Data as of . Every figure is the themes desk's own, on published data.
ITA vs XAR
50% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, ITA and XAR hold 50% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | ITA | XAR |
|---|---|---|
| AXON ENTERPRISE, INC. | 3.17% | 3.23% |
| GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY | 22.63% | 3.02% |
| TRANSDIGM GROUP INCORPORATED | 4.59% | 2.83% |
| HOWMET AEROSPACE INC. | 4.50% | 2.77% |
| RTX CORPORATION | 14.83% | 2.75% |
| GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION | 4.34% | 2.67% |
| THE BOEING COMPANY | 8.90% | 2.67% |
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 4.05% | 2.50% |
| ROCKET LAB CORPORATION | 3.63% | 2.49% |
| L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. | 3.80% | 2.47% |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation | 3.92% | 2.42% |
| CARPENTER TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION | 2.15% | 3.04% |
| Only in ITA | Only in XAR |
|---|---|
| FTAI Aviation Ltd. 1.95% | FTAI Aviation Ltd 3.09% |
| HEICO CORPORATION 1.41% | Satellogic Inc 0.48% |
| SMITH & WESSON BRANDS, INC. 0.05% | Park Aerospace Corp 0.39% |
| STURM, RUGER & COMPANY, INC. 0.04% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings as filed for Jun 30, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITA | XAR | ITA | XAR | ITA | XAR | |
| 3 months | −1.6% | −7.2% | −6.3 pts | −11.9 pts | −3.7 pts | −9.3 pts |
| 6 months | −6.7% | −9.4% | −21.9 pts | −24.5 pts | −26.9 pts | −29.5 pts |
| 1 year | +14.2% | +17.9% | −5.7 pts | −2.1 pts | −11.4 pts | −7.7 pts |
| 3 years | +100.8% | +113.8% | +22.9 pts | +35.9 pts | +7.4 pts | +20.3 pts |
| Since launch | +937.0% | +1074.6% | +125.7 pts | +314.2 pts | −747.0 pts | −342.9 pts |
| ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF | XAR State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Aerospace & Defense ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| Theme | Defense | Defense |
| In the S&P 500 | 76.6% | 32.4% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 97.9% | 97.9% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 3.2% | 3.2% |
| Holdings | 49 | 48 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 75.2% | 30.4% |
| Expense ratio | not published | 0.35% |
| Fee for the differing part | not published | 0.36% |
| Total return, 1 year | +14.2% | +17.9% |
| vs the S&P 500 | −5.7 pts | −2.1 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | −11.4 pts | −7.7 pts |
| Below its high | −10.9% | −14.8% |
ITA in plain words
By weight, 77% of ITA's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 75% of the fund across 49 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +14.2% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 5.7 pts. It sits 10.9% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
XAR in plain words
By weight, 32% of XAR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 30% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +17.9% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 2.1 pts. It sits 14.8% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Do ITA and XAR hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 50% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is close to holding one of them twice. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
- Which is more different from the S&P 500, ITA or XAR?
- ITA has 77% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 32%, so ITA differs more from the index.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, ITA against XAR, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ITA-XAR.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.