Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) Valuation
XLB valuation today
Holdings combined · company data as of Oct 26, 2026- P/E (TTM)
- 37.9 trailing earnings
- Forward P/E
- 15.4 analyst estimates
- Price / sales
- 1.83
- Price / book
- 2.96
- EV / EBITDA
- 13.7
- Earnings yield
- 2.64% inverse of P/E
- Dividend yield
- 1.96% of the holdings
- Return on equity
- 7.8% combined
- Net margin
- 4.8% combined
- Beta
- 0.93 weighted, vs S&P 500
XLB valuation vs other stock ETFs
| ETF | P/E | Fwd P/E | P/S | P/B | Div. yield | ROE | Net margin | Loss-makers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLB | 37.9 | 15.4 | 1.83 | 2.96 | 1.96% | 7.8% | 4.8% | 15.2% |
| SPY | 25.9 | 19.9 | 3.67 | 5.47 | 1.08% | 21.1% | 14.2% | 1.9% |
| QQQ | 34.2 | 23.4 | 5.93 | 9.27 | 0.58% | 27.1% | 17.4% | 6.9% |
| DIA | 20.9 | 18.4 | 3.16 | 5.52 | 1.55% | 26.4% | 15.1% | 0.0% |
| VTI | 28.2 | 19.4 | 3.31 | 5.00 | 1.07% | 17.7% | 11.8% | 4.6% |
| IWM | n/m | 13.9 | 1.25 | 2.03 | 1.38% | −1.7% | −1.0% | 28.1% |
Same method for every fund. n/m = not meaningful (combined trailing earnings below zero or close to it). Loss-makers = weight of holdings with negative trailing earnings.
XLB valuation by sector
| Sector | Weight | P/E | Fwd P/E | P/S | P/B | Div. yield | ROE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic Materials | 83.2% | 33.6 | 16.0 | 2.26 | 3.29 | 1.55% | 9.8% |
| Consumer Cyclical | 17.7% | 85.4 | 13.4 | 0.99 | 2.03 | 3.77% | 2.4% |
XLB earnings yield vs bond yields
Earnings yield = earnings ÷ price (1 ÷ P/E). The gap to bond yields is a rough gauge of the extra return stocks are priced to deliver.
How XLB weight splits by P/E
Share of the covered weight in companies with a trailing P/E in each range.
XLB largest holdings: valuation
| Symbol | Company | Weight | P/E | Fwd P/E | P/S | Div. yield | Share of earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIN | Linde plc | 12.96% | 32.2 | 23.6 | 6.5 | 1.28% | 15.82% |
| NEM | Newmont Corporation | 6.75% | 15.0 | 11.6 | 4.8 | 0.88% | 17.73% |
| FCX | Freeport-McMoRan Inc. | 5.32% | 34.3 | 18.1 | 3.9 | 0.86% | 6.10% |
| VMC | Vulcan Materials Company | 5.24% | 30.4 | 22.4 | 4.1 | 0.81% | 6.78% |
| ECL | Ecolab Inc. | 5.21% | 38.8 | 29.7 | 4.8 | 1.01% | 5.27% |
| SHW | The Sherwin-Williams Company | 5.16% | 30.9 | 23.8 | 3.3 | 0.95% | 6.56% |
| APD | Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. | 5.02% | — | 19.9 | 5.3 | 2.42% | −0.14% |
| STLD | Steel Dynamics, Inc. | 4.86% | 21.8 | 10.0 | 1.7 | 0.88% | 8.76% |
| NUE | Nucor Corporation | 4.70% | 20.4 | 11.4 | 1.6 | 0.87% | 9.04% |
| CRH | CRH PLC | 4.56% | — | — | — | — | — |
| MLM | Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. | 4.53% | 32.6 | 20.6 | 5.3 | 0.67% | 5.47% |
| IFF | International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. | 3.79% | 89.8 | 17.7 | 2.1 | 1.76% | 1.66% |
| PPG | PPG Industries, Inc. | 3.76% | 15.4 | 12.4 | 1.5 | 2.76% | 9.58% |
| AMCR | Amcor plc | 3.41% | 18.4 | 10.6 | 0.9 | 5.93% | 7.27% |
| PKG | Packaging Corporation of America | 3.40% | 30.7 | 18.7 | 2.2 | 2.54% | 4.36% |
| DOW | Dow Inc. | 3.39% | — | 14.1 | 0.5 | 4.68% | −8.20% |
| SW | Smurfit WestRock plc | 3.32% | 43.3 | 13.8 | 0.7 | 4.40% | 3.01% |
| IP | International Paper Company | 2.80% | — | 11.7 | 0.7 | 5.43% | −16.69% |
| CF | CF Industries Holdings, Inc. | 2.78% | 9.0 | 12.2 | 2.4 | 1.99% | 12.17% |
| BALL | Ball Corporation | 2.65% | 18.0 | 13.2 | 1.2 | 1.27% | 5.78% |
| LYB | LyondellBasell Industries N.V. | 2.54% | — | 9.1 | 0.7 | 4.31% | −1.29% |
| AVY | Avery Dennison Corporation | 2.17% | 19.2 | 15.3 | 1.4 | 2.28% | 4.43% |
| ALB | Albemarle Corporation | 1.75% | 353.6 | 11.4 | 1.9 | 1.72% | 0.19% |
| MOS | The Mosaic Company | 0.88% | — | 9.4 | 0.5 | 4.68% | −3.68% |
Share of earnings = the holding's part of the fund's combined trailing profit. Green: earns more than its weight; orange: less. Symbol links go to each company's key metrics.
About XLB valuation
Adding up its 23 holdings with company data, XLB trades at 37.9 times trailing earnings and 15.4 times analysts' forward estimates, with a price-to-book ratio of 2.96 and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Its earnings yield of 2.64% is 2.69 percentage points below the 5.33% yield to maturity of the U.S. bond market (AGG).
The ten largest holdings are 59.8% of the fund and earn 81.4% of its combined profit. By sector, Consumer Cyclical is the most expensive at 85.4 times earnings and Basic Materials the cheapest at 33.6. Companies that lost money over the past year are 15.2% of the covered weight.
How these figures are calculated. Each ratio treats the fund as one company: the earnings, sales and book value of every holding are added up in proportion to its weight and divided into the fund's price. In practice that is a weighted harmonic mean, so a single stock with a very high P/E cannot distort the result, and loss-making companies reduce the fund's earnings instead of being dropped. Covers 95.5% of the fund's weight (U.S.-listed stocks with company data); company figures as of October 26, 2026.
Related: XLB chart, XLB performance, XLB holdings, XLB dividends.
XLB valuation FAQ
What is the P/E ratio of XLB?
Based on its holdings, XLB has a trailing P/E of 37.9 and a forward P/E of 15.4 (earnings of all covered holdings combined in proportion to their weights, as of October 26, 2026).
What is the earnings yield of XLB?
The trailing earnings yield is 2.64% (1 ÷ P/E) and the forward earnings yield 6.49%. For comparison the U.S. bond market (AGG) yields 5.33% to maturity and T-bills about 3.91%.
Is XLB more expensive than the S&P 500?
XLB trades at 37.9 times trailing earnings versus 25.9 for the S&P 500 (SPY); on forward estimates the figures are 15.4 and 19.9.
What is the price-to-book ratio of XLB?
The holdings of XLB trade at 2.96 times book value, with a combined return on equity of 7.8%.
Which sector in XLB has the highest P/E?
Consumer Cyclical has the highest P/E at 85.4 and Basic Materials the lowest at 33.6.