Energy sector vs S&P 500 (XLE): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLE has underperformed the S&P 500 by 1.9 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 2026-07-13 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Energy (XLE) is out of favor: it trails the S&P 500 on both rotation windows — 1.9 points behind over the past month and 7.3 points behind over the longer, time-shifted window. That is the lagging quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #65 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLE's momentum reads strong: the recent hourly trend is positive across every lookback Zensei measures. XLE'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 Energy Select Sector SPDR, whose 21 tracked holdings are led by EXXON MOBIL CORP, CHEVRON CORP and CONOCOPHILLIPS. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 28.0× earnings and 2.8× sales. The thing to watch from here is the one-month spread: laggards only become interesting when the recent window turns positive first — until then, the market is voting elsewhere.
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, no: over the past month XLE has underperformed the S&P 500 by 1.9 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 EXXON MOBIL CORP, CHEVRON CORP, CONOCOPHILLIPS, PHILLIPS 66, MARATHON PETROLEUM CORP — 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 lagging quadrant — trailing the S&P 500 on both windows. 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.