Do AIRR and XAR hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 14% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.

Which is more different from the S&P 500, AIRR or XAR?

AIRR has 15% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 40%, so AIRR differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, AIRR or XAR?

AIRR charges 0.69% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

AIRR vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AIRR returned −0.2% to XAR's −10.0%; 14% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $8.4bn for First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF and $5.0bn for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF.

AIRR on its own →XAR on its own →

At a glance

14.7%

AIRR in the S&P 500

39.7%

XAR in the S&P 500

−0.2%

AIRR total return, 1 year

−10.0%

XAR total return, 1 year

AIRR · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 85% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

15% of AIRR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 85% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.

XAR · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 60% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

40% of XAR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XAR costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.8 points; AIRR is 1.7 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

AIRR vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	AIRR	XAR
Return
Measure	AIRR	XAR
Total return, 1 year	−0.2%	−10.0%
Drawdown
Measure	AIRR	XAR
Below its all-time high	25.5%, high on Jun 22, 2026	24.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	AIRR	XAR
What it tracks	Reshoring and manufacturing	Defense
Against the S&P 500, 1 year	behind by 13.9 pts	behind by 23.7 pts
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year	+13.7%	+13.7%
Against its benchmark, 1 year	behind by 13.9 pts	behind by 23.7 pts
Cost and size
Measure	AIRR	XAR
Expense ratio	0.69%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.4bn	$5.0bn
Holdings
Measure	AIRR	XAR
Holdings in common	14%

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

Risk and return

Mar 21, 2014 to Oct 23, 2026 · 657 weekly returns · each against VOO

AIRR XAR

Return

Total return edge AIRR (slight) +394.7% +375.8%

Annualized edge AIRR (slight) +13.5% +13.1%

Price return edge AIRR +380.7% +325.3%

Risk

Volatility edge XAR (slight) 25.2% 24.4%

Max drawdown edge AIRR (slight) −40.6% −45.1%

Downside capture 112.9% 108.5%

Beta 1.20 1.19

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge Tie 0.55 0.55

Sortino edge AIRR (slight) 0.83 0.81

Treynor 0.115 0.112

Calmar edge AIRR 0.33 0.29

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.8% a year −1.1% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.19 −0.27

Information ratio 0.10 0.08

Tracking error 16.2% 15.2%

Reading

AIRR returned slightly more: +394.7% to +375.8%. XAR swung slightly less: 24.4% to 25.2%. AIRR fell slightly less at its worst: −40.6% to −45.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: AIRR vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	AIRR	XAR	VOO	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+394.7%	+375.8%		AIRR (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+13.5%	+13.1%		AIRR (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+380.7%	+325.3%		AIRR	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	25.2%	24.4%		XAR (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.7%	16.5%		Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.6%	−45.1%		AIRR (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	125.3%	114.5%	100.0%	AIRR (slight)	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	112.9%	108.5%	100.0%	XAR (slight)	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.20	1.19	1.00	Tie	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.60	0.63	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.55	0.55		Tie	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.83	0.81		AIRR (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.115	0.112	0.122	AIRR (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.33	0.29		AIRR	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	VOO	VOO	VOO		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.8% a year	−1.1% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.19	−0.27		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−9.7% to +8.0%	−9.4% to +7.2%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.10	0.08		AIRR	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	16.2%	15.2%	0.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 657 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

14%

By the books each fund has filed, AIRR and XAR hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

14% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AIRR XAR

Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. 3.13% 3.11%

Karman Holdings Inc. 3.51% 3.01%

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. 3.47% 2.74%

BWX Technologies, Inc. 3.33% 2.65%

Mercury Systems, Inc. 1.30% 2.18%

Ducommun Incorporated 0.88% 1.28%

Leonardo DRS, Inc. 0.79% 1.26%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in AIRR

C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. 3.83%

Herc Holdings, Inc. 3.30%

Owens Corning 3.20%

RBC Bearings Incorporated 3.19%

Dycom Industries, Inc. 3.13%

Nextpower Inc. (Class A) 3.12%

Argan, Inc. 2.97%

Core & Main, Inc. (Class A) 2.84%

Only in XAR

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 3.69%

HONEYWELL AEROSPACE INC 3.44%

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 3.32%

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC 3.21%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 3.12%

TRANSDIGM GROUP INC 3.12%

HEICO CORP 3.07%

RTX CORP 3.06%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: AIRR vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	AIRR	XAR	AIRR	XAR
3 months	−10.0%	−12.8%	−16.1 pts vs VOO	−18.9 pts vs VOO
6 months	−18.4%	−9.9%	−27.5 pts vs VOO	−19.0 pts vs VOO
1 year	−0.2%	−10.0%	−13.9 pts vs VOO	−23.7 pts vs VOO
3 years	+112.5%	+103.5%	+17.0 pts vs VOO	+8.0 pts vs VOO
Since launchNot the same days: AIRR Mar 2014 · XAR Sep 2011	+418.8%	+945.4%	+4.1 pts vs VOO	+171.9 pts vs VOO

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Side by side

AIRR First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF · Holds 55 stocks in reshoring and manufacturing, 15% of its weight in S&P 500 companies XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 50 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer First Trust State Street

Theme Reshoring and manufacturing Defense

In the S&P 500 14.7% 39.7%

Active share vs the S&P 500 99.8% 97.7%

In the Nasdaq-100 not published 2.7%

Holdings 55 50

Top ten, share of the fund 33.2% 32.2%

Expense ratio 0.69% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.69% 0.36%

Total return, 1 year −0.2% −10.0%

vs its benchmark −13.9 pts vs VOO −23.7 pts vs VOO

Below its high −25.5% −24.1%

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.4bn $5.0bn

As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

14% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-A1FBAA37CB

AIRR and XAR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

Theme. AIRR covers Reshoring and manufacturing and XAR covers Defense.
What each follows. AIRR follows Reshoring and manufacturing and XAR follows Defense.
Holdings in common. 14% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

AIRR

By weight, 15% of AIRR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500, from its filing for Jun 30, 2026; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%.

The top ten holdings are 33% of the fund across 55 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −0.2% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 13.9 pts. It sits 25.5% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 2026.

XAR

By weight, 40% 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 32% of the fund across 50 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −10.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 23.7 pts. It sits 24.1% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do AIRR and XAR hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 14% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, AIRR or XAR?: AIRR has 15% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 40%, so AIRR differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, AIRR or XAR?: AIRR charges 0.69% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

AIRR vs SHLD AIRR vs PPA AIRR vs ITA AIRR vs IDEF XAR vs COPX XAR vs ARKK XAR vs FDN XAR vs KWEB

Where to next

All thematic ETFs ranked by the S&P 500 Difference Score →How the scores are computed →AIRR on its own →XAR on its own →AIRR dividend history →AIRR holdings →XAR dividend history →XAR holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

AIRR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

AIRR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for AIRR ↗

XAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XAR 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.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, AIRR against XAR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/airr-vs-xar

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