Communication Services sector vs S&P 500 (XLC): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLC has underperformed the S&P 500 by 0.8 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLC sits on the rotation map
Communication Services 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.
XLC vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLC (communication services) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLC won that window.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Communication Services (XLC) is out of favor: it trails the S&P 500 on both rotation windows — 0.8 points behind over the past month and 5.7 points behind over the longer, time-shifted window. That is the Underperformers quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #58 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLC's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLC's relative-strength line — its price ratio against the S&P 500 — is trading above its moving averages, the healthiest configuration we track. The longer trend remains healthier than the recent tape suggests — the kind of divergence worth rechecking in a week.
The exposure comes via Communication Services Select Sector SPDR, whose 23 tracked holdings are led by META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A, ALPHABET INC CLASS A and ALPHABET INC CLASS C. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 33.4× earnings and 4.6× sales. The thing to watch from here is the one-month spread: underperformers only become interesting when the recent window turns positive first — until then, the market is voting elsewhere.
What's inside XLC
Top 10 of 23 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Communication Services vs the market — common questions
Is communication services outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month XLC has underperformed the S&P 500 by 0.8 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLC?
XLC is Communication Services Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the communication services group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLC?
XLC's largest tracked positions are META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A, ALPHABET INC CLASS A, ALPHABET INC CLASS C, AT&T INC, VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC — 23 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is communication services in right now?
As of the latest daily data, communication services is in the Underperformers quadrant — trailing the S&P 500 on both windows. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track communication services 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.