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Launched · SEC filings

State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

XLUNYSE ArcaSPDRA

$43.67+0.24 (+0.55%)

At close: Nov 2, 2026, 4:00 PM ET

A75/ 100

Rank 2 of 10 in Utilities (Broad)

A75/100Rank 2 of 10inUtilities (Broad)
Intraday session: up, 79 prints from 43.43 to 43.67. Range 43.27 to 43.78. Use the arrow keys to read each point.43.3043.5043.6043.8010 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM
Expense ratio
0.08%
Fund size
$24.2B
1Y total return
+0.8%
Yield · Last 12 months
2.78%
Holdings
34
Avg volume · 30D
23.9M sh
52W range
low $39.03high $47.80
Launched
Filings
SEC EDGAR

The ETF.net XLU Grade

A

Score 75 out of 100

Category
Utilities (Broad)⁠
Rank
2 of 10
Six-pillar profile for XLU. Scores out of 100: Cost 90, Risk 40, Mission 87, Tradability 90, Holdings 36, Durability 76. Strongest: Cost (90). Weakest: Holdings (36). No single pillar leads.

Score 75 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.

  • Cost

    The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.
    A90 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 10

  • Mission

    Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.
    A87 out of 100
    Rank 5 of 6

  • Risk

    How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.
    C40 out of 100
    Rank 9 of 10

  • Tradability

    How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.
    A90 out of 100
    Rank 1 of 10

  • Holdings

    How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.
    D36 out of 100
    Rank 8 of 10

  • Durability

    Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.
    A76 out of 100
    Rank 2 of 10

Our read on XLU

ETF.net Research

In short

AOne of the original sector ETFs (1998), XLU is the plain way to own the S&P 500's utilities: roughly 30 electric, gas and water names, eight basis points a year, and one of the deepest trading markets in the category.

Stated mandate

The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Utilities Select Sector Index.

Why people hold it

  • 0.08% a year, against a utilities-fund median closer to 0.37%. Only FUTY matches it; VPU sits a basis point behind.
  • Among the most actively traded funds in its category, with a market that has been running since 1998.
  • A straight index build: it holds the utilities slice of the S&P 500 and tracks that index closely. Pays quarterly.ssga.com
  • Cheap, liquid and tightly run, it stands among the strongest implementations in the broad utilities group.

Worth knowing

  • About 30 names, all S&P 500 members. The largest utilities carry real weight, and mid and small caps sit outside the mandate; FUTY and VPU cast a wider net.ssga.com
  • One sector, one country. It moves with US utilities rather than the broad market, and that concentration cuts both ways.
  • Cash lands quarterly, not monthly, which matters if you are timing income.

XLU Performance

Launched Dec 16, 1998

Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.

XLU$10,081
SPY tracks large US stocks. It provides market context, rather than representing this fund’s strategy, asset class or investment benchmark.$11,146
Oct 31, 2025 to Nov 2, 2026. XLU $10,081. SPY $11,146. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$9,000$10,000$11,000Oct 2025May 2026Nov 2026

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

Returns run to the Nov 2, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.

Trailing total return for XLU. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
PeriodXLU
Year to date+4.4%
1 month+9.6%
3 months−0.8%
1 year+0.8%
3 yearsper year+15.8%
5 yearsper year+8.6%
10 yearsper year+9.6%

With distributions reinvested.

Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.

Annual total returns for XLU
YearReturn barXLU
2026 YTD+4.4%
2025+16.0%
2024+23.3%
2023−7.2%
2022+1.4%
2021+17.7%
2020+0.6%

XLU in the news

XLU Dividends

Adds up every distribution paid per share over the last 12 months, divided by the last completed close. Distributions are counted by ex-date. Data through Nov 2, 2026.
2.78%Last 12 months
Payout per share
$1.21Last 12 months
Last payment
$0.30 per share
Paid on
Shares bought on or after this date do not qualify for this distribution.
Frequency
Quarterly

Distribution history

2017–2026

One bar per payment. 39 payments from 2017 to 2026 YTD. Mar 17, 2017 $0.19; Jun 16, 2017 $0.22; Sep 15, 2017 $0.21; Dec 15, 2017 $0.26; Mar 16, 2018 $0.19; Jun 15, 2018 $0.22; Sep 21, 2018 $0.24; Dec 21, 2018 $0.23; Mar 15, 2019 $0.22; Jun 21, 2019 $0.24; Sep 20, 2019 $0.25; Dec 20, 2019 $0.25; Mar 23, 2020 $0.24; Jun 22, 2020 $0.24; Sep 21, 2020 $0.25; Dec 21, 2020 $0.26; Mar 22, 2021 $0.23; Jun 21, 2021 $0.25; Sep 20, 2021 $0.25; Dec 20, 2021 $0.27; Mar 21, 2022 $0.23; Jun 21, 2022 $0.26; Sep 19, 2022 $0.25; Dec 19, 2022 $0.29; Mar 20, 2023 $0.24; Jun 20, 2023 $0.27; Sep 18, 2023 $0.26; Dec 18, 2023 $0.30; Mar 18, 2024 $0.26; Jun 24, 2024 $0.28; Sep 23, 2024 $0.27; Dec 23, 2024 $0.31; Mar 24, 2025 $0.28; Jun 23, 2025 $0.28; Sep 22, 2025 $0.28; Dec 22, 2025 $0.32; Mar 23, 2026 $0.31; Jun 22, 2026 $0.28; Sep 21, 2026 $0.30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.2017201820192020202120222023202420252026YTD
Ex-datePay dateAmount per share
Sep 21, 2026Sep 23, 2026$0.30
Jun 22, 2026Jun 24, 2026$0.28
Mar 23, 2026Mar 25, 2026$0.31
Dec 22, 2025Dec 24, 2025$0.32
Sep 22, 2025Sep 24, 2025$0.28
Jun 23, 2025Jun 25, 2025$0.28
Mar 24, 2025Mar 26, 2025$0.28
Dec 23, 2024Dec 26, 2024$0.31
Sep 23, 2024Sep 25, 2024$0.27
Jun 24, 2024Jun 26, 2024$0.28
Mar 18, 2024Mar 21, 2024$0.26
Dec 18, 2023Dec 21, 2023$0.30

See all 111 payments⁠

$10,000 in XLU 10 years ago paid $4,254 in dividends.⁠

XLU Risk

Risk pillarC40 out of 100Rank 9 of 10 in Utilities (Broad)
How much the fund’s monthly returns vary, scaled to a year.
16.0%
Annualised · 36 months to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: standard deviation

The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.

Return above 3-month US Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
0.77
vs 3-month T-bills · to Oct 2026
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio

Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.

Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.

Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.

The largest fall from a peak to the low that followed.
−25.3%
Trough Oct 2023
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown

The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.

Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.

How strongly the fund’s returns move with its asset-class index.
0.49
vs its asset-class index
How it’s calculated: beta

The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.

FMP measures it over up to five years of monthly returns.

XLU Cost

Cheapest in Utilities (Broad)

$1,689

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

  • XLU 0.08%

    $1,689

$10,000
30 years

Cost over time

  • XLU 0.08%
One line per fund, from year 0 to year 30. Use the arrow keys to read each point.$0$500$1K$1.5K$2K051015202530XLU $1,689

Year by year

YearXLU
10$147
20$575
30$1,689

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