PPA vs XBI: which is really different?
PPA and XBI hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and XBI returned +45.0% over the year. Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF and State Street(R) SPDR(R) S&P(R) Biotech ETF.
XBI costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 45.7 points; XBI is 1.3 times larger.
| PPA | XBI | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 | $7.5bn | $9.9bn |
| Total return, 1 year | −0.7% | +45.0% |
| What it tracks | Defense | Biotech |
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| S&P 500, total return, 1 year | +17.3% | |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 17.9 pts | ahead by 27.7 pts |
| Below its all-time high | 16.1%, high on Mar 2, 2026 | 11.1%, high on Feb 8, 2021 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.
76% of PPA's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 24% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.
13% of XBI's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 87% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 8, 2026.
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, PPA and XBI 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
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
Performance, window by window
| Total return | vs the S&P 500 | vs the Nasdaq-100 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | PPA | XBI | PPA | XBI | PPA | XBI |
| 3 months | −10.8% | −3.3% | −14.2 pts | −6.7 pts | −14.5 pts | −7.0 pts |
| 6 months | −10.8% | +18.9% | −25.9 pts | +3.8 pts | −34.0 pts | −4.3 pts |
| 1 year | −0.7% | +45.0% | −17.9 pts | +27.7 pts | −24.3 pts | +21.4 pts |
| 3 years | +91.0% | +114.6% | +5.3 pts | +28.8 pts | −16.2 pts | +7.3 pts |
| Since launch PPA Oct 2005 · XBI Feb 2006 | +1,165.1% | +890.7% | +307.2 pts | +92.2 pts | −1,006.9 pts | −1,164.7 pts |
Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
PPA in plain words
By weight, 76% 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 60% of the fund across 70 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned −0.7% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 17.9 pts. It sits 16.1% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.
XBI in plain words
By weight, 13% of XBI'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 17% of the fund across 165 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 the fund returned +45.0% with distributions reinvested against +17.3% for the S&P 500, so a holder was ahead by 27.7 pts. It sits 11.1% below its all-time high of Feb 8, 2021.
Questions people ask
- Do PPA and XBI 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.
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.
ETFIQ, PPA against XBI, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-xbi
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). PPA against XBI. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-xbi
[PPA against XBI (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/ppa-vs-xbi)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.