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IBB vs ITA: which is really different?

IBB and ITA hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and IBB returned +36.1% over the year. iShares Biotechnology ETF and iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF.

ITA costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 38.0 points; ITA is 1.2 times larger.

IBBITA
Expense ratio0.44%0.37%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$10.3bn$11.9bn
Total return, 1 year+36.1%−1.9%
What it tracksBiotechDefense
Holdings in common0%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 18.8 ptsbehind by 19.2 pts
Below its all-time high18.3%, high on Aug 14, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

39.5%
IBB in the S&P 500
79.2%
ITA in the S&P 500
+36.1%
IBB total return, 1 year
−1.9%
ITA total return, 1 year
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.

ITA · 1 year to Oct 9, 202621% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
21% of its weight is outside the S&P 50079% of ITA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 21% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.79%21%of its weight in S&P 500 companiesoutside the S&P 500active share 98% · top ten 75% of the fund · 51 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 3% in21% of its weight is outside the S&P 50079% of ITA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 21% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.79%21%in the S&P 50021% of its weight outside the S&P 500active share 98% · Nasdaq-100: 3% in

79% of ITA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 21% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · IBB 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, IBB and ITA 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 IBB ITA
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%
Only in ITA
GE AEROSPACE 20.74%
RTX 16.25%
BOEING 7.64%
LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 4.64%
TRANSDIGM GROUP 4.64%
HOWMET AEROSPACE 4.58%
NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 4.50%
GENERAL DYNAMICS CORP 4.48%

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
WindowIBBITAIBBITAIBBITA
3 months+7.5%−13.5%+4.1 pts−16.8 pts+3.9 pts−17.1 pts
6 months+21.9%−9.8%+6.8 pts−25.0 pts−1.3 pts−33.0 pts
1 year+36.1%−1.9%+18.8 pts−19.2 pts+12.5 pts−25.5 pts
3 years+69.1%+92.7%−16.7 pts+7.0 pts−38.2 pts−14.5 pts
Since launch
IBB Feb 2001 · ITA May 2006
+525.3%+887.0%−299.7 pts+132.1 pts−936.3 pts−1,097.9 pts

Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

IBB
iShares Biotechnology ETF · Holds 245 stocks in biotech, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
ITA
iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 51 stocks in defense, 79% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Issuer iShares iShares
Theme Biotech Defense
In the S&P 500 39.5% 79.2%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.0% 97.7%
In the Nasdaq-100 33.1% 2.7%
Holdings 245 51
Top ten, share of the fund 49.9% 74.8%
Expense ratio 0.44% 0.37%
Fee for the differing part 0.44% 0.38%
Total return, 1 year +36.1% −1.9%
vs the S&P 500 +18.8 pts −19.2 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 +12.5 pts −25.5 pts
Below its high −4.8% −18.3%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 $10.3bn $11.9bn

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

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.

ITA in plain words

By weight, 79% 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 51 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned −1.9% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 19.2 pts. It sits 18.3% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do IBB and ITA 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, IBB or ITA?
IBB has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and ITA has 79%, so IBB differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, IBB or ITA?
IBB charges 0.44% a year and ITA charges 0.37%, so ITA is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
IBB vs IDEFIBB vs PPAIBB vs SHLDIBB vs XARITA vs XBIITA vs SILITA vs XMEITA vs NLR
IBB on its own →ITA on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
IBB and ITA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IBB and ITA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IBB ↗iShares page for ITA ↗

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

Open data

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