XLP
State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF
#10 of 11 in US Sectors by own-history percentile (high → low)
Relative to SPY
Relative price history
XLP ÷ SPY, 10-year range, as of Jul 17, 2026
How the reading moved
These changes re-score an older XLP÷SPY ratio against today's 10-year window, so they show whether the relative price has drifted toward the highs or lows of its own history — not a peer ranking and not a return forecast.
- About one week: +2.5 pts (from 0.9% on Jun 30, 2026 to 3.4% now)
- About one month: +3.1 pts (from 0.3% on May 29, 2026 to 3.4% now)
US Sectors
Where this sits among peers
US Sectors · XLP highlighted · same axes as the category chart on the home page
Top holdings
Holdings snapshot as of Jul 17, 2026.
What moves this
XLP has historically carried a valuation premium for the stability of its earnings, and that premium tends to compress specifically when growth-oriented sectors are capturing investor attention — so a low relative-price reading here often coincides with strength elsewhere in the market, not with any problem in staples earnings.
FAQ
Why would staples look 'cheap' even when the sector's earnings are fine?
The sector's premium for stability shrinks when investors are willing to pay up for growth elsewhere — that's a shift in what the market is paying for, not a change in staples fundamentals.
Is consumer staples a defensive sector?
Historically its earnings hold up better than average in a downturn, which is part of why it usually trades at a premium rather than a discount to the market.
Does inflation affect this sector differently than others?
Staples companies generally have more pricing power to pass through input-cost inflation than cyclical sectors do, though margins can still compress during sharp cost spikes.
US Sectors
Related in this category
- XLBState Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETFNear lows (3.7%)
- XLUState Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETFNear lows (4.3%)
- XLREState Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETFNear lows (5.2%)
- XLVState Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETFNear lows (6%)
- XLYState Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR ETFNear lows (0.5%)
- XLFState Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETFNear lows (11.5%)