Healthcare sector vs S&P 500 (XLV): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLV has outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.1 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLV sits on the rotation map
Healthcare 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.
XLV vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLV (healthcare) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLV won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-13 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Healthcare (XLV) has just turned the corner. Over the longer, time-shifted window it trailed the S&P 500 by 4.2 points, but over the past month it has moved decisively ahead of the market — a 4.1-point edge that puts it in the improving quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #10 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks — inside the top tier of the market.
On the shorter tape, XLV's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLV's relative-strength line has dropped below its moving averages — the outperformance trend is fading. Both signals point the same direction here: the market is not rewarding this group on either horizon.
The exposure comes via Health Care Select Sector SPDR, whose 59 tracked holdings are led by ELI LILLY AND CO, JOHNSON & JOHNSON and ABBVIE INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 39.2× earnings and 6.4× 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 XLV
Top 10 of 59 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Healthcare vs the market — common questions
Is healthcare outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month XLV has outperformed the S&P 500 by 4.1 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLV?
XLV is Health Care Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the healthcare group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLV?
XLV's largest tracked positions are ELI LILLY AND CO, JOHNSON & JOHNSON, ABBVIE INC, UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC, MERCK & CO INC — 59 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is healthcare in right now?
As of the latest daily data, healthcare 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 healthcare 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.