XBI vs XLB: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
XBI and XLB are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. XBI is State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF, while XLB is State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF. XBI is broader by holdings count, with 156 positions versus 28 for XLB. XLB is more concentrated at the top, based on top-10 holdings weight. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has XLB ahead on AIQ Score, 64 versus 59.
What is the main difference between XBI and XLB?
XBI holds 156 positions to XLB's 28, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | XBI | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.08% |
| Holdings | 156 | 28 |
| Top-10 concentration | 15.9% | 59.4% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 0.35% | 1.66% |
| Average volume | 9,003,461 | 11,162,220 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +45.3% | +16.5% |
| YTD return | +29.2% | +14.4% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +4.1% | +6.1% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 29.1% | 17.7% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -14.9% | -12.4% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -53.2% | -24.7% |
| Beta | 1.08 | 0.71 |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.19 | 0.73 |
| Sortino ratio | 2.04 | 1.21 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 59/100 | 64/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 7/10 | 9/10 |
| Momentum | 73/100 | 79/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 55/100 | 77/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF vs State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF
XLB leads
XLB leads by 5 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Momentum, and the lead has widened from 1 points over 30 sessions.
Fragile: 2 of 4 evidence groups support XLB, its lead is widening, and its current signal state is conflicted.
State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF
State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors XLB over XBI, 64 versus 59 as of Oct 31, 2026. XLB's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and momentum. XLB also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor XLB today, and the comparison is rated Fragile on stability: the AIQ gap is narrow at 5 points. XLB lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 1 to 5 points over 30 sessions.
Compare State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF and State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
XBI vs XLB: which fits what
Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.
| If you want | XBI | XLB | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.35% | 0.08% | XLB |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 156 | 28 | XBI |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 15.9% | 59.4% | XBI |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 0.35% | 1.66% | XLB |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -53.2% | -24.7% | XLB |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 29.1% | 17.7% | XLB |
Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare XBI and XLB against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Risk Resilience55 vs 77XLB +22
- Momentum73 vs 79XLB +6
- Quality64 vs 65Even
- Value45 vs 44Even
2 of 4 evidence groups favor XLB. XLB’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and momentum.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-30, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-29.
Largest factor move: Value -3
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 active signals are unchanged.
Largest factor move: Value +3
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 7 active signals are unchanged.
XLB's lead widened by 2 AIQ points in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — XBI and XLB both carry a full feed there.
The central trade-off
XLB (State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF): the stronger current systematic profile, led by risk resilience and momentum.
XBI (State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF): the counter-case, on technicals — but at materially higher volatility, 34.4% against 12.1%.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | XBI | XLB | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.08% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 156 | 28 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 9,003,461 | 11,162,220 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 29.1% | 17.7% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -14.9% | -12.4% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.19 | 0.73 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.08 | 0.71 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
Where the exposure actually sits
Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.
How much of the same holdings they own
XBI and XLB share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings.
154 holdings are unique to XBI, and 26 holdings are unique to XLB. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
XLB is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 59.39% of the fund, against 15.94% for XBI (28 holdings vs 156). Concentration cuts both ways — it is what drives outperformance when the top names work, and what makes the drawdown deeper when they do not.
What XBI adds that XLB doesn’t
| Holding | XBI | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| MRNAMODERNA INC | 2.87% | Not held |
| TWSTTWIST BIOSCIENCE CORP | 1.81% | Not held |
| HALOHALOZYME THERAPEUTICS INC | 1.47% | Not held |
| NTRANATERA INC | 1.46% | Not held |
| KYMRKYMERA THERAPEUTICS INC | 1.45% | Not held |
| TVTXTRAVERE THERAPEUTICS INC | 1.4% | Not held |
What XLB adds that XBI doesn’t
| Holding | XLB | XBI |
|---|---|---|
| LINLINDE PLC | 12.91% | Not held |
| NEMNEWMONT CORP | 8.14% | Not held |
| FCXFREEPORT MCMORAN INC | 6.19% | Not held |
| CTVACORTEVA INC | 5.11% | Not held |
| APDAIR PRODUCTS + CHEMICALS INC | 4.78% | Not held |
| ECLECOLAB INC | 4.75% | Not held |
Each list is a fund’s largest positions by weight that the other fund does not hold, or holds at less than half the weight.
XBI vs XLB: five-year payout growth
XBI grew its split-adjusted payout faster over 2020-2025 — 9.61% a year against XLB's 6.93%. XBI: The payout jumped 704.4% in 2024, a single step rather than steady compounding - often an index or mandate change. XBI: A single payment in an endpoint year was 10.6x the fund's median payment, so one distribution carries much of the result.
| Dividend metric | XBI | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| 5Y payout CAGR | 9.61% | 6.93% |
| 2020 annual payout | $0.282 | $0.622 |
| 2025 annual payout | $0.446 | $0.870 |
| Peer rank | #59 of 138 | #77 of 138 |
Split-adjusted annual distributions, 2020–2025. Research as of Sep 19, 2026. Yield and expense ratio above are current values, not part of this window.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor XLB. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | XLB | 59 vs 64 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Even | Value 45 vs 44 |
| Technicals | XBI | Price vs 50-day -0.6% vs 3.4%; vs 200-day 11.5% vs 1.6% |
| Risk Resilience | XLB | Risk Resilience 55 vs 77 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of XBI and XLB and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion is sensitive to small changes. Treat the lead as provisional and watch the flip conditions below.
- The AIQ gap is narrow at 5 points. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- Only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The leader's advantage has been widening. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on XLB.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jul 1 – Oct 30XLB lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 1 to 5 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- XLB +5
- 59 vs 64
- 7 sessions ago
- XLB +11
- 53 vs 64
- 30 sessions ago
- XLB +1
- 53 vs 54
- 90 sessions ago
- XBI +1
- 64 vs 63
The lead changed hands 7 times in this window, most recently on Oct 8 when XLB moved ahead of XBI.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
3 bullish / 0 bearish
Only XBI
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (11.08%)
- Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon
3 bullish / 2 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted
Only XLB
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (0.10%)
- ATR Contraction - Coiling — neutral, volatility, short horizon (1.33%)
- Keltner Channel Breakout — bullish, volatility, short horizon
- RSI Overbought — bearish, momentum, short horizon
- EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish — bullish, trend, medium horizon
Both carry 1 more signal that do not separate them: MACD Bullish Crossover.
XLB leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Price and the AIQ Score both moved down over the latest session (price -1.15%, AIQ -1 points).
Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.4%, AIQ +1 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1XBI closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 22 points behind, the largest single contributor to XLB's edge.
- 2XBI generates a confirmed bullish trend signal it does not currently carry, such as EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish.
- 3XLB's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 3 bullish and 2 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Performance
XBI leads 5 of 6 windows| Metric | XBI | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | 3.1% | 1.1% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -0.1% | 6.5% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 4% | 0.4% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 22.2% | 1.8% |
| Year to date | 29.2% | 14.4% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 45.3% | 16.5% |
Technicals
XBI has the stronger structure| Metric | XBI | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 60.1 | 85.2 |
| ADX (14) | 14.1 | 23.8 |
| Price vs 50-day | -0.6% | 3.4% |
| Price vs 200-day | 11.5% | 1.6% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 34.4% | 12.1% |
Risk
XLB is the more resilient| Metric | XBI | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1.08 | 0.71 |
| Sharpe ratio | 1.19 | 0.73 |
| Sortino ratio | 2.04 | 1.21 |
| Max drawdown | -14.9% | -12.4% |
| Current drawdown | -7.1% | -3.4% |
| Annualized volatility | 29.1% | 17.7% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -3% | -1.9% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between XBI and XLB?
XBI holds 156 positions to XLB's 28, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do XBI and XLB overlap?
XBI and XLB share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings. 154 holdings are unique to XBI, and 26 holdings are unique to XLB. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, XBI or XLB?
XBI holds more positions: 156 versus 28 for XLB.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
XLB has the lower expense ratio, 0.08% a year against 0.35% for XBI.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
XLB, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 1.66% against 0.35% for XBI.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
XBI has been more volatile over the past year, at 29.1% annualized against 17.7% for XLB.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
XLB fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -24.7% against -53.2% for XBI.
Compare XBI and XLB with others
Continue your research
This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.