GCAD vs ITA: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Gabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF

GCADCNYSE Arca

iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

ITAACboe

Overlap

47.8%by weight

Expense ratio

ITA −0.53pt a year

GCAD0.90%ITA0.37%

Avg volume · 30D

ITA 120.2×the volume

GCAD6.21KITA747K

3Y return · a year

GCAD +2.6pt

GCAD+27.4%ITA+24.8%

GCAD vs ITA Performance

Oct 31, 2025 – Nov 2, 2026

+11.2%GCAD−0.3%ITA

Expense ratio: GCAD 0.90%; ITA 0.37%, better
Fund size: GCAD $45M; ITA $12.2B
1Y total return: GCAD +11.2%, better; ITA −0.3%
Yield (12M): GCAD 1.91%, better; ITA 0.26%
Holdings: GCAD 57; ITA 52
Avg volume (30D): GCAD 6.21K sh; ITA 747K sh, better
NAV per share: GCAD $49.94; ITA $209.66
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for GCAD, ITA, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	GCAD	ITA
Cost30% weight	F12	A80Higher
Mission25% weight	A79Higher	A76
Risk15% weight	A76Higher	B62
Tradability15% weight	C44	A96Higher
Holdings10% weight	B59Higher	D34
Durability5% weight	C53	A98Higher

Rank among Defense & Aerospace funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. GCAD and ITA are both graded against the same 25 Defense & Aerospace funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Defense & Aerospace⁠

Category · 25 funds

See all 25 ›

ITA ranks 2nd and GCAD 14th of 25 funds in the Defense & Aerospace Category.

Rank 1AXARState Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 78
Rank 2AITAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 74
Rank 3BFLDZTrueShares Patriot Defense ETFScore 62
Rank 14CDUTYU.S. Defense ETFScore 40
Rank 14CGCADGabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETFScore 40
Rank 14CWARU.S. Global Technology and Aerospace & Defense ETFScore 40

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

GCADCGabelli Commercial Aerospace and Defense ETF

ITAAiShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF

In short

GCAD A stock-picker's defense fund. Gabelli runs GCAD without a declared index, chasing total return with an emphasis on income, an unusual mandate in a corner of the market where index trackers set the rules.

ITA The 2006 original in aerospace and defense, and still the anchor fund of the category. It follows a market-cap-weighted index of U.S. aircraft, parts and weapons makers, so the big primes carry most of the weight.

Stated mandate

GCAD The Fund seeks a high level of total return, emphasizing income.

ITA The fund is designed to follow an index of U.S. equity companies focused on aerospace and defense.

Why people hold it

GCAD No index to follow. The mandate is total return with an income emphasis, so the portfolio reflects Gabelli's own calls rather than a benchmark's weighting rules.
Trading since 2022, so there is a multi-year live record in the aerospace and defense theme to judge, not a backtest.
The book stays on-theme: holdings line up closely with the commercial aerospace and defense mandate on the label, with little drift into loosely related names.

ITA Charges 0.37% a year, below the typical defense-fund fee and a whisker off the cheapest large rival, XAR at 0.35%.
Trading since 2006 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund: the long-standing incumbent in U.S. aerospace and defense.
The index weights by market cap but caps any single company's weight, so the biggest primes lead without swallowing the whole portfolio.spglobal.com
One of the strongest builds in a crowded defense peer group, with a plain-vanilla index mandate and quarterly payouts.

Worth knowing

GCAD Costs 0.90% a year, well above the defense-theme median of 0.50%. Index rivals XAR (0.35%) and ITA (0.37%) cover the sector for a fraction of that.
A small, thinly traded fund. Spreads tend to run wider than the big index names, and larger orders can push the price around.
Income sits in the objective, but cash reaches shareholders on an annual or semiannual schedule, not monthly.

ITA About 50 stocks, cap-weighted: a few primes drive most of the ride. XAR's modified equal weight spreads exposure further down the size ladder.ssga.com
One U.S. industry, running on two engines: government procurement and commercial aircraft demand. Narrower than a broad-market fund by design.ishares.com
Holds a representative sample of the index rather than every constituent, which can leave small gaps versus the benchmark.sec.gov

Full GCAD profile⁠

Full ITA profile⁠

GCAD vs ITA Holdings

How GCAD and ITA differ

Overlap by weight

47.8%

Shared holdings make up 90.4% of ITA and 75.2% of GCAD.

Level by level

Sector6 Sectors0.0%
Holdings33 in both47.8%
Countryby domicile95.1%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in GCAD and ITA, widest gap first
Sector	More in GCADMore in ITA	GCAD	ITA
Aerospace & Defense	ITA +99.9 points	0.0%	99.9%
Industrials	GCAD +90.5 points	90.5%	0.0%
Consumer Discretionary	GCAD +7.1 points	7.1%	0.0%
Communication	GCAD +1.4 points	1.4%	0.0%
Technology	GCAD +1.0 points	1.0%	0.0%
Leisure Products	ITA +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in GCAD and ITA, widest gap first
Country	More in GCADMore in ITA	GCAD	ITA
United States	ITA +4.9 points	95.1%	100.0%
Germany	GCAD +2.0 points	2.0%	0.0%
Canada	GCAD +1.2 points	1.2%	0.0%
United Kingdom	GCAD +0.7 points	0.7%	0.0%
Israel	GCAD +0.6 points	0.6%	0.0%
Japan	GCAD +0.4 points	0.4%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

GCAD50.6%
ITA76.3%

Securities held

GCAD57
ITA50

Asset class

GCAD: Equity
ITA: Equity

Holdings

Only in GCAD24
In both33
Only in ITA17

Only in GCAD

24 securities, 24.8% of GCAD by weight

Albany Intl Corp-Cl A7.19%
Crane Co3.03%
Treasury Bill 0 12/31/20262.04%
Innovative Solutions & Supp1.50%
Echostar Corp-A1.39%
CAE Inc1.19%
Space Exploration Techn-Cl A0.96%
Palantir Technologies Inc-A0.80%
Treasury Bill 0 1/21/20270.77%
Mtu Aero Engines AG0.76%
Leidos Holdings Inc0.72%
Elbit Systems Ltd0.63%
Renk Group AG0.62%
Treasury Bill 0 3/11/20270.54%
Rheinmetall AG0.51%
Park Aerospace Corp0.45%
Treasury Bill 0 1/14/20270.44%
Treasury Bill 0 3/18/20270.34%
Astronics Corp-Cl B0.33%
Aeroedge Co Ltd0.29%
Graham Corp0.11%
New Horizon Aircraft Ltd0.10%
Hawkeye 360 Inc0.08%
Net Current Assets<0.01%

Only in ITA

17 securities, 9.6% of ITA by weight

Axon Enterprise2.67%
Rocket Lab Corp2.31%
Ftai Aviation1.48%
Heico Class A1.38%
Vse Corp0.32%
Archer Aviation Class A0.21%
V2X0.19%
Arxis Class A0.19%
Beta Technologies Class A0.18%
Loar Holdings0.17%
Intuitive Machines Inc Class A0.13%
Voyager Technologies Class A0.11%
National Presto Industries Inc0.06%
Red Cat Holdings Inc0.05%
Sturm Ruger0.05%
Smith Wesson Brands Inc0.05%
Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc Shs C0.03%

Weight gaps

All 33 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in GCAD and ITA, widest gap first
Holding	More in GCADMore in ITA	GCAD	ITA
General ElectricGE	ITA +18.62 points	1.40%	20.02%
Rtx CorpRTX	ITA +12.36 points	4.86%	17.22%
Ducommun IncDCO	GCAD +4.40 points	4.57%	0.17%
Moog Inc-Class AMOG.A	GCAD +4.15 points	4.92%	0.77%
Hexcel CorpHXL	GCAD +3.69 points	4.14%	0.45%
Textron IncTXT	GCAD +2.90 points	4.03%	1.13%
Transdigm Group IncTDG	ITA +2.83 points	1.94%	4.77%
Mercury Systems IncMRCY	GCAD +2.45 points	2.78%	0.33%
Boeing Co/TheBA	ITA +2.24 points	4.59%	6.83%
General Dynamics CorpGD	ITA +2.14 points	2.81%	4.95%
Howmet Aerospace IncHWM	ITA +1.86 points	2.15%	4.01%
Astronics CorpATRO	GCAD +1.71 points	1.87%	0.16%
L3HARRIS Technologies IncLHX	GCAD +1.66 points	5.63%	3.97%
Honeywell Aerospace IncHONA	GCAD +1.18 points	4.93%	3.75%
Aar CorpAIR	GCAD +1.00 points	1.31%	0.31%
Redwire CorpRDW	GCAD +0.91 points	1.07%	0.16%
Northrop Grumman CorpNOC	ITA +0.81 points	4.25%	5.06%
Leonardo Drs IncDRS	GCAD +0.65 points	0.87%	0.22%
Bwx Technologies IncBWXT	ITA +0.57 points	0.35%	0.92%
Standardaero IncSARO	GCAD +0.42 points	0.82%	0.40%
Ati IncATI	GCAD +0.42 points	2.15%	1.73%
Cadre Holdings IncCDRE	GCAD +0.41 points	0.48%	0.07%
Firefly Aerospace IncFLY	GCAD +0.40 points	0.53%	0.13%
Karman Holdings IncKRMN	ITA +0.36 points	0.02%	0.38%
Curtiss-Wright CorpCW	GCAD +0.36 points	1.71%	1.35%
Carpenter TechnologyCRS	ITA +0.36 points	0.71%	1.08%
Woodward IncWWD	GCAD +0.30 points	1.68%	1.38%
Heico CorpHEI	GCAD +0.29 points	1.30%	1.01%
Kratos Defense & SecurityKTOS	ITA +0.19 points	0.40%	0.59%
Lockheed Martin CorpLMT	ITA +0.14 points	5.55%	5.69%
Huntington Ingalls IndustrieHII	ITA +0.12 points	0.84%	0.96%
York Space Systems IncYSS	GCAD +0.08 points	0.12%	0.04%
Aerovironment IncAVAV	GCAD +0.06 points	0.43%	0.37%

All GCAD holdings⁠All 50 ITA holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

GCAD vs ITA Cost

Overpaying GCAD vs ITA

$9,527

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

GCAD 0.90%
$17,040
ITA 0.37%
$7,513

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

GCAD 0.90%
ITA 0.37%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	GCAD	ITA	Overpaying
10	$1,593	$670	$923
20	$6,015	$2,590	$3,425
30	$17,040	$7,513	$9,527

Expense ratio

0.90%GCAD
0.37%ITA, cheaper

ITA0.37%GCAD0.90%

0.35%1.11%

Middle half of Defense & Aerospace funds
Median 0.50%

ITA 5th cheapest of 25 funds

GCAD 22nd cheapest of 25 funds

GCAD vs ITA Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 2, 2026

Yield (12M): GCAD 1.91%, better; ITA 0.26%
Payout (12M): GCAD $0.96; ITA $0.57
Last payment: GCAD $0.96; ITA $0.25
Ex-dividend: GCAD Dec 29, 2025; ITA Sep 15, 2026
Paid on: GCAD Jan 9, 2026; ITA Sep 18, 2026
Frequency: GCAD Annual; ITA Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

GCADAnnual · 3 paymentsAll GCAD payments⁠

ITAQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll ITA payments⁠

GCAD vs ITA Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: GCAD 17.3%, betterITA 18.5%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: GCAD 1.25, betterITA 1.06
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: GCAD −17.8%since Jan 2023ITA −20.0%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: GCAD 0.99ITA 0.98; Market = 1

GCAD and ITA in the news

All news⁠

News
GE Aerospace raises its 2026 profit forecast again
Oct 20, 2026ITA
News
Navy awards Raytheon an SM-6 contract valued at up to $24.4 billion
Oct 1, 2026ITA
News
Boeing beats Northrop for a Navy fighter development deal of more than $20 billion
Sep 29, 2026ITA
News
Turkish Airlines firms 100 Boeing 737 MAX jets, with deliveries from 2033
Sep 23, 2026ITA
Deep Dive
Defense & Aerospace ETFs nearly doubled in three years. September's losses came from different names
Sep 21, 2026ITA
Deep Dive
ITA fell with Boeing, SHLD rose with Palantir last week
Sep 20, 2026ITA

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