Consumer Staples sector vs S&P 500 (XLP): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLP has underperformed the S&P 500 by 5.7 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLP sits on the rotation map
Consumer Staples 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.
XLP vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLP (consumer staples) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLP won that window.
Data as of 2026-08-28 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Consumer Staples (XLP) is losing its lead. It built a 7.6-point advantage over the S&P 500 across the longer, time-shifted window, but over the past month it has slipped 5.7 points behind the market — the Cooling quadrant of the rotation map. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #97 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLP's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLP'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 Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR, whose 34 tracked holdings are led by WALMART INC, COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP and COCA-COLA CO. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 31.8× earnings and 3.0× sales. The thing to watch from here is whether this is a pause or a handoff: cooling groups sometimes reset and reclaim leadership, but a deepening one-month deficit usually means rotation has moved on.
What's inside XLP
Top 10 of 34 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Consumer Staples vs the market — common questions
Is consumer staples outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month XLP has underperformed the S&P 500 by 5.7 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLP?
XLP is Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the consumer staples group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLP?
XLP's largest tracked positions are WALMART INC, COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP, COCA-COLA CO, PROCTER & GAMBLE CO, PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL INC — 34 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is consumer staples in right now?
As of the latest daily data, consumer staples is in the Cooling 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 consumer staples 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.