Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SOXX vs XAR: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SOXX returned +72.0% to XAR's −10.0%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about SOXX and XAR
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $48.3bn for iShares Semiconductor ETF and $5.0bn for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF.
74% of SOXX's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 26% is outside the index. Holdings as of Oct 27, 2026.
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
SOXX costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 82.0 points; SOXX is 9.7 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | SOXX | XAR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +72.0% | −10.0% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 20.3%, high on Jun 22, 2026 | 24.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Semiconductors | Defense |
| Against the S&P 500, 1 year | behind by 23.7 pts | |
| Its benchmark, total return, 1 year | +13.3% | +13.7% |
| Against its benchmark, 1 year | ahead by 58.7 pts | behind by 23.7 pts |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.33% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $48.3bn | $5.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 7, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 785 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SOXX against PBUS, Sep 29, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026; XAR against VOO, Oct 7, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026.
SOXX returned more: +3,394.2% to +905.6%. XAR swung less: 23.3% to 28.1%. SOXX and XAR fell about the same at their worst: −44.4% and −45.1%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SOXX | XAR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +3,394.2% | +905.6% | SOXX | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +26.5% | +16.5% | SOXX | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +2,873.9% | +760.2% | SOXX | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 28.1% | 23.3% | XAR | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 18.5% | 15.5% | XAR | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −44.4% | −45.1% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 212.4% | 115.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 123.4% | 107.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.38 | 1.16 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.59 | 0.62 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.92 | 0.70 | SOXX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.40 | 1.05 | SOXX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.200 | 0.141 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.60 | 0.37 | SOXX | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | PBUS | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +10.2% a year | +0.3% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.48 | 0.08 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −3.3% to +23.7% | −7.0% to +7.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.69 | 0.17 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 21.7% | 14.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 785 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SOXX and XAR hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Window by window
| Total return | vs its benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | SOXX | XAR | SOXX | XAR |
| 3 months | +12.3% | −12.8% | +6.3 pts vs PBUS | −18.9 pts vs VOO |
| 6 months | +16.1% | −9.9% | +7.0 pts vs PBUS | −19.0 pts vs VOO |
| 1 year | +72.0% | −10.0% | +58.7 pts vs PBUS | −23.7 pts vs VOO |
| 3 years | +258.4% | +103.5% | +162.6 pts vs PBUS | +8.0 pts vs VOO |
| Since launchNot the same days: SOXX Jul 2001 · XAR Sep 2011 | +2,543.8% | +945.4% | not measured | +171.9 pts vs VOO |
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
0% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.
SOXX and XAR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Theme. SOXX covers Semiconductors and XAR covers Defense.
- Concentration. The top ten holdings are 62.4% of SOXX and 32.2% of XAR, a gap of 30.2 points.
- What each follows. SOXX follows Semiconductors and XAR follows Defense.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
SOXX
By weight, 74% of SOXX's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 82%. The top ten holdings are 62% of the fund across 31 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned +72.0% with distributions reinvested against +13.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index, so a holder was ahead by 58.7 pts. It sits 20.3% below its all-time high of Jun 22, 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 SOXX and XAR hold the same stocks?
- By their latest filings, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
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, SOXX against XAR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/soxx-vs-xar
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SOXX against XAR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/soxx-vs-xar
[SOXX against XAR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/soxx-vs-xar)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.