Industrials sector vs S&P 500 (XLI): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLI has underperformed the S&P 500 by 1.0 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLI sits on the rotation map
Industrials highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
XLI vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLI (industrials) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLI won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-22 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Industrials (XLI) is losing its lead. It built a 0.5-point advantage over the S&P 500 across the longer, time-shifted window, but over the past month it has slipped 1.0 point behind the market — the weakening quadrant of the rotation map. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #70 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLI's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLI's relative-strength line has broken below its long-term average — the long-term outperformance trend is no longer intact. Both signals point the same direction here: the market is not rewarding this group on either horizon.
The exposure comes via Industrial Select Sector SPDR, whose 81 tracked holdings are led by CATERPILLAR INC, GE AEROSPACE and GE VERNOVA INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 38.7× earnings and 4.8× sales. The thing to watch from here is whether this is a pause or a handoff: weakening groups sometimes reset and reclaim leadership, but a deepening one-month deficit usually means rotation has moved on.
What's inside XLI
Top 10 of 81 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Industrials vs the market — common questions
Is industrials outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month XLI has underperformed the S&P 500 by 1.0 point. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLI?
XLI is Industrial Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the industrials group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLI?
XLI's largest tracked positions are CATERPILLAR INC, GE AEROSPACE, GE VERNOVA INC, RTX CORP, BOEING CO — 81 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is industrials in right now?
As of the latest daily data, industrials is in the weakening quadrant — still ahead over the longer window, but behind the market over the past month. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track industrials against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.