Energy sector vs S&P 500 (XLE): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLE has outperformed the S&P 500 by 5.0 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLE sits on the rotation map
Energy 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.
XLE vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLE (energy) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLE won that window.
Data as of 2026-08-28 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Energy (XLE) sits in the Outperformers quadrant of the rotation map: it has decisively beaten the S&P 500 by 5.0 points over the past month, on top of a 4.8-point advantage over the longer, time-shifted window. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #30 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLE's momentum is mixed: the longer intraday trend is still positive, but the recent windows have gone flat. XLE's relative-strength line is holding around its moving averages — the trend is intact but no longer extending. The longer trend remains healthier than the recent tape suggests — the kind of divergence worth rechecking in a week.
The exposure comes via Energy Select Sector SPDR, whose 21 tracked holdings are led by EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP, CHEVRON CORP and CONOCOPHILLIPS. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 19.1× earnings and 2.5× sales. The thing to watch from here is durability: outperformers that hold their one-month spread while the longer window keeps building tend to stay out front; a fading spread is the early exit signal.
What's inside XLE
Top 10 of 21 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Energy vs the market — common questions
Is energy outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month XLE has outperformed the S&P 500 by 5.0 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLE?
XLE is Energy Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the energy group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLE?
XLE's largest tracked positions are EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP, CHEVRON CORP, CONOCOPHILLIPS, MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP, PHILLIPS 66 — 21 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is energy in right now?
As of the latest daily data, energy is in the Outperformers quadrant — outperforming the S&P 500 on both the recent and the longer, time-shifted window. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track energy 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.