Data as of .
PPA vs XAR: which is really different?
PPA holds 71.8% of its weight in S&P 500 companies and XAR 35.0%.
ETFIQ Off-Index Score: XAR scores higher
How much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
A percentile among the 371 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, PPA and XAR hold 49% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | PPA | XAR |
|---|---|---|
| RTX Corp | 8.29% | 3.34% |
| Axon Enterprise Inc | 3.15% | 3.20% |
| General Dynamics Corp | 4.97% | 3.11% |
| General Electric Co | 6.94% | 3.04% |
| Lockheed Martin Corp | 6.59% | 3.02% |
| Boeing Co/The | 7.05% | 2.93% |
| Northrop Grumman Corp | 4.95% | 2.86% |
| TransDigm Group Inc | 3.01% | 2.78% |
| Howmet Aerospace Inc | 3.92% | 2.73% |
| L3Harris Technologies Inc | 3.74% | 2.45% |
| ATI Inc | 1.80% | 3.25% |
| Rocket Lab Corp | 1.62% | 1.76% |
| Only in PPA | Only in XAR |
|---|---|
| Parker-Hannifin Corp 3.84% | VSE CORP 3.33% |
| Elbit Systems Ltd 3.39% | ARCHER AVIATION INC A 3.23% |
| Honeywell Aerospace Inc 3.30% | FTAI AVIATION LTD 2.39% |
| Amphenol Corp 2.73% | ASTRONICS CORP 2.18% |
| Eaton Corp PLC 2.30% | INTUITIVE MACHINES INC 1.65% |
| Palantir Technologies Inc 1.79% | RED CAT HOLDINGS INC 1.17% |
| Leidos Holdings Inc 1.23% | NATIONAL PRESTO INDS INC 0.64% |
| CACI International Inc 1.19% | BETA TECHNOLOGIES INC CL A 0.60% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 10, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PPA | XAR | PPA | XAR | PPA | XAR | |
| 3 months | −7.0% | −12.1% | −10.3 pts | −15.4 pts | −6.2 pts | −11.3 pts |
| 6 months | −6.5% | −7.2% | −22.5 pts | −23.2 pts | −27.2 pts | −27.9 pts |
| 1 year | +8.5% | +11.8% | −9.0 pts | −5.7 pts | −14.4 pts | −11.2 pts |
| 3 years | +100.5% | +114.1% | +22.6 pts | +36.2 pts | +5.4 pts | +19.0 pts |
| Since launch | +998.8% | +1042.3% | +194.5 pts | +288.5 pts | −675.1 pts | −366.6 pts |
| PPA Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF Holds 62 stocks in defense, 72% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | XAR State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Aerospace & Defense ETF Holds 49 stocks in defense, 35% of its weight in S&P 500 companies | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Invesco | State Street |
| Theme | Defense | Defense |
| In the S&P 500 | 71.8% | 35.0% |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 96.4% | 97.9% |
| In the Nasdaq-100 | 4.9% | 3.2% |
| Holdings | 62 | 49 |
| Top ten, share of the fund | 53.7% | 31.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.35% |
| Fee for the differing part | 0.60% | 0.36% |
| Total return, 1 year | +8.5% | +11.8% |
| vs the S&P 500 | −9.0 pts | −5.7 pts |
| vs the Nasdaq-100 | −14.4 pts | −11.2 pts |
| Below its high | −12.7% | −17.1% |
PPA in plain words
By weight, 72% of PPA's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 96%. The top ten holdings are 54% of the fund across 62 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +8.5% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 9.0 pts. It sits 12.7% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.
XAR in plain words
By weight, 35% 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 31% of the fund across 49 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +11.8% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 5.7 pts. It sits 17.1% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which is more different from the S&P 500, PPA or XAR?
- PPA has 72% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 35%, so XAR differs more from the index.
- Which is cheaper, PPA or XAR?
- PPA charges 0.58% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, PPA against XAR, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-xar Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.