Statistics · 2026 · ETFs
Semiconductor ETF Statistics (2026)
Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI) was the best-performing semiconductor ETF over the past year, returning 128.0% with dividends reinvested, as of October 2, 2026. VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) led over five years at 38.3% a year. All 5 funds beat the S&P 500 fund SPY (13.9% a year) over five years, and expense ratios run from 0.19% to 0.55%.
Key takeaways
- PSI led the past year at 128.0%, while XSD returned 73.9%, a 54.2-point gap.
- SMH returned 38.3% a year over five years and XSD returned 23.2%, against 13.9% for SPY.
- Expense ratios span 0.19% (SOXQ) to 0.55% (PSI), or $19 to $55 a year per $10,000.
- Nvidia is 19.27% of SMH but 7.36% of SOXX and 2.36% of XSD, as of October 1, 2026.
- SOXQ fell 41.3% peak to trough over 64 months (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured), versus 23.9% for the S&P 500.
Which semiconductor ETFs performed best?
PSI and SOXX led the group over one year, at 128.0% and 117.1% with dividends reinvested. Over three years SMH ranked first at 63.7% a year, and over five years SMH led at 38.3% a year. XSD trailed at 23.2% a year.
1. One-year gap: 54.2 percentage points
Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI) returned 128.0% over the past year and State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) returned 73.9%, a spread of 54.2 points (WealthyBud data · 5 semiconductor funds, total return · October 2, 2026). Each return runs from a month-end close to the October 2, 2026 price and is annualized over the actual days: the one-year figure covers September 30, 2025 to October 2, 2026, so it will not match an issuer's month-end one-year return.
2. SMH led the three-year run at 63.7% a year
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) compounded at 63.7% a year over three years, ahead of SOXQ at 57.1%. XSD returned 41.7% a year (WealthyBud data · 3-yr annualized total return · October 2, 2026).
3. Five-year spread: 15.1 points a year
VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) returned 38.3% a year and State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) returned 23.2% a year. All 5 funds have at least 60 month-end prices (SOXQ has 64, the others 121) (WealthyBud data · 5-yr annualized total return · October 2, 2026).
4. Global chip sales reached $146.8 billion in July 2026
The Semiconductor Industry Association reported that global semiconductor sales were $146.8 billion in July 2026, up 6.4% from June and 135.1% above the July 2025 total of $62.5 billion. Monthly figures are WSTS data and represent a three-month moving average, per the SIA release.
| Ticker | Fund | Expense ratio | 1-yr total return | 5-yr total return (ann.) | Volatility (ann.) | Trailing yield |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSI | Invesco Semiconductors ETF | 0.55% | 128.0% | 30.8% | 39.9% | 0.01% |
| SMH | VanEck Semiconductor ETF | 0.35% | 93.2% | 38.3% | 34.7% | 0.18% |
| SOXQ | Invesco PHLX Semiconductor ETF | 0.19% | 106.4% | 33.2% | 36.8% | 0.28% |
| SOXX | iShares Semiconductor ETF | 0.33% | 117.1% | 32.7% | 37.8% | 0.21% |
| XSD | State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF | 0.35% | 73.9% | 23.2% | 41.6% | 0.14% |
| SPY | State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | 0.0945% | 16.7% | 13.9% | 15.7% | 0.99% |
How much do semiconductor ETFs cost?
SOXQ is the cheapest semiconductor ETF at 0.19% a year, or $19 on every $10,000 invested. PSI costs the most at 0.55%, or $55. The median of the 5 funds is 0.35%. For comparison, the S&P 500 fund SPY charges 0.0945%.
5. VanEck lists a 0.35% expense ratio for SMH; iShares lists 0.33% for SOXX
The VanEck SMH page shows a total expense ratio of 0.35%, and the iShares SOXX page shows 0.33% as stated in the prospectus. State Street lists a 0.35% gross expense ratio for XSD on its fund page.
6. SMH holds $75.75 billion, 59% of the three funds with published assets here
VanEck reports $75.75 billion in net assets for SMH as of October 1, 2026. iShares reports $48.64 billion for SOXX on its fund page, and State Street reports $3.17 billion for XSD on its page. Together: $127.6 billion.
Compare major ETFs by fees and returns
How volatile are semiconductor ETFs?
XSD was the most volatile semiconductor ETF, with annualized volatility of 41.6%, and SMH was the least at 34.7%. The S&P 500 fund SPY measured 15.7%, so the calmest chip fund measured 2.2 times the index. Volatility is the annualized standard deviation of monthly returns.
7. XSD swung the most: 41.6% annualized
State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) had the highest volatility, followed by Invesco Semiconductors ETF (PSI) at 39.9%. Volatility here is the annualized standard deviation of the last 60 complete monthly returns through September 30, 2026 (WealthyBud data · annualized volatility · October 2, 2026).
- SOXQ fell 41.3% peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured); its price history is shorter (64 months, since 2021), so the window is narrower than the others.
- PSI fell 41.1% peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured).
- SOXX fell 40.7% peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured).
- SMH fell 40.0% peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured).
- XSD fell 37.5% peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured).
8. SOXQ had the deepest drawdown: 41.3%
Drawdown is the fall from the highest month-end price to the lowest one after it, using 121 month-end prices from September 30, 2016 to September 30, 2026 plus the October 2, 2026 price; lows within a month are not captured and the dataset does not record when each low occurred; SOXQ has 64 month-end prices from June 30, 2021. SOXQ’s figure covers 64 months; among the funds with 121 months, PSI fell most at 41.1%. State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) fell the least at 37.5% (WealthyBud data · max drawdown, month-end prices · October 2, 2026).
9. All 5 semiconductor funds fell further than the S&P 500
SPY fell 23.9% at its worst over 121 months, a longer window than SOXQ’s 64. The chip funds' worst falls ran from 37.5% to 41.3% (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured) (WealthyBud data · max drawdown vs SPY · October 2, 2026).
How do semiconductor ETFs compare with the S&P 500?
All 5 semiconductor ETFs beat the S&P 500 fund SPY over five years, all 5 over three years and all 5 over one year. SMH returned 38.3% a year against 13.9% for SPY, but chip funds also swung 2.2 to 2.7 times as much.
10. All 5 chip ETFs beat the S&P 500 over five years
SPY returned 13.9% a year over five years. SMH, SOXQ, SOXX, PSI, and XSD finished ahead of it. Over three years all 5 beat SPY's 23.1%, and over one year all 5 beat its 16.7% (WealthyBud data · total return vs SPY · October 2, 2026).
11. Chip ETFs yield 0.01% to 0.28%; none of the 5 out-yield SPY's 0.99%
SOXQ paid the highest trailing yield and PSI the lowest. Trailing yield is the dividends paid over the last 12 months divided by the current price. A $10,000 position in SOXQ paid about $28 over that span, against about $99 for SPY (WealthyBud data · trailing-12-month distributions · October 2, 2026).
Which chip stocks dominate semiconductor ETFs?
Nvidia is the largest holding in SMH at 19.27% of net assets, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor at 9.16%. The largest SOXX holding is Intel at 9.44%. The weights come from each issuer’s own holdings file for October 1, 2026 and change as prices move.
12. Nvidia alone is 19.27% of SMH
Nvidia, Taiwan Semiconductor and AMD together make up 33.95% of SMH’s net assets, per VanEck’s daily holdings file for October 1, 2026. The top five add up to 43.94% and the top ten to 67.05%; Lam Research and Texas Instruments tie for tenth at 4.51% (WealthyBud’s sums of the issuer weights).
13. Intel is the largest SOXX holding at 9.44%
iShares lists Intel at 9.44%, AMD at 9.21% and Micron at 8.06% in its holdings file for October 1, 2026. The top five add up to 40.60% and the top ten to 61.04% (WealthyBud’s sums). The 30 equity lines sum to 99.85%; cash and futures make up the rest.
14. Nvidia is 2.6 times larger in SMH (19.27%) than in SOXX (7.36%)
The two funds share 23 tickers. SMH holds 25 stocks and SOXX holds 30; ASX, CBRS, CRDO, ENTG, MTSI, TSEM, and UMC appear in SOXX but not SMH. Both hold Nvidia, at different weights (WealthyBud’s comparison of the issuer files).
| Rank | SMH holding | SMH weight | SOXX holding | SOXX weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nvidia | 19.27% | Intel | 9.44% |
| 2 | Taiwan Semiconductor | 9.16% | AMD | 9.21% |
| 3 | AMD | 5.52% | Micron | 8.06% |
| 4 | Broadcom | 5.01% | Nvidia | 7.36% |
| 5 | Micron | 4.98% | Broadcom | 6.53% |
| 6 | Intel | 4.73% | Marvell | 4.46% |
| 7 | Applied Materials | 4.73% | Applied Materials | 4.06% |
| 8 | KLA | 4.59% | KLA | 4.02% |
| 9 | SK Hynix | 4.55% | Lam Research | 3.97% |
| 10 | Lam Research | 4.51% | Analog Devices | 3.93% |
How do equal-weight chip funds differ?
XSD tracks a modified equal-weighted index, so its 47 stocks range from 0.31% to 2.94% of the fund instead of 19.27% for the largest SMH holding. XSD returned 23.2% a year over five years against 38.3% for SMH, which holds 25 stocks in very uneven weights.
15. XSD spreads 47 stocks between 0.31% and 2.94%
State Street says the S&P Semiconductor Select Industry Index is modified equal weighted. The fund’s daily holdings file for October 1, 2026 lists 47 stocks; MXL is the largest at 2.94% and MRAM the smallest at 0.31%. The ten largest add up to 27.03%, against 67.05% for SMH (WealthyBud’s sums).
16. Nvidia is 2.36% of XSD versus 19.27% of SMH
Nvidia is 8.2 times larger in SMH than in XSD. XSD holds 14 of SMH’s 25 stocks and 30 stocks that neither SMH nor SOXX holds, (WealthyBud’s comparison of the issuer files).
17. XSD trailed SMH by 15.1 points a year over five years
XSD returned 23.2% a year and SMH returned 38.3%. XSD’s volatility was 41.6% (34.7% for SMH) and its worst drawdown 37.5% (40.0% for SMH) (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured) (WealthyBud data · XSD vs SMH, total return, volatility, drawdown · October 2, 2026).
What this means for investors
Check concentration as well as cost. Expense ratios differ by 0.36 percentage points between the cheapest and priciest fund, but Nvidia weighs 19.27% in SMH and 2.36% in XSD.
Plan for the drop. Every chip fund fell at least 37% from peak to trough (month-end prices; lows within a month are not captured), and all 5 moved more than the S&P 500. Size a position for the fall you can sit through, not the gain you hope for.
Check what you already own. A broad technology fund already holds chip stocks. See our technology ETF statistics and sector ETF statistics for the overlap, semiconductor stock statistics for the companies, and leveraged ETF statistics for what daily-reset funds add to the risk.
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