IBB vs XME: which is really different?

IBB and XME hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and IBB returned +36.1% over the year. iShares Biotechnology ETF and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Metals & Mining ETF.

XME costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 31.9 points; IBB is 2.5 times larger.

IBBXME
Expense ratio0.44%0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$10.3bn$4.1bn
Total return, 1 year+36.1%+4.2%
What it tracksBiotechMiners and metals
Holdings in common0%
S&P 500, total return, 1 year+17.3%
Against the S&P 500, 1 yearahead by 18.8 ptsbehind by 13.0 pts
Below its all-time high19.8%, high on Jun 2, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

39.5%
IBB in the S&P 500
20.3%
XME in the S&P 500
+36.1%
IBB total return, 1 year
+4.2%
XME 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.

XME · 1 year to Oct 9, 202680% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
80% of its weight is outside the S&P 50020% of XME's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 80% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.20%80%in the S&P 500of its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 51% of the fund · 38 holdings as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in80% of its weight is outside the S&P 50020% of XME's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 80% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.20%80%inoutside the S&P 500active share 100% · Nasdaq-100: 0% in

20% of XME's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 80% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · XME 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 XME 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 XME
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 XME
CLEVELAND CLIFFS INC 5.44%
RELIANCE INC 5.42%
STEEL DYNAMICS INC 5.25%
MATERION CORP 5.17%
NUCOR CORP 5.15%
FREEPORT MCMORAN INC 5.04%
COMMERCIAL METALS CO 4.94%
NEWMONT CORP 4.84%

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
WindowIBBXMEIBBXMEIBBXME
3 months+7.5%+2.6%+4.1 pts−0.8 pts+3.9 pts−1.0 pts
6 months+21.9%−6.2%+6.8 pts−21.4 pts−1.3 pts−29.4 pts
1 year+36.1%+4.2%+18.8 pts−13.0 pts+12.5 pts−19.4 pts
3 years+69.1%+107.5%−16.7 pts+21.7 pts−38.2 pts+0.2 pts
Since launch
IBB Feb 2001 · XME Jun 2006
+525.3%+204.2%−299.7 pts−602.0 pts−936.3 pts−1,995.8 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
XME
State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Metals & Mining ETF · Holds 38 stocks in miners and metals, 20% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Theme Biotech Miners and metals
In the S&P 500 39.5% 20.3%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.0% 99.6%
In the Nasdaq-100 33.1% 0.0%
Holdings 245 38
Top ten, share of the fund 49.9% 50.6%
Expense ratio 0.44% 0.35%
Fee for the differing part 0.44% 0.35%
Total return, 1 year +36.1% +4.2%
vs the S&P 500 +18.8 pts −13.0 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 +12.5 pts −19.4 pts
Below its high −4.8% −19.8%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 $10.3bn $4.1bn

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.

XME in plain words

By weight, 20% of XME'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 51% of the fund across 38 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +4.2% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 13.0 pts. It sits 19.8% below its all-time high of Jun 2, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do IBB and XME 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 XME?
IBB has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XME has 20%, so XME differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, IBB or XME?
IBB charges 0.44% a year and XME charges 0.35%, so XME is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from

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

Open data

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