State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF(XLC)
AI Look-Through Summary
AI GeneratedThe State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF maintains an extremely concentrated portfolio structure, with 96.4% of its assets allocated exclusively to the Communication Services sector. This singular focus creates a direct correlation between the fund's performance and the broader dynamics of media, entertainment, and telecommunications industries, offering investors pure exposure without diversification into other market sectors such as technology or consumer staples. The top ten holdings account for a significant majority of the net asset value, driven largely by heavyweight internet and social media giants like Meta Platforms, Alphabet Class C, and Alphabet Class A, which collectively represent nearly 35% of the total fund weightings. This heavy reliance on these specific equities means that sector-wide volatility or regulatory shifts affecting major tech platforms will have an amplified impact on the ETF's overall trajectory compared to more broadly diversified funds.
Geographically, while the provided data does not explicitly break down regional exposure, the composition of top holdings indicates a strong tilt toward U.S.-based multinational corporations dominating global digital advertising and streaming markets. The inclusion of companies like Take-Two Interactive and Live Nation Entertainment alongside major tech firms suggests that the fund's performance is heavily influenced by consumer discretionary spending patterns within North America and Europe rather than emerging market growth stories typical of other communication service sectors. With an asset under management exceeding $24 billion, this vehicle represents a substantial portion of its specific sector index, implying high liquidity but also reinforcing the concentration risk inherent in tracking such a narrow slice of the equity universe. The quantitative profile reflects a strategy that bets on the continued dominance of digital-first business models, leaving the portfolio vulnerable to potential headwinds facing traditional media or gaming sectors if market sentiment shifts away from these specific sub-industries.
Generated by Qwen-32B from constituent-level data. Not investment advice. Updated: 2026-05-23 12:54:41.561479+00
🔍 Theme Alignment Audit
AI GeneratedPurity: 98/100The investment theme implied by the name "Communication Services" is executed with exceptional fidelity, as nearly all reported holdings fall squarely within this sector. The top ten positions are exclusively comprised of major telecommunications and media entities such as Meta, Alphabet, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Netflix, creating a direct correlation between the fund's identity and its underlying assets. There is no evidence of unrelated industries or broad-market stabilizers disguised under thematic labels; every significant weight contributes directly to the communication services narrative. The portfolio appears genuinely focused on this specific sector rather than utilizing generic names to mask a diversified market exposure, as even smaller positions like Sirius XM and Liberty Media maintain strict adherence to the stated theme.
Sector coherence is further reinforced by an overwhelming 96.4% allocation to Communication Services, indicating that the fund operates with high specificity within its defined universe. However, the concentration risk profile presents a distinct characteristic where performance will be heavily influenced by the mega-cap technology and media giants dominating the top ten holdings. With these six largest positions alone accounting for over half of the portfolio's value, the fund behaves less like a diversified sector play and more as an amplified leveraged bet on the industry leaders. This structure differentiates it from a broad market index but introduces significant sensitivity to the fortunes of specific large-cap names rather than providing balanced exposure across the entire communication services landscape.
AI analysis of holdings alignment vs fund theme. Not investment advice. Updated: 2026-05-23 21:07:17.247154+00
🏢 Sector Analysis
AI GeneratedThe State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF exhibits an allocation profile heavily concentrated within its namesake sector, with communication services comprising 96.5% of the portfolio across twenty-one holdings. This near-total dedication suggests a pure-play investment thesis aimed exclusively at capturing value drivers specific to media, entertainment, and interactive leisure industries, while effectively excluding exposure to other economic sectors that might offer diversification benefits or act as hedges during market rotations away from technology-heavy assets. The fund's structure implies an aggressive stance on the belief that communication services will outperform relative peers, accepting significant idiosyncratic risk inherent in relying almost entirely on one industry vertical for total return generation.
Concentration risk is a defining characteristic of this vehicle, underscored by the top ten holdings accounting for 63.7% of assets under management and the single largest position representing over thirteen percent of the fund's value. Such high exposure to major constituents like META, GOOGL, and GOOG indicates that the fund's performance will be disproportionately influenced by the operational successes or regulatory headwinds facing these specific companies rather than broader sector trends. This lack of dispersion means that adverse events affecting any single top-tier holding could materially impact overall portfolio volatility, creating a scenario where the investment outcome is tightly correlated with the fortunes of just a handful of large-cap technology and media giants rather than the wider communication services landscape.
From a factor tilt perspective, the dominance of these specific holdings points toward an implicit bias toward growth factors and market capitalization weighting within the sector, as the largest entities in this space typically drive index returns through revenue expansion and innovation cycles. The inclusion of diverse sub-sectors like gaming (TTWO) alongside internet giants suggests an attempt to capture various facets of digital engagement while maintaining a heavy skew toward companies with significant scale advantages. Ultimately, the fund's design reflects a strategic choice to maximize exposure to specific growth dynamics within communication services at the cost of sector diversification and reduced sensitivity to non-communication market movements.
AI-generated sector analysis from constituent-level data. Not investment advice. Updated: 2026-05-16 23:56:47.362736+00
Flow Driver Analysis
2-Step CircleWhich larger ETFs share XLC's holdings — and mechanically drive its price through index rebalancing flows?
Approximately 100% of XLC's weight flows through these larger ETFs
| Driver ETF | AUM | Expense | Shared Stocks | Weight Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPYState Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | $640B | 0.09% | 24 | 99.7% |
| SPTMSPTM | $12B | — | 24 | 99.7% |
| VOXVOX | $6B | — | 23 | 99.7% |
| VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF | $1.5T | 0.03% | 21 | 97.9% |
| SPLGSPLG | $97B | — | 23 | 95.2% |
100% of XLC's portfolio by weight is also held by SPY, which commands 27× more assets under management. When SPY receives inflows, it mechanically buys these shared stocks — dragging XLC's NAV along regardless of any thematic or sector catalyst. Combined, the top 5 overlapping ETFs control exposure to 100% ofXLC's weight.
Overlap computed from constituent-level holdings data across 5 ETFs. Price co-movement with driver ETFs is structural, not coincidental. Not investment advice.
ETF Look-Through Dashboard
Replaces $249/yr MorningstarPeer through the ETF wrapper to see exactly what you own. Every metric is computed from constituent-level data.
Weighted metrics calculated based on 81% of fund assets with available data.
Herfindahl-Hirschman Concentration Index
Morningstar-Style Box
Sector & Cap Explorer
ETF Fundamental Radar
Operational health is mixed, with the bulk of weight in the mid-range (4–6) Piotroski scores.
Piotroski F-Score (Operational Health)
Score 0-9: Measures Profitability, Leverage, and Efficiency
Computed by rolling up individual stock Piotroski F-Scores, Altman Z-Scores, and Beneish M-Scores weighted by each constituent's allocation. Data that Vanguard and BlackRock don't surface.
Dividend Safety True-Up
DeterministicThe dividend-paying companies inside XLC collectively pay out 22% of their Free Cash Flow to maintain the current yield. This leaves a substantial cash buffer, making dividend cuts unlikely even in a downturn. Based on 72% of fund weight in dividend-paying stocks.
FCF Payout Ratio = Dividends Paid / Free Cash Flow, weighted by constituent allocation. Not investment advice.
Earnings vs. Price Decomposition
ProprietaryXLC is up 12.8% over the last 12 months. The underlying weighted earnings growth of its constituents is +31.9%. Despite earnings growth, valuations have contracted by 19.1% — the market is paying less per dollar of earnings than a year ago.
Earnings growth = weighted average YoY EPS growth of all constituents (capped at ±500% to limit outlier distortion). Based on 91% of fund weight with earnings data. Not investment advice.
Value Creation Map
ROIC vs WACCWhat percentage of XLC's weight is allocated to companies that create economic value (ROIC > WACC) vs. destroy it?
Of XLC's analyzed weight, 65% is invested in companies earning more than their cost of capital — genuine value creators. The remaining 35% consists of companies whose ROIC falls below their WACC, effectively destroying shareholder value with every dollar invested.
ROIC-WACC spread for 100% of fund weight with available data. Not investment advice.
Concentration Risk Monitor
HIGHMETA at 13.5% contributes an estimated 30% of portfolio variance.XLC holds 25 stocks but behaves like an 17-stock portfolio due to weight concentration in the top holdings.
Effective # of Stocks = 1 / HHI (Herfindahl-Hirschman Index). Variance share approximated as w² / Σw². Not investment advice.
Passive Crowding Score
MODERATEHow much of each constituent's market cap is structurally locked in passive ETFs — a proxy for liquidity fragility during sell-offs.
XLC has a Passive Crowding Score of 38/100. On average, 11.4% of the market capitalization of XLC's underlying holdings is structurally locked in passive ETF vehicles. This indicates moderate passive ownership density. Index rebalances and ETF creation/redemption activity can amplify short-term volatility in the underlying holdings.
Passive $ = Σ(ETF AUM × holding weight) across all 44 tracked ETFs. Actual passive ownership is higher (includes mutual funds, pension funds). Not investment advice.
Under the Hood — Top 15 Constituents
| # | Ticker | Company | Weight | P/E | F-Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A Communication Services | 13.46% | 23.0x | 5/9 |
| 2 | GOOGL | ALPHABET INC CL A Communication Services | 10.00% | 29.0x | 6/9 |
| 3 | GOOG | ALPHABET INC CL C Communication Services | 7.95% | 28.7x | 6/9 |
| 4 | TTWO | TAKE TWO INTERACTIVE SOFTWRE Communication Services | 5.18% | — | 3/9 |
| 5 | LYV | LIVE NATION ENTERTAINMENT IN Communication Services | 4.69% | — | 5/9 |
| 6 | DIS | WALT DISNEY CO/THE Communication Services | 4.61% | 16.3x | 7/9 |
| 7 | SATS | ECHOSTAR CORP A Communication Services | 4.59% | — | 3/9 |
| 8 | WBD | WARNER BROS DISCOVERY INC Communication Services | 4.20% | 93.0x | 7/9 |
| 9 | EA | ELECTRONIC ARTS INC Communication Services | 4.18% | 57.5x | 7/9 |
| 10 | OMC | OMNICOM GROUP Communication Services | 4.11% | — | 3/9 |
| 11 | NFLX | NETFLIX INC Communication Services | 4.03% | 27.7x | 6/9 |
| 12 | VZ | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC Communication Services | 4.03% | 11.7x | 5/9 |
| 13 | TMUS | T MOBILE US INC Communication Services | 3.75% | 19.9x | 5/9 |
| 14 | T | AT+T INC Communication Services | 3.70% | 8.2x | 6/9 |
| 15 | CMCSA | COMCAST CORP CLASS A Communication Services | 3.64% | 4.9x | 8/9 |
Historical Holdings Snapshots
Browse how XLC’s holdings have changed across SEC filing dates. Showing top holdings per snapshot.
2026-05-24
15 holdings · 82.1% tracked weight| # | Ticker | Weight | Shares | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | 13.46% | 5,597,955 | — |
| 2 | GOOGL | 10.00% | 6,519,227 | — |
| 3 | GOOG | 7.95% | 5,236,778 | — |
| 4 | TTWO | 5.18% | 5,492,362 | — |
| 5 | LYV | 4.69% | 7,132,034 | — |
| 6 | DIS | 4.61% | 11,243,243 | — |
| 7 | SATS | 4.59% | 9,024,247 | — |
| 8 | WBD | 4.20% | 39,145,892 | — |
| 9 | EA | 4.18% | 5,235,040 | — |
| 10 | OMC | 4.11% | 14,079,430 | — |
| 11 | NFLX | 4.03% | 11,406,481 | — |
| 12 | VZ | 4.03% | 21,082,736 | — |
| 13 | TMUS | 3.75% | 4,956,815 | — |
| 14 | T | 3.70% | 36,847,201 | — |
| 15 | CMCSA | 3.64% | 36,694,206 | — |
2026-05-23
15 holdings · 82.1% tracked weight| # | Ticker | Weight | Shares | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | 13.46% | 5,597,955 | — |
| 2 | GOOGL | 10.00% | 6,519,227 | — |
| 3 | GOOG | 7.95% | 5,236,778 | — |
| 4 | TTWO | 5.18% | 5,492,362 | — |
| 5 | LYV | 4.69% | 7,132,034 | — |
| 6 | DIS | 4.61% | 11,243,243 | — |
| 7 | SATS | 4.59% | 9,024,247 | — |
| 8 | WBD | 4.20% | 39,145,892 | — |
| 9 | EA | 4.18% | 5,235,040 | — |
| 10 | OMC | 4.11% | 14,079,430 | — |
| 11 | NFLX | 4.03% | 11,406,481 | — |
| 12 | VZ | 4.03% | 21,082,736 | — |
| 13 | TMUS | 3.75% | 4,956,815 | — |
| 14 | T | 3.70% | 36,847,201 | — |
| 15 | CMCSA | 3.64% | 36,694,206 | — |
2026-05-22
15 holdings · 82.3% tracked weight| # | Ticker | Weight | Shares | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | 13.40% | 5,625,045 | — |
| 2 | GOOGL | 10.03% | 6,550,769 | — |
| 3 | GOOG | 7.98% | 5,262,104 | — |
| 4 | TTWO | 5.14% | 5,518,927 | — |
| 5 | SATS | 5.06% | 9,067,906 | — |
| 6 | LYV | 4.64% | 7,166,537 | — |
| 7 | DIS | 4.63% | 11,297,633 | — |
| 8 | WBD | 4.25% | 39,335,270 | — |
| 9 | EA | 4.18% | 5,260,366 | — |
| 10 | OMC | 4.00% | 14,147,533 | — |
| 11 | VZ | 3.99% | 21,184,733 | — |
| 12 | NFLX | 3.98% | 11,461,669 | — |
| 13 | TMUS | 3.73% | 4,980,797 | — |
| 14 | T | 3.63% | 37,025,449 | — |
| 15 | CMCSA | 3.61% | 36,871,719 | — |
2026-05-21
15 holdings · 82.2% tracked weight| # | Ticker | Weight | Shares | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | 13.38% | 5,627,625 | — |
| 2 | GOOGL | 10.03% | 6,553,773 | — |
| 3 | GOOG | 8.00% | 5,264,516 | — |
| 4 | TTWO | 5.19% | 5,521,457 | — |
| 5 | SATS | 4.89% | 9,072,064 | — |
| 6 | LYV | 4.61% | 7,169,823 | — |
| 7 | DIS | 4.56% | 11,302,813 | — |
| 8 | WBD | 4.21% | 39,353,306 | — |
| 9 | EA | 4.19% | 5,262,778 | — |
| 10 | NFLX | 4.04% | 11,466,925 | — |
| 11 | OMC | 4.01% | 14,154,019 | — |
| 12 | VZ | 3.99% | 21,194,447 | — |
| 13 | TMUS | 3.80% | 4,983,081 | — |
| 14 | T | 3.65% | 37,042,425 | — |
| 15 | CMCSA | 3.61% | 36,888,625 | — |
2026-05-20
15 holdings · 82.1% tracked weight| # | Ticker | Weight | Shares | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | 13.44% | 5,594,085 | — |
| 2 | GOOGL | 10.17% | 6,514,721 | — |
| 3 | GOOG | 8.09% | 5,233,160 | — |
| 4 | TTWO | 5.23% | 5,488,567 | — |
| 5 | SATS | 4.84% | 9,018,010 | — |
| 6 | LYV | 4.69% | 7,127,105 | — |
| 7 | DIS | 4.59% | 11,235,473 | — |
| 8 | WBD | 4.17% | 39,118,838 | — |
| 9 | EA | 4.14% | 5,231,422 | — |
| 10 | OMC | 4.05% | 14,069,701 | — |
| 11 | NFLX | 4.02% | 11,398,597 | — |
| 12 | VZ | 3.87% | 21,068,165 | — |
| 13 | TMUS | 3.71% | 4,953,389 | — |
| 14 | CMCSA | 3.59% | 36,668,847 | — |
| 15 | T | 3.54% | 36,821,737 | — |
2026-05-19
15 holdings · 82.3% tracked weight| # | Ticker | Weight | Shares | Market Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | META | 13.61% | 5,564,415 | — |
| 2 | GOOGL | 10.24% | 6,480,175 | — |
| 3 | GOOG | 8.15% | 5,205,422 | — |
| 4 | TTWO | 5.27% | 5,459,472 | — |
| 5 | SATS | 4.90% | 8,970,193 | — |
| 6 | LYV | 4.77% | 7,089,316 | — |
| 7 | DIS | 4.57% | 11,175,903 | — |
| 8 | WBD | 4.18% | 38,911,424 | — |
| 9 | EA | 4.16% | 5,203,684 | — |
| 10 | OMC | 3.95% | 13,995,112 | — |
| 11 | NFLX | 3.93% | 11,338,153 | — |
| 12 | VZ | 3.87% | 20,956,454 | — |
| 13 | TMUS | 3.63% | 4,927,123 | — |
| 14 | CMCSA | 3.60% | 36,474,428 | — |
| 15 | T | 3.51% | 36,626,513 | — |
Source: SEC filings and fund provider disclosures. Shows last 6 snapshot dates, top 15 holdings per date by weight.
Risk Profile
Sharpe = risk-adjusted return (higher is better). Computed from 1,200+ trading days with 5% risk-free rate.
Fama-French 5-Factor Exposure
Academic factor model decomposition — what's really driving this ETF's returns.
Fama-French 5-Factor Model. Data: Kenneth French Data Library. Regression over 3 years of daily returns.
Price Chart with Moving Averages
What Drove XLC Today?
Daily return attribution — which holdings contributed most (and least) to the fund's move.
Technical Setup
AI GeneratedThe 50-day moving average of XLC is slightly above its 200-day moving average, indicating a mildly positive trend in the near term. The RSI at 46.3 suggests that the ETF currently has neutral momentum, neither overbought nor oversold.
Underwater (Drawdown from Peak)
How far below the all-time high the price has been over time. Deeper = more pain for holders.
Rolling 60-Day Beta vs S&P 500 (VOO)
How the ETF's sensitivity to market moves changes over time. β > 1 = more volatile than the market.
Yield & Income
Sector Drift Over Time
How XLC’s sector allocation has shifted across snapshots. Use the slider to travel through time.
Active Conviction Tracker
Shares bought and sold between the latest two data snapshots — reveals what the fund manager is actually doing.
Explore More
Quant metrics computed deterministically from financial statements and price data. Updated: 2026-06-02.
SecuritiesDB is for informational purposes only. Not investment advice.