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

IBB vs NLR: which is really different?

IBB and NLR hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and IBB returned +36.1% over the year. iShares Biotechnology ETF and VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF.

IBB costs 0.08 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 64.1 points; IBB is 2.6 times larger.

IBBNLR
Expense ratio0.44%0.52%
Net assets, IBB as of Oct 9, 2026 and NLR as of Jun 30, 2026$10.8bn$4.2bn
Total return, 1 year+36.1%−28.0%
What it tracksBiotechNuclear and uranium
Holdings in common0%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 18.8 ptsbehind by 45.3 pts
Below its all-time high37.1%, high on Jan 28, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

39.5%
IBB in the S&P 500
15.1%
NLR in the S&P 500
+36.1%
IBB total return, 1 year
−28.0%
NLR 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.

NLR · 1 year to Oct 9, 202685% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
85% of its weight is outside the S&P 50015% of NLR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 85% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jun 30, 2026.15%85%in the S&P 500of its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 61% of the fund · 25 holdings as filed for Jun 30, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 8% in85% of its weight is outside the S&P 50015% of NLR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 85% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jun 30, 2026.15%85%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · Nasdaq-100: 8% in

15% of NLR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 85% is outside the index. Holdings as of Jun 30, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · NLR 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 NLR 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 Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

half

0% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding IBB NLR
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 NLR
Cameco Corp 8.41%
Constellation Energy Corp 8.04%
Public Service Enterprise Group Inc 7.09%
BWX Technologies Inc 6.78%
Fortum Oyj 5.75%
Oklo Inc 5.22%
Centrus Energy Corp 5.05%
Uranium Energy Corp 4.99%

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
WindowIBBNLRIBBNLRIBBNLR
3 months+7.5%−9.7%+4.1 pts−13.1 pts+3.9 pts−13.4 pts
6 months+21.9%−24.4%+6.8 pts−39.6 pts−1.3 pts−47.6 pts
1 year+36.1%−28.0%+18.8 pts−45.3 pts+12.5 pts−51.6 pts
3 years+69.1%+60.0%−16.7 pts−25.8 pts−38.2 pts−47.3 pts
Since launch
IBB Feb 2001 · NLR Aug 2007
+525.3%+78.8%−299.7 pts−606.4 pts−936.3 pts−1,728.8 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
NLR
VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF · Holds 25 stocks in nuclear and uranium, 15% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Issuer iShares VanEck
Theme Biotech Nuclear and uranium
In the S&P 500 39.5% 15.1%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.0% 99.8%
In the Nasdaq-100 33.1% 8.0%
Holdings 245 25
Top ten, share of the fund 49.9% 61.1%
Expense ratio 0.44% 0.52%
Fee for the differing part 0.44% 0.52%
Total return, 1 year +36.1% −28.0%
vs the S&P 500 +18.8 pts −45.3 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 +12.5 pts −51.6 pts
Below its high −4.8% −37.1%
Net assets, IBB as of Oct 9, 2026 and NLR as of Jun 30, 2026 $10.8bn $4.2bn

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.

NLR in plain words

By weight, 15% of NLR'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 61% of the fund across 25 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned −28.0% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 45.3 pts. It sits 37.1% below its all-time high of Jan 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do IBB and NLR 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 NLR?
IBB has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and NLR has 15%, so NLR differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, IBB or NLR?
IBB charges 0.44% a year and NLR charges 0.52%, so IBB is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
IBB vs URAIBB vs XMEIBB vs XTIBB vs KWEBNLR vs XBINLR vs SILNLR vs IDEFNLR vs BOTZ
IBB on its own →NLR on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
IBB filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IBB prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IBB ↗NLR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗NLR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗VanEck website ↗

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 NLR, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ibb-vs-nlr

Open data

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