XLCD vs XLCU: which held to its multiple?
Over the days both have traded against its own daily promise, XLCD finished 1.8 points short and XLCU 0.8 points over. MicroSectors -3x Short Communication Services (XLC) ETNs and MicroSectors 3x Long Communication Services (XLC) ETNs.
XLCD returned −3.3% while −3 times XLC's move would have been +0.5%
XLCU returned −0.6% while 3 times XLC's move would have been −0.5%
Performance, window by window
| Total return | Multiple would give | Difference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | XLCD | XLCU | XLCD | XLCU | XLCD | XLCU |
| Since launch XLCD Sep 2026 · XLCU Sep 2026 | −3.3% | −0.6% | +0.5% | −0.5% | −3.8 pts | −0.1 pts |
XLCD and XLCU over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
XLCD and XLCU on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
XLCD in plain words
Since launch to Sep 30, 2026: XLCD returned −3.3% where its own daily promise gave −1.5%, 1.8 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times XLC's −0.2% implies +0.5%, which makes XLCD look 3.8 points short. 1.9 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. XLCD aims to return -3 times XLC's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not -3 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more. XLC moved at 24% annualized over that window. That is what decides how far the two figures separate: the same fund on a calm underlying and a violent one is a different product.
XLCU in plain words
Since launch to Sep 30, 2026: XLCU returned −0.6% where its own daily promise gave −1.4%, 0.8 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 3 times XLC's −0.2% implies −0.5%, which makes XLCU look 0.1 points short. 0.9 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. XLCU aims to return +3 times XLC's move each day, then resets. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not +3 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more.
Questions people ask
- Are XLCD and XLCU levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF, XLCD at -3 times and XLCU at +3 times the daily move.
- Can I hold XLCD or XLCU for a year?
- Both reset every day, so the multiple in the name applies to a single day and the daily results compound. Over a year the total is not the multiple times the year’s move, and in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less. ETFIQ makes no recommendation either way.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
ETFIQ, XLCD against XLCU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/xlcd-vs-xlcu
Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, XLCD against XLCU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/xlcd-vs-xlcu Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, XLCD against XLCU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/xlcd-vs-xlcu
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). XLCD against XLCU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/xlcd-vs-xlcu
- Markdown
- [XLCD against XLCU (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/xlcd-vs-xlcu)