Oil & Gas Exploration & Production vs the S&P 500 (XOP): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XOP has outperformed the S&P 500 by 15.6 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XOP sits on the rotation map
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production 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.
XOP vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XOP (oil & gas exploration & production) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XOP won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-22 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production (XOP) has just turned the corner. Over the longer, time-shifted window it trailed the S&P 500 by 14.1 points, but over the past month it has moved decisively ahead of the market — a 15.6-point edge that puts it in the improving quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #2 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks — inside the top tier of the market.
On the shorter tape, XOP's momentum reads strong: the recent hourly trend is positive across every lookback Zensei measures. XOP's relative-strength line — its price ratio against the S&P 500 — is trading above its moving averages, the healthiest configuration we track. The two signals agree — the short-term tape and the longer trend point the same way.
The exposure comes via SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, whose 51 tracked holdings are led by TEXAS PACIFIC LAND CORP, PBF ENERGY INC CLASS A and DELEK US HOLDINGS INC REGISTERED SHS STOCK SETTLEMENT. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 24.7× earnings and 7.7× sales. The thing to watch from here is confirmation: improving groups that hold a positive one-month spread long enough for the longer window to turn are the classic early-rotation entries — the ones that fail fall back quickly.
What's inside XOP
Top 5 of 51 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Oil & Gas Exploration & Production vs the market — common questions
Is oil & gas exploration & production outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month XOP has outperformed the S&P 500 by 15.6 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XOP?
XOP is SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF, the fund Zensei uses to measure the oil & gas exploration & production group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XOP?
XOP's largest tracked positions are TEXAS PACIFIC LAND CORP, PBF ENERGY INC CLASS A, DELEK US HOLDINGS INC REGISTERED SHS STOCK SETTLEMENT, EXPAND ENERGY CORP ORDINARY SHARES NEW, CNX RESOURCES CORP — 51 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is part of Zensei Premium.
What quadrant is oil & gas exploration & production in right now?
As of the latest daily data, oil & gas exploration & production is in the improving quadrant — behind the market over the longer window, but ahead over the past month. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track oil & gas exploration & production 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.