Do SHLD and XAR hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 29% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.

Which is more different from the S&P 500, SHLD or XAR?

SHLD has 45% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 40%, so SHLD differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, SHLD or XAR?

SHLD charges 0.50% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

SHLD vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SHLD returned −6.5% to XAR's −10.0%; 29% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $6.3bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Defense Tech ETF, and $5.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF.

SHLD on its own →XAR on its own →

At a glance

44.6%

SHLD in the S&P 500

39.7%

XAR in the S&P 500

−6.5%

SHLD total return, 1 year

−10.0%

XAR total return, 1 year

SHLD · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 55% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

45% of SHLD's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 55% is outside the index. Holdings as of May 31, 2026.

XAR · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 60% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

40% of XAR's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 60% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XAR costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.5 points; SHLD is 1.2 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

SHLD vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	SHLD	XAR
Return
Measure	SHLD	XAR
Total return, 1 year	−6.5%	−10.0%
Drawdown
Measure	SHLD	XAR
Below its all-time high	18.6%, high on Mar 9, 2026	24.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	SHLD	XAR
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Against the S&P 500, 1 year		behind by 23.7 pts
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year		+13.7%
Against its benchmark, 1 year		behind by 23.7 pts
Cost and size
Measure	SHLD	XAR
Expense ratio	0.50%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$6.3bn	$5.4bn
Holdings
Measure	SHLD	XAR
Holdings in common	29%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Sep 22, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 161 weekly returns

SHLD XAR

Return

Total return edge SHLD +161.2% +98.6%

Annualized edge SHLD +36.4% +24.8%

Price return edge SHLD +156.8% +95.6%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 24.0% 24.3%

Max drawdown edge SHLD (slight) −25.1% −26.6%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SHLD 1.23 0.85

Sortino edge SHLD 2.17 1.36

Calmar edge SHLD 1.45 0.93

Reading

SHLD returned more: +161.2% to +98.6%. SHLD and XAR swung about the same: 24.0% and 24.3%. SHLD fell slightly less at its worst: −25.1% to −26.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: SHLD vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	SHLD	XAR	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+161.2%	+98.6%	SHLD	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+36.4%	+24.8%	SHLD	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+156.8%	+95.6%	SHLD	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	24.0%	24.3%	Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	13.5%	15.2%	SHLD	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−25.1%	−26.6%	SHLD (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	1.23	0.85	SHLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	2.17	1.36	SHLD	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	1.45	0.93	SHLD	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 161 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

29%

By the books each fund has filed, SHLD and XAR hold 29% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

29% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first SHLD XAR

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION 8.41% 3.69%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 4.23% 3.32%

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 4.69% 3.21%

GENERAL DYNAMICS CORPORATION 7.67% 3.12%

RTX CORPORATION 7.75% 3.06%

BWX TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 3.05% 2.65%

HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES, INC. 2.04% 3.11%

KRATOS DEFENSE & SECURITY SOLUTIONS, INC. 1.81% 2.74%

MOOG INC. 1.70% 2.98%

AEROVIRONMENT, INC. 1.32% 2.74%

MERCURY SYSTEMS, INC. 1.13% 2.18%

KARMAN HOLDINGS INC. 0.83% 3.01%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in SHLD

PALANTIR TECHNOLOGIES INC. 7.07%

Rheinmetall Aktiengesellschaft 5.76%

BAE SYSTEMS PLC 4.88%

HANWHA AEROSPACE CO., LTD. 4.40%

LEONARDO - SOCIETA PER AZIONI 4.35%

THALES SA 4.27%

ELBIT SYSTEMS LTD 4.13%

SAAB Aktiebolag 3.82%

Only in XAR

HONEYWELL AEROSPACE INC 3.44%

TRANSDIGM GROUP INC 3.12%

HEICO CORP 3.07%

TEXTRON INC 3.04%

ROCKET LAB CORP 2.87%

GENERAL ELECTRIC 2.84%

WOODWARD INC 2.79%

STANDARDAERO INC 2.72%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: SHLD vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	SHLD	XAR	SHLD	XAR
3 months	+2.0%	−12.8%	not measured	−18.9 pts vs VOO
6 months	−4.7%	−9.9%	not measured	−19.0 pts vs VOO
1 year	−6.5%	−10.0%	not measured	−23.7 pts vs VOO
3 years	+156.5%	+103.5%	not measured	+8.0 pts vs VOO
Since launchNot the same days: SHLD Sep 2023 · XAR Sep 2011	+160.2%	+945.4%	not measured	+171.9 pts vs VOO

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Side by side

SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF · Holds 48 stocks in defense, 45% of its weight in S&P 500 companies XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 50 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer Global X State Street

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 44.6% 39.7%

Active share vs the S&P 500 98.7% 97.7%

In the Nasdaq-100 7.1% 2.7%

Holdings 48 50

Top ten, share of the fund 59.3% 32.2%

Expense ratio 0.50% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.51% 0.36%

Total return, 1 year −6.5% −10.0%

vs its benchmark not measured −23.7 pts vs VOO

Below its high −18.6% −24.1%

Net assets, SHLD as of Oct 12, 2026 and XAR as of Oct 27, 2026 $6.3bn $5.0bn

As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

29% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Client brief

No client brief for this pair: the two funds' holdings are dated 149 days apart.

Alert

About each fund

SHLD

By weight, 45% of SHLD'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 59% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for May 31, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −6.5% with distributions reinvested. It sits 18.6% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.

XAR

By weight, 40% 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 32% of the fund across 50 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −10.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 23.7 pts. It sits 24.1% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do SHLD and XAR hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 29% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, SHLD or XAR?: SHLD has 45% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XAR has 40%, so SHLD differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, SHLD or XAR?: SHLD charges 0.50% a year and XAR charges 0.35%, so XAR is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SHLD vs IDEF SHLD vs ITA SHLD vs EUAD SHLD vs MISL XAR vs IDEF XAR vs EUAD XAR vs GCAD XAR vs FOWF

Where to next

All thematic ETFs ranked by the S&P 500 Difference Score →How the scores are computed →SHLD on its own →XAR on its own →SHLD dividend history →SHLD holdings →XAR dividend history →XAR holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

SHLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SHLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Global X page for SHLD ↗

XAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XAR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, SHLD against XAR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/shld-vs-xar

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