ETFIQ
RankingsCompareHoldingsFlowsResearch
Ask ETFIQETF ModelsMy portfolioWeekly note
A
vs
B
Share on XDownload as PDFOpen liveCompare their flowsAsk about these two funds

GDX vs IBB: which is really different?

GDX and IBB hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and IBB returned +36.1% over the year. VanEck Gold Miners ETF and iShares Biotechnology ETF.

IBB costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.2 points; GDX is 2.5 times larger.

GDXIBB
Expense ratio0.51%0.44%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$26.1bn$10.3bn
Total return, 1 year+18.9%+36.1%
What it tracksGold minersBiotech
Holdings in common0%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 1.7 ptsahead by 18.8 pts
Below its all-time high22.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

11.2%
GDX in the S&P 500
39.5%
IBB in the S&P 500
+18.9%
GDX total return, 1 year
+36.1%
IBB total return, 1 year
GDX · 1 year to Oct 9, 202689% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
89% of its weight is outside the S&P 50011% of GDX's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 89% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 59% of the fund · 59 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in89% of its weight is outside the S&P 50011% of GDX's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 89% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.11%89%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · Nasdaq-100: 0% in

11% of GDX's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 89% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

IBB · 1 year to Oct 9, 202661% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
61% of its weight is outside the S&P 50040% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.40%61%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 99% · top ten 50% of the fund · 245 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 33% in61% of its weight is outside the S&P 50040% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.40%61%in the S&P 500outside the S&P 500active share 99% · Nasdaq-100: 33% in

40% of IBB's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 61% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · GDX scores higherHow much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
0.1, the lowest in this set92.3, the highest

A percentile among the 391 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. All thematic ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, GDX and IBB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

half

0% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding GDX IBB
Only in GDX
Newmont Corp 11.23%
Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd 11.16%
Barrick Mining Corp 7.88%
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp 5.65%
Franco-Nevada Corp 5.20%
Anglogold Ashanti Plc 4.80%
Gold Fields Ltd 3.81%
Kinross Gold Corp 3.77%
Only in IBB
GILEAD SCIENCES 8.37%
AMGEN INC 7.89%
VERTEX PHARMACEUTICALS 7.69%
REGENERON PHARMACEUTICALS 5.40%
MODERNA 5.30%
NATERA 3.88%
ARGENX SE ADR 3.35%
ILLUMINA INC 2.94%

0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Performance, window by window

Total returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
WindowGDXIBBGDXIBBGDXIBB
3 months+18.2%+7.5%+14.8 pts+4.1 pts+14.5 pts+3.9 pts
6 months−10.2%+21.9%−25.3 pts+6.8 pts−33.4 pts−1.3 pts
1 year+18.9%+36.1%+1.7 pts+18.8 pts−4.7 pts+12.5 pts
3 years+232.4%+69.1%+146.6 pts−16.7 pts+125.1 pts−38.2 pts
Since launch
GDX May 2006 · IBB Feb 2001
+190.3%+525.3%−607.8 pts−299.7 pts−1,965.2 pts−936.3 pts

Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

GDX
VanEck Gold Miners ETF · Holds 59 stocks in gold miners, 11% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
IBB
iShares Biotechnology ETF · Holds 245 stocks in biotech, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Issuer VanEck iShares
Theme Gold miners Biotech
In the S&P 500 11.2% 39.5%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.8% 99.0%
In the Nasdaq-100 0.0% 33.1%
Holdings 59 245
Top ten, share of the fund 59.1% 49.9%
Expense ratio 0.51% 0.44%
Fee for the differing part 0.51% 0.44%
Total return, 1 year +18.9% +36.1%
vs the S&P 500 +1.7 pts +18.8 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 −4.7 pts +12.5 pts
Below its high −22.9% −4.8%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 $26.1bn $10.3bn

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

GDX in plain words

By weight, 11% of GDX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 59% of the fund across 59 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +18.9% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 1.7 pts. It sits 22.9% below its all-time high of Feb 27, 2026.

IBB in plain words

By weight, 40% of IBB's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 50% of the fund across 245 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +36.1% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 18.8 pts.

Questions people ask

Do GDX and IBB hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is mostly different names. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, GDX or IBB?
GDX has 11% of its weight in S&P 500 names and IBB has 40%, so GDX differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, GDX or IBB?
GDX charges 0.51% a year and IBB charges 0.44%, so IBB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
GDX vs GRIDGDX vs BOTZGDX vs SOXXGDX vs SMHIBB vs GDXJIBB vs SOXXIBB vs IGVIBB vs PAVE
GDX on its own →IBB on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
GDX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗GDX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗VanEck website ↗IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IBB ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation.

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, GDX against IBB, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/gdx-vs-ibb

Open data

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