XLV vs IBB Stock Comparison: AI Score, Valuation, Performance and Upside
XLV and IBB both provide healthcare sector exposure, but at very different levels of focus and volatility. XLV is a diversified healthcare sector fund covering pharma, managed care, devices, and biotech with defensive characteristics; IBB is a concentrated biotech-only fund more sensitive to clinical trial outcomes, M&A, and the innovation cycle. XLV is appropriate for defensive healthcare allocation; IBB is for investors making a specific bet on biotech.
XLV vs IBB is a choice between defensive broad healthcare diversification and concentrated biotech innovation exposure — XLV provides recession resilience and lower volatility, while IBB provides higher return potential in biotech bull cycles at significantly higher cost and risk.
XLV holds the edge across 4 of 5 key metrics in this comparison. IBB has delivered stronger 1-year price return (+34.41% vs +30.11% for XLV).
- prefer broad defensive healthcare sector exposure across pharma, managed care, devices, and biotech
- value the very low 0.09% expense ratio for efficient healthcare sector allocation
- want recession-resistant equity exposure from inelastic medical demand across all healthcare subsectors
- are comfortable with managed care and drug pricing regulatory risk as the primary policy headwinds
- prefer pure-play biotech sector exposure to capture FDA approvals, clinical trial breakthroughs, and M&A premiums
- value broad biotech coverage (250+ names) including small-cap pipeline companies alongside large commercial biotechs
- want exposure to the biotechnology innovation cycle specifically, without pharmaceutical or managed care dilution
- are comfortable paying 0.45% expense ratio and accepting higher volatility for concentrated biotech sector exposure
| Metric | XLV | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| ETF scorei | 27.4 | 27.4 |
| Latest closei | $184.60 | $213.79 |
| 1M returni | +11.08% | +4.14% |
| 3M returni | +14.22% | +15.00% |
| 6M returni | +28.60% | +25.66% |
| 1Y returni | +30.11% | +34.41% |
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 | XLV | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y ago | $13.21K (+32.1%) started 2025-11-03 | $13.63K (+36.3%) started 2025-11-03 |
| 5Y ago | $16.1K (+61.0%) started 2021-11-03 | $13.31K (+33.1%) started 2021-11-03 |
| 10Y ago | $39.65K (+296.5%) started 2016-11-03 | $27.35K (+173.5%) started 2016-11-03 |
Hypothetical — past performance does not guarantee future results.
| Metric | XLV | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratioi | 0.08% | 0.44% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $43.39B | $11.2B |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.52% | 0.16% |
| Trailing P/Ei | 32.81 | 26.92 |
| Betai | 0.51 | 0.73 |
| 52-week change | 30.11% | 34.41% |
| Metric | XLV | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| 1Y returni | +30.11% | +34.41% |
| 6M returni | +28.60% | +25.66% |
| 3M returni | +14.22% | +15.00% |
| 1M returni | +11.08% | +4.14% |
| 1Y Sharpe ratio | 1.41 | 1.28 |
| Betai | 0.51 | 0.73 |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.52% | 0.16% |
| 5Y CAGR | +8.16% | +5.62% |
Over the past year, XLV and IBB have moved moderately in the same direction (correlation of 0.69), 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 | XLV | IBB |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | Growthi | +29.93% | +36.05% |
| CAGRi | +30.05% | +36.19% | |
| Volatilityi | 16.46% | 22.82% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 1.41 | 1.28 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 2.37 | 2.01 | |
| Max drawdowni | 10.47% | 9.63% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.15% | 1.87% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 3.46% | 3.14% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 4.55% | 3.86% | |
| Max daily dropi | 2.52% | 3.01% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 4.68% | 5.22% | |
| 5Y | Growthi | +48.01% | +31.39% |
| CAGRi | +8.16% | +5.62% | |
| Volatilityi | 15.29% | 22.42% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.30 | 0.16 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.43 | 0.22 | |
| Max drawdowni | 17.11% | 35.69% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.15% | 1.87% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 5.82% | 16.06% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 7.08% | 18.16% | |
| Max daily dropi | 5.48% | 5.77% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 8.36% | 12.64% | |
| 10Y | Growthi | +230.55% | +166.51% |
| CAGRi | +12.71% | +10.30% | |
| Volatilityi | 16.77% | 23.22% | |
| Sharpe ratioi | 0.53 | 0.35 | |
| Sortino ratioi | 0.76 | 0.50 | |
| Max drawdowni | 28.40% | 39.82% | |
| Current drawdowni | 0.15% | 1.87% | |
| Avg drawdowni | 4.57% | 13.56% | |
| Ulcer Indexi | 6.07% | 17.06% | |
| Max daily dropi | 9.86% | 8.96% | |
| Max wkly dropi | 13.20% | 18.45% |
| Category | XLV | IBB |
|---|---|---|
| Fund name | State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF | iShares Biotechnology ETF |
| Type | ETF | ETF |
| Expense ratioi | 0.08% | 0.44% |
| Total assets (AUM)i | $43.39B | $11.2B |
| Dividend yieldi | 1.52% | 0.16% |
- Broadest healthcare sector coverage (pharma, managed care, devices, biotech, services) reduces single-subsector concentration risk
- 0.09% expense ratio is one of the lowest sector ETF fees, minimizing cost drag
- Defensive healthcare sector typically outperforms in recessions and market downturns due to inelastic medical demand
- Pure biotech exposure means IBB captures the full innovation cycle from small-cap pipeline to large-cap commercial biotechs
- 250+ holdings provides broad biotech diversification versus speculative single-stock biotech positions
- Large-cap commercial biotech holdings (Amgen, Gilead, Vertex) provide revenue stability alongside pipeline optionality
- Drug pricing regulation and Medicare negotiation policy create legislative risk that can depress pharma stock valuations
- Managed care companies face medical cost ratio pressure, and ACA/Medicaid policy uncertainty creates regulatory headwinds
- Biotech trial failures in large XLV holdings (e.g., AbbVie, Regeneron) can impact the fund meaningfully
- 0.45% expense ratio is 5x more expensive than XLV's 0.09%
- Biotech-only focus creates more volatility than XLV's diversified healthcare exposure
- IBB has no managed care, device, or pharma exposure — significant parts of the healthcare sector returns are missed
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