State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU)
$42.21+1.34%close of Oct 16, 2026
State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by SPDR (State Street). This fund owns the utility companies in the S&P 500, such as electric, gas and water companies. It charges 0.08% a year. From December 1998 to October 2026 it returned about 7.4% a year, and its worst drop was −52.3%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.08%
- about $8 on $10,000
- 1-year return
- −5.5%
- to Oct 16, 2026
- Return per year
- 7.4%
- since December 1998
- Worst drop
- −52.3%
- since 1998
- Below its high
- −9.7%
- now
- Volatility
- 19.2%
- yearly swings
- Issuer
- SPDR (State Street)
- Tracks
- Utilities Select Sector Index
- Started trading
- December 16, 1998
- Type
- US stocks, ETF
- Holdings
- 31 holdings as of October 15, 2026
- Expense ratio
- 0.08% a year
How has XLU done since 1998?#
From December 1998 to October 2026, XLU returned about 7.4% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 8.7% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $73,370 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Period | XLU | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −6.5% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −7.7% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 0.9% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | −5.5% | 16.8% |
| 3 years per year | 15.5% | 22.0% |
| 5 years per year | 8.4% | 12.8% |
| 10 years per year | 9.3% | 15.4% |
| Since 1998 per year | 7.4% | 8.7% |
Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.
XLU returns by month and year#
XLU rose in 211 of its 335 months (63%). Its best month was September 2000, at 13.2%. Its worst was July 2002, at −14.7%.
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 0.9% | 1.3 | 10.4 | −3.2 | 2.1 | −5.2 | 2.7 | −2.2 | −4.8 | −5.9 | 7.0 | ||
| 2025 | 16.0% | 2.9 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 3.8 | 0.4 | 4.9 | −1.6 | 4.1 | 2.2 | 1.7 | −5.1 |
| 2024 | 23.3% | −3.0 | 1.1 | 6.6 | 1.7 | 9.0 | −5.5 | 6.8 | 4.8 | 6.6 | −1.1 | 3.8 | −8.0 |
| 2023 | −7.2% | −2.0 | −5.9 | 4.9 | 1.9 | −5.9 | 1.6 | 2.5 | −6.1 | −5.6 | 1.3 | 5.1 | 1.9 |
| 2022 | 1.4% | −3.3 | −1.9 | 10.4 | −4.3 | 4.3 | −4.9 | 5.5 | 0.5 | −11.3 | 1.9 | 7.0 | −0.5 |
| 2021 | 17.7% | −0.9 | −6.1 | 10.6 | 4.2 | −2.3 | −2.2 | 4.3 | 3.9 | −6.1 | 4.7 | −1.7 | 9.7 |
| 2020 | 0.5% | 6.8 | −9.9 | −10.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 | −4.7 | 7.8 | −2.6 | 1.1 | 5.1 | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| 2019 | 25.9% | 3.5 | 4.1 | 2.8 | 0.9 | −0.8 | 3.2 | −0.1 | 5.1 | 4.3 | −0.8 | −1.9 | 3.3 |
| 2018 | 3.9% | −3.1 | −3.9 | 3.8 | 2.0 | −1.1 | 2.8 | 1.6 | 1.3 | −0.6 | 2.0 | 3.5 | −4.0 |
| 2017 | 12.0% | 1.3 | 5.3 | −0.1 | 0.8 | 4.1 | −2.7 | 2.4 | 3.3 | −2.8 | 3.9 | 2.7 | −6.1 |
| 2016 | 16.1% | 4.9 | 1.9 | 8.0 | −2.4 | 1.5 | 7.6 | −0.7 | −5.5 | 0.4 | 0.9 | −5.4 | 4.9 |
| 2015 | −4.9% | 2.3 | −6.4 | −1.0 | −0.5 | 0.6 | −6.0 | 6.1 | −3.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | −2.1 | 2.1 |
| 2014 | 28.7% | 3.0 | 3.5 | 3.4 | 4.2 | −1.1 | 4.4 | −6.8 | 4.9 | −1.9 | 8.0 | 1.2 | 3.6 |
| 2013 | 13.1% | 4.8 | 2.3 | 5.4 | 6.0 | −9.0 | 0.9 | 4.3 | −5.0 | 1.2 | 3.8 | −1.9 | 0.9 |
| 2012 | 1.0% | −3.6 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 4.1 | 2.5 | −4.1 | 1.2 | 1.4 | −4.3 | 0.0 |
| 2011 | 19.6% | 1.2 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 4.1 | 2.1 | −0.1 | −0.9 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 3.7 | 1.0 | 3.3 |
| 2010 | 5.3% | −4.8 | −1.3 | 2.7 | 2.6 | −5.5 | −0.7 | 7.5 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 1.1 | −3.0 | 3.1 |
| 2009 | 11.7% | −0.2 | −12.5 | 1.9 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 1.4 | −3.2 | 4.8 | 5.5 |
| 2008 | −28.9% | −7.3 | −4.1 | 1.6 | 5.1 | 3.6 | −0.7 | −6.4 | −1.1 | −11.0 | −13.0 | 4.2 | −2.4 |
| 2007 | 18.4% | −0.3 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 0.5 | −4.7 | −4.0 | 1.6 | 3.8 | 6.7 | 0.7 | −0.2 |
| 2006 | 20.9% | 2.4 | 1.3 | −4.6 | 1.6 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 4.8 | 2.8 | −1.4 | 5.3 | 2.7 | 0.9 |
| 2005 | 16.4% | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 3.1 | −0.1 | 6.0 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 4.2 | −6.4 | −0.2 | 0.9 |
| 2004 | 23.6% | 2.1 | 1.9 | 1.1 | −4.3 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 4.1 | 0.6 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 2.5 |
| 2003 | 26.5% | −2.3 | −5.3 | 5.1 | 8.6 | 10.1 | 1.4 | −6.7 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 6.6 |
| 2002 | −28.8% | −3.6 | −0.2 | 5.3 | −6.1 | −0.8 | −6.7 | −14.7 | 4.0 | −12.1 | −2.3 | 2.9 | 3.2 |
| 2001 | −13.0% | −5.6 | 2.1 | −1.4 | 4.8 | 0.7 | −5.0 | −0.9 | −3.6 | −1.0 | −5.3 | −1.3 | 3.2 |
| 2000 | 22.5% | −1.8 | −12.1 | 10.9 | 6.6 | −0.2 | −3.4 | 1.6 | 3.9 | 13.2 | 5.8 | 0.0 | −1.4 |
| 1999 | −4.4% | −2.5 | −2.8 | −6.3 | 9.7 | 1.2 | 4.1 | 0.3 | −4.8 | 2.5 | 0.5 | −3.3 | −2.2 |
| 1998 | 1.4% | 1.4 |
Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.
How risky is XLU compared with the S&P 500?#
Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.
- Beta 0.44. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, XLU tended to move about 0.44%.
- Correlation 0.44. XLU moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, XLU rose 64% as much on average. In months it fell, XLU fell 58% as much.
| Measure | XLU | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| Return per year | 8.6% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 17.4% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −25.3% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.56 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.79 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.34 | 0.52 |
Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.
Is XLU above its 200-day average?#
XLU closed 3.6% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds XLU only above that average would be out of it today.
- vs 200-day average
- −3.6%
- below it
- 50-day vs 200-day
- −4.4%
- trend falling
- vs 52-week high
- −9.7%
- high of $46.75
A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for XLU and backtest it in a minute.
What was XLU’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. XLU’s worst fall was −52.3%, from December 13, 2000 to October 9, 2002. It got back to that high on February 14, 2005. On October 16, 2026 it was 9.7% below its highest close.
| Drop | From the high | To the bottom | Back to the high |
|---|---|---|---|
| −52.3% | Dec 13, 2000 | Oct 9, 200222 months | Feb 14, 20052.4 years |
| −46.5% | Dec 10, 2007 | Mar 9, 200915 months | Jun 14, 20123.3 years |
| −36.1% | Feb 18, 2020 | Mar 23, 202034 days | Aug 5, 202116 months |
| −25.3% | Sep 12, 2022 | Oct 2, 202313 months | Aug 1, 202410 months |
| −24.0% | Jul 21, 1999 | Feb 25, 20007 months | Sep 8, 20006 months |
Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
What does XLU hold?#
This fund owns the utility companies in the S&P 500, such as electric, gas and water companies. These businesses sell things people use every day. Because it holds only one sector, it is less spread out than the whole market.
It tracks the Utilities Select Sector Index. It had 31 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).
What is the XLU expense ratio?#
XLU charges 0.08% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.08% fee comes to about $8 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 60% charge more.
You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.
Which Tactfolio strategies hold XLU?#
3 classic strategies hold XLU at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.
- Faber sector rotation (the three strongest US sectors), by Mebane Faber, 2010
- Beta Rotation Strategy (utilities vs. the market), by Charles Bilello and Michael Gayed, 2014
- Inflation Compass (Varadi’s growth and inflation model), by David Varadi, 2026
How does XLU compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for XLU:
- VPU: Vanguard Utilities ETF, 0.09% a year
- XLP: State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
- VDC: Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF, 0.09% a year
- SCHH: Schwab U.S. REIT ETF, 0.07% a year
See all 7 XLU alternatives, compared on the same dates as XLU.
Test XLU in your own rules#
Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add XLU, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.
The details#
Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for XLU and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.
Fund facts come from SPDR (State Street). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of XLU?#
XLU charges 0.08% a year, according to SPDR (State Street) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $8 a year for every $10,000 you hold.
When did XLU start trading?#
XLU started trading on December 16, 1998. It is run by SPDR (State Street).
What does XLU track?#
XLU tracks the Utilities Select Sector Index. This fund owns the utility companies in the S&P 500, such as electric, gas and water companies.
How much has XLU returned per year?#
From December 1998 to October 2026, XLU returned about 7.4% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −52.3%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Is XLU above its 200-day moving average?#
On October 16, 2026, XLU closed 3.6% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.
Which strategies use XLU?#
3 of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold XLU, including Faber sector rotation (the three strongest US sectors), Beta Rotation Strategy (utilities vs. the market), Inflation Compass (Varadi’s growth and inflation model).