Compare/Updated Oct 26, 2026, refreshed every trading day
XAR vs ITA
State Street SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF against iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF: 4 years of returns, risk and today’s technical read, from Kavout’s own data.
XAR did better over the period: $1,000 invested on October 28, 2022 grew to $2,084, versus $1,937 for ITA, a difference of $147. XAR also had stronger recent performance across every listed period except three years, when ITA narrowly led 88.9% to 88.7%. The trade-off was higher risk: XAR’s 12-month volatility was 29.2% versus 23.0% for ITA, and its worst drawdown was -26.6% versus -20.0%. XAR’s expense ratio was slightly lower at 0.35% versus 0.38%, while ITA had larger fund assets of $12B versus $4B. Because daily returns were highly correlated at 0.918, diversification benefits between them were limited. XAR offered superior cumulative and recent returns, but ITA delivered a smoother ride and smaller losses.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($266); 50-day at $245.
- RSI 27, oversold. Supertrend says sell. ADX 55, so the trend is strong.
- Price is below its 200-day average ($229); 50-day at $219.
- RSI 32, neutral. Supertrend says sell. ADX 42, so the trend is strong.
Head to head
Which has returned more, XAR or ITA?
XAR beat ITA in 23 of the last 48 months; ITA won the other 25. The typical monthly gap was 1.50 points.
Total return by period
Which is riskier?
Both: Aug 14, 2026 to Oct 23, 2026
- 0.918
- correlation of daily moves, 4 years
- 1.10
- XAR move per 1% in ITA
- 0.922
- correlation, last 12 months
Month by month
Of the last 48 months. The typical gap was 1.50 points.
When did they diverge?
| Month | XAR | ITA | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2024 | +14.8% | +7.7% | +7.06 pts |
| July 2026 | -6.7% | -1.1% | -5.53 pts |
| January 2026 | +13.2% | +8.2% | +4.91 pts |
| January 2023 | +7.4% | +2.5% | +4.86 pts |
Where the numbers come from. 1000 daily adjusted closes per fund from the Kavout market-data API, dividends included. Signals and indicators are Kavout’s own, refreshed nightly. Every figure is calculated from those adjusted closes.
Holdings and fees
What do you actually own with XAR and ITA?
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