State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF
XLB SectorUpdated: Jul 4, 2026, 21:17 UTC
Key Metrics
Top 10 Holdings
| Holding | Ticker | Weight | Bar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linde PLC | LIN | 14.15% | |
| Newmont Corp | NEM | 7.29% | |
| Nucor Corp | NUE | 6.35% | |
| Freeport-McMoRan Inc | FCX | 5.75% | |
| Vulcan Materials Co | VMC | 4.58% | |
| CRH PLC | CRH | 4.56% | |
| Air Products and Chemicals Inc | APD | 4.38% | |
| Steel Dynamics Inc | STLD | 4.37% | |
| Corteva Inc | CTVA | 4.34% | |
| Sherwin-Williams Co | SHW | 4.26% |
Sector Allocation
About This ETF
The State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB) is a Sector ETF with an expense ratio (TER) of 0.08% and $7.3B in assets under management., with its largest holdings being Linde PLC, Newmont Corp, Nucor Corp. The ETF currently yields 1.71% in dividends. Year-to-date, XLB has returned +13.7%. With an expense ratio of just 0.08%, it is one of the cheapest ETFs in its category.
In seeking to track the performance of the index, the fund employs a replication strategy. It generally invests substantially all, but at least 95%, of its total assets in the securities comprising the index. The index includes securities of companies from the following industries: chemicals; metals and mining; paper and forest products; containers and packaging; and construction materials. The fund is non-diversified.
FAQ — XLB
What is the TER of XLB (State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF)?
XLB has a Total Expense Ratio (TER) of 0.08 % per year. That sits at the sector category median (0.08 % across 13 peer ETFs). The TER is deducted directly from the fund and lowers your effective return.
What return has XLB delivered?
Performance for XLB: YTD: +13.70 % · 3-year p.a.: +9.82 % · 5-year p.a.: +6.74 %. Over 5 years, XLB underperforms the sector category median of +7.03 % by -0.29 pp. Past performance is no guarantee of future returns.
What are the top holdings of XLB?
The five largest positions in XLB are: LIN, NEM, NUE, FCX, VMC. The full holdings list is updated daily on this page.
Does XLB pay dividends?
XLB has a current dividend yield of 1.71 %. Distributing ETFs pay this out in cash; accumulating versions reinvest it inside the fund. Check the share class on your broker before buying.
Where can I buy or set up a savings plan for XLB?
XLB is available at most major brokers. For a free monthly savings plan from €1, look at Trade Republic, Scalable Capital or Flatex. The broker comparison on this site shows fees, free-savings-plan ETFs and execution exchanges side by side.
What the State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF is
The State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (ticker XLB) tracks the materials sector of the S&P 500 – chemicals, metals & mining, paper & forest products, packaging and construction materials. With around “$7.3B” in assets and a very low expense ratio of 0.08%, it offers low-cost access to a cyclical, narrowly defined slice of the market. Its largest holding is Linde at roughly 14%. For investors who want focused exposure to industrial commodities and economically sensitive demand, XLB is a targeted instrument.
Performance and its drivers
According to the data sheet, the year-to-date return is 11.86%, the annualised three-year return is 12.49% and the five-year return is 5.29%. The softer five-year figure reflects the sector’s pronounced cyclicality: materials companies depend heavily on the economic cycle, industrial production, construction activity and commodity prices. The fund currently trades at 77% of its 52-week range (high $54.14, low $42.03). Key drivers include chemical majors such as Linde alongside mining and building-materials names like Newmont, Freeport-McMoRan and Vulcan Materials. The dividend yield is around 1.7%. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Risk profile
As a pure sector ETF, XLB concentrates 87.58% in materials – a pronounced single-sector concentration with no cross-industry diversification. The fund is also non-diversified: Linde alone accounts for around 14%, so individual names carry meaningful weight. Materials stocks are highly cyclical and sensitive to economic downturns, commodity prices and demand from China.
- Concentration risk from a few large positions
- Cyclical risk when industrial and construction demand weakens
- Currency risk: the fund is denominated in US dollars – for euro-area investors a weaker dollar can erode returns, while a stronger dollar can enhance them.
Who it suits
XLB fits investors with a clear market view who want to complement a broadly diversified core portfolio with a tactical or strategic tilt toward the materials sector. It is appropriate for a medium-to-long horizon, a higher risk tolerance and an understanding of economic cycles.
It is less suitable as a sole core holding: investors seeking broad diversification across all industries are better served by a global or S&P 500 ETF. Safety-oriented investors who avoid price swings should also weigh the high cyclicality and the currency risk before investing. This is not investment advice.
How it compares to peer ETFs
Within materials sector ETFs, there are alternatives from other issuers:
- Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW) – broader, holding many more constituents, also with a low expense ratio and lower single-name concentration than XLB.
- iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF (IYM) – also focused on U.S. materials, but with a higher expense ratio and a different index methodology.
- iShares MSCI Global Metals & Mining Producers ETF (PICK) – globally oriented and more concentrated in mining, hence even more sensitive to commodity prices.
XLB stands out for deep liquidity and very low costs, but in return it leans more heavily on a few large holdings.
Where can I buy XLB?
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