Industrials sector vs S&P 500 (XLI): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLI has outperformed the S&P 500 by 1.4 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLI sits on the rotation map
Industrials 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.
XLI vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLI (industrials) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLI won that window.
Data as of 2026-07-13 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Industrials (XLI) has just turned the corner. Over the longer, time-shifted window it trailed the S&P 500 by 6.1 points, but over the past month it has moved clearly ahead of the market — a 1.4-point edge that puts it in the improving quadrant. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #30 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLI's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLI'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 Industrial Select Sector SPDR, whose 81 tracked holdings are led by CATERPILLAR INC, GE AEROSPACE and GE VERNOVA INC. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 39.4× earnings and 4.9× 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 XLI
Top 10 of 81 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Industrials vs the market — common questions
Is industrials outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, yes: over the past month XLI has outperformed the S&P 500 by 1.4 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLI?
XLI is Industrial Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the industrials group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLI?
XLI's largest tracked positions are CATERPILLAR INC, GE AEROSPACE, GE VERNOVA INC, RTX CORP, BOEING CO — 81 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is industrials in right now?
As of the latest daily data, industrials 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 industrials 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.