLS CORP 1.85%

MAPLEBEAR INC 1.76%

BATH + BODY WORKS INC 1.69%

ETSY INC 1.68%

VICTORIA S SECRET + CO 1.66%

BJ S WHOLESALE CLUB HOLDINGS 1.62%

GAMESTOP CORP CLASS A 1.60%

OLLIE S BARGAIN OUTLET HOLDI 1.60%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

XLU State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF XRT State Street SPDR S&P Retail ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street State Street

What it is Tracks an index of Utilities Tracks the S&P Retail

Total return, 1 year −3.0% +2.4%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 99.7% 22.5%

Holdings 32 74

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $362m

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

Alert

About each fund

XLU

XLU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.0% 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 32 positions, with the top ten at 58.7%. It sat 9.1% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

XRT

XRT tracks the S&P Retail. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 22% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 74 positions, with the top ten at 16.6%. It sat 9.9% below its high of Nov 16, 2021 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, XLU or XRT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, XLU returned −3.0% and XRT +2.4%.
Which is cheaper, XLU or XRT?: XLU is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do XLU and XRT overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of XLU and 22% of XRT by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

XHB vs XLU XLU vs XLY UTES vs XLU IDU vs XLU VPU vs XRT XLV vs XRT VOX vs XRT KRE vs XRT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XLU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XLU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

XRT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XRT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

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

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