BOTZ vs ROBO Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
BOTZ (Global X Robotics & AI) and ROBO (ROBO Global Robotics & Automation) are both robotics/automation thematic ETFs with very different portfolio constructions — BOTZ uses market-cap weighting creating concentration in large holdings like NVIDIA and Intuitive Surgical, while ROBO uses expert-curated equal weighting across 80-100 robotics companies. BOTZ is cheaper; ROBO is more diversified with small-cap exposure.
BOTZ vs ROBO is cap-weighted robotics concentration (NVIDIA and large robotics leaders dominating in a cheaper ETF) versus expert-curated equal-weight robotics diversification (80-100 companies with equal influence in a more expensive ETF) — both betting on the robotics and automation secular growth theme with very different risk profiles.
BOTZ holds the edge across 3 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. ROBO has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+14.81% vs -8.02% for BOTZ).
- Want robotics and AI thematic exposure at a lower cost than ROBO (0.68% vs 0.95%), accepting market-cap concentration in large robotics companies like NVIDIA and Intuitive Surgical
- Value the Japan industrial automation exposure through FANUC, Keyence, and Yaskawa that complements U.S. AI chip and surgical robot positions
- Accept that NVIDIA's large weight in BOTZ means they're also making a significant bet on AI chip semiconductor leadership within the robotics/AI ETF
- Want diversified robotics exposure across 80-100 companies with equal weighting so no single large company dominates the portfolio's returns
- Value ROBO Global's expert domain specialist committee for curating genuine robotics and automation companies by technology subcategory
- Accept the higher expense ratio (0.95%) for broader equal-weight coverage that includes smaller pure-play robotics companies underrepresented in cap-weighted alternatives
| Metric | BOTZ | ROBO |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 24.4 | 26.8 |
| Latest closei | $33.74 | $77.30 |
| 1M returni | -2.57% | +0.06% |
| 3M returni | -5.04% | -2.63% |
| 6M returni | -8.04% | +0.23% |
| 1Y returni | -8.02% | +14.81% |
The ETF score weights long-term returns and risk-adjusted performance most heavily, but still rewards low expense ratios, larger fund size, and broader diversification — so it can favor low-cost, broad, mega-cap funds over smaller thematic or actively-managed funds even when the latter have delivered stronger returns.
How much would $10,000 be worth today if invested at the start of each period, with all dividends reinvested?
| Period | BOTZ | ROBO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $9.24K (-7.6%) started 2025-10-15 | $11.53K (+15.3%) started 2025-10-15 |
| 5Y ago | $9.22K (-7.8%) started 2021-10-15 | $12.02K (+20.2%) started 2021-10-15 |
| 10Y ago | $24.16K (+141.6%) started 2016-10-17 | $29.5K (+195.0%) started 2016-10-17 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | BOTZ | ROBO |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.68% | 0.95% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $3.33B | $2.02B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.50% | 0.36% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 33.40 | 28.41 |
| Betai | 1.54 | 1.45 |
| 52-week change | -8.02% | 14.81% |
| Metric | BOTZ | ROBO |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | -8.02% | +14.81% |
| 6M returni | -8.04% | +0.23% |
| 3M returni | -5.04% | -2.63% |
| 1M returni | -2.57% | +0.06% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | -0.36 | 0.48 |
| Betai | 1.54 | 1.45 |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.50% | 0.36% |
| 5Y CAGR | -1.86% | +3.50% |
Over the past year, BOTZ and ROBO have moved strongly in the same direction (correlation of 0.94), based on daily returns.
Lower drawdown and smaller single-period drops generally indicate a smoother ride, though they do not guarantee lower future risk.
| Period | Metric | BOTZ | ROBO |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | -8.02% | +14.81% |
| CAGRi | -8.03% | +14.82% | |
| Volatilityi | 26.32% | 26.79% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.36 | 0.48 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.50 | 0.69 | |
| Max drawdowni | 19.34% | 17.35% | |
| Current drawdowni | 18.91% | 14.43% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 8.15% | 5.78% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 9.94% | 7.57% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.24% | 5.87% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 10.01% | 11.31% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | -8.98% | +18.75% |
| CAGRi | -1.86% | +3.50% | |
| Volatilityi | 27.24% | 24.60% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | -0.10 | 0.08 | |
| Sortino ratioi | -0.14 | 0.11 | |
| Max drawdowni | 55.54% | 43.65% | |
| Current drawdowni | 18.91% | 14.43% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 24.55% | 19.70% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 28.10% | 22.40% | |
| Max daily dropi | 6.83% | 6.67% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 14.98% | 14.73% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +131.77% | +188.08% |
| CAGRi | +8.78% | +11.17% | |
| Volatilityi | 25.89% | 23.62% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.28 | 0.38 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.40 | 0.53 | |
| Max drawdowni | 55.54% | 43.65% | |
| Current drawdowni | 18.91% | 14.43% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 18.29% | 14.16% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 23.03% | 17.84% | |
| Max daily dropi | 12.41% | 11.16% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 21.63% | 20.08% |
| Category | BOTZ | ROBO |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | Global X Robotics & Artificial Intelligence ETF | Robo Global Robotics and Automation Index ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.68% | 0.95% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $3.33B | $2.02B |
| Dividend yieldi | 0.50% | 0.36% |
- Broad robotics and AI thematic exposure spanning industrial automation, AI chips, surgical robots, and autonomous systems in one ETF
- Japan industrial robot manufacturer exposure (FANUC, Keyence, Yaskawa) that is difficult to access through U.S.-only domestic ETFs
- NVIDIA weighting provides direct exposure to the AI chip infrastructure enabling machine learning and robotics applications
- Equal-weight methodology prevents any single company (like NVIDIA) from dominating the ETF's performance — every company has roughly equal influence on returns
- Expert-curated robotics classification using ROBO Global's domain specialist committee ensures companies are genuinely robotics/automation businesses rather than tangential plays
- Small and mid-cap exposure from equal weighting — ROBO includes smaller pure-play robotics companies that market-cap weighting would underweight
- High expense ratio (0.68%) for a passive thematic index fund — long-term holders pay significantly more than broad market ETFs
- Concentration in a few large holdings (NVIDIA, Intuitive Surgical) can skew performance — BOTZ tracks robots/AI but also tracks NVIDIA's outsized influence
- Thematic ETFs often own companies at elevated valuations when thematic investing is popular — robotics/AI excitement can price in optimistic futures, creating drawdown risk when sentiment shifts
- Highest expense ratio in the robotics ETF space (0.95%) — significantly more expensive than BOTZ (0.68%) and far more than broad market ETFs
- Equal weighting requires more frequent rebalancing and creates higher portfolio turnover, which generates capital gains distributions in taxable accounts
- 80-100 company diversification may dilute exposure to the highest-conviction robotics winners — equal weighting treats leading robotics companies the same as smaller, less proven ones
BOTZ vs ROBO: Which Robotics ETF Is the Better Buy?
On paper, BOTZ looks like the cheaper, more direct way to own the robotics and AI theme: a 0.68% expense ratio versus ROBO's 0.95%, a larger $3.31B asset base, and a higher dividend yield (0.49% vs 0.37%). But BOTZ's market-cap weighting means its returns are effectively a bet on a handful of mega-cap holdings — NVIDIA and Intuitive Surgical dominate the portfolio's swings, for better or worse.
That concentration has not paid off recently. Over the trailing year, ROBO's equal-weight basket of 80-100 robotics and automation companies returned +27.38% versus just +6.00% for BOTZ, and ROBO's 1-year Sharpe ratio (0.87) is more than four times BOTZ's (0.18) — meaning ROBO delivered far more return per unit of risk. The gap holds over longer horizons too: ROBO's 10-year CAGR (+11.85%) outpaces BOTZ's (+9.72%), and ROBO's 5-year max drawdown (43.65%) has been shallower than BOTZ's (55.54%).
The takeaway isn't that cap-weighting is inherently wrong — it's that BOTZ's specific concentration in a few large names has underperformed ROBO's broader, expert-curated diversification across smaller pure-play robotics companies during this stretch. Investors paying a lower fee for BOTZ have gotten weaker risk-adjusted returns, while ROBO's higher expense ratio has been offset by materially stronger performance.
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