ETF Versus

XLC vs XLY

State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF vs State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-10

XLC SPDR

State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLC) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to us sector - communication securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.23%. Launched in 2018, the fund has a 8-year track record.

AUM: $24.6B ER: 0.08% Yield: 1.23% Since: Jun 18, 2018
XLY SPDR

State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to us sector - consumer discretionary securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.79%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $21.3B ER: 0.08% Yield: 0.79% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

Over the past year, XLC has significantly outperformed with a 25.9% return vs 19.8%.

Key Metrics

Metric XLC XLY
Expense Ratio 0.08% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 1.2% 0.8%
Fund Family SPDR SPDR
Category US Sector - Communication US Sector - Consumer Discretionary

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

55 76 97 118 139 160 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
XLC +48.7%
XLY +27.1%

Performance Comparison

Period XLC XLY Difference
1 Month -2.66% -1.36% -1.30%
3 Months -3.11% -9.58% +6.47%
6 Months +0.04% -3.72% +3.76%
YTD -2.57% -4.87% +2.30%
1 Year +25.85% +19.84% +6.01%
3 Years +94.19% +54.44% +39.75%
5 Years +48.66% +27.14% +21.52%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period XLC Fees XLY Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $159 $159 $0
$10,000 20 years $686 $686 $0
$10,000 30 years $2,212 $2,212 $0
$50,000 10 years $797 $797 $0
$50,000 30 years $11,061 $11,061 $0
$100,000 30 years $22,123 $22,123 $0

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric XLC XLY
Annualized Volatility 20.7% 23.7%
Max Drawdown -47.2% -40.3%
Sharpe Ratio 0.27 0.13

Dividend Comparison

Metric XLC XLY
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.40 $0.89
Dividend Yield 1.23% 0.79%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 9 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

XLC Top Holdings

NameWeight
Meta Platforms, Inc.META13.83%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG6.65%
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.LYV4.71%
Netflix, Inc.NFLX4.57%
The Walt Disney CompanyDIS4.50%
Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.TTWO4.48%
EchoStar CorporationSATS4.47%
Omnicom Group Inc.OMC4.37%
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.WBD4.35%

XLY Top Holdings

NameWeight
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN24.60%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA17.23%
The Home Depot, Inc.HD5.97%
The TJX Companies, Inc.TJX4.40%
McDonald's CorporationMCD4.37%
Booking Holdings Inc.BKNG3.57%
Lowe's Companies, Inc.LOW3.35%
Starbucks CorporationSBUX2.71%
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc.ORLY1.92%
Marriott International, Inc.MAR1.88%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose XLC if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Choose XLC if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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