Do XAR and XDEF hold the same stocks?

By their latest filings, 1% 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, XAR or XDEF?

XAR has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XDEF has 0%, so XDEF differs more from the index.

Which is cheaper, XAR or XDEF?

XAR and XDEF both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Thematic ETFs

XAR vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns

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XAR and XDEF hold 1% of their weight in the same names.

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Net assets: $5.3bn on Nov 3, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF, and $4.3m on Nov 2, 2026 for Xtrackers Europe Defense Technologies ETF.

XAR on its own →XDEF on its own →

At a glance

40.1%

XAR in the S&P 500

0.0%

XDEF in the S&P 500

−6.6%

XAR total return, 1 year

−12.4%

XDEF total return, since launch, Feb 19, 2026

XAR · 1 year to Nov 4, 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 Nov 3, 2026.

XDEF · 6 months to Nov 4, 2026 100% of its weight is outside the S&P 500

0% of XDEF's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index. Holdings as of Aug 31, 2026.

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.35% a year; XAR is far larger, $5.2bn against $4.3m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

XAR vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
Measure	XAR	XDEF
Return
Measure	XAR	XDEF
Total return, 1 year	−6.6%	not published
Drawdown
Measure	XAR	XDEF
Below its all-time high	24.0%, high on Aug 14, 2026	13.0%, high on Feb 20, 2026
Against its benchmark
Measure	XAR	XDEF
What it tracks	Defense	Defense
Against the S&P 500, 1 year	behind by 21.4 pts
Its benchmark, total return, 1 year	+14.8%
Against its benchmark, 1 year	behind by 21.4 pts
Cost and size
Measure	XAR	XDEF
Expense ratio	0.35%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Nov 2, 2026	$5.2bn	$4.3m
Holdings
Measure	XAR	XDEF
Holdings in common	1%

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, XAR and XDEF hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first XAR XDEF

AAR CORP 1.44% 8.40%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in XAR

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 3.63%

HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIE 3.36%

L3HARRIS TECHNOLOGIES INC 3.30%

TEXTRON INC 3.27%

FTAI AVIATION LTD 3.23%

HEICO CORP 3.22%

TRANSDIGM GROUP INC 3.19%

NORTHROP GRUMMAN CORP 3.18%

Only in XDEF

ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 9.20%

SAFRAN SA 8.53%

BAE SYSTEMS PLC 7.93%

RHEINMETALL AG 6.81%

SAAB AB 4.90%

MTU AERO ENGINES AG 4.83%

MELROSE INDUSTRIES PLC 4.66%

KONGSBERG GRUPPEN ASA 4.47%

Check overlap with more funds →

Window by window

Window by window: XAR vs XDEF: Holdings Overlap & Returns
	Total return		vs its benchmark
Window	XAR	XDEF	XAR	XDEF
3 months	−20.0%	−9.7%	−19.9 pts vs VOO	not measured
6 months	−15.6%	−5.7%	−20.6 pts vs VOO	not measured
1 year	−6.6%	–	−21.4 pts vs VOO	–
3 years	+89.1%	–	+5.8 pts vs VOO	–
Since launchNot the same days: XAR Sep 2011 · XDEF Feb 2026	+948.0%	−12.4%	+180.8 pts vs VOO	not measured

– means no data for this window. Open this comparison in the app →

Side by side

XAR State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF · Holds 50 stocks in defense, 40% of its weight in S&P 500 companies XDEF Xtrackers Europe Defense Technologies ETF · Holds 35 stocks in defense, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies

Issuer State Street Xtrackers

Theme Defense Defense

In the S&P 500 40.1% 0.0%

Active share vs the S&P 500 97.7% 100.0%

In the Nasdaq-100 8.2% 0.0%

Holdings 50 35

Top ten, share of the fund 32.6% 64.0%

Expense ratio 0.35% 0.35%

Fee for the differing part 0.36% 0.35%

Total return, 1 year −6.6% −12.4% (since launch, Feb 19, 2026)

vs its benchmark −21.4 pts vs VOO not measured

Below its high −24.0% −13.0%

Net assets, XAR as of Nov 3, 2026 and XDEF as of Nov 2, 2026 $5.3bn $4.3m

As of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

1% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Alert

About each fund

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 33% of the fund across 50 positions, as published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 the fund returned −6.6% with distributions reinvested against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index, so a holder was behind by 21.4 pts. It sits 24.0% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

XDEF

By weight, 0% of XDEF'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 64% of the fund across 35 positions, as filed for Aug 31, 2026. Since it first traded on Feb 19, 2026 the fund returned −12.4% with distributions reinvested. It sits 13.0% below its all-time high of Feb 20, 2026.

Questions people ask

Do XAR and XDEF hold the same stocks?: By their latest filings, 1% 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, XAR or XDEF?: XAR has 40% of its weight in S&P 500 names and XDEF has 0%, so XDEF differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, XAR or XDEF?: XAR and XDEF both charge 0.35% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

XAR vs ITA XAR vs WDGF XAR vs TSSD XAR vs AMMO XDEF vs SHLD XDEF vs IDEF XDEF vs PPA XDEF vs ITA

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

XAR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XAR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

XDEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

XDEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Xtrackers 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.

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ETFIQ, XAR against XDEF, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/xar-vs-xdef

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