Fidelity vs. State Street: Which Consumer Staples ETF Stands Out?

Erin Kennedy, The Motley Fool

Wed, June 17, 2026 astatine 7:05 AM CDT 4 min read

The Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples Index ETF (NYSEMKT:FSTA) offers broader diversification done its 96 holdings, portion the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLP) provides a much concentrated portfolio with higher humanities dividend yields.

Investors often crook to the user staples assemblage for stableness and antiaircraft positioning by holding companies that nutrient indispensable goods similar nutrient and hygiene products. While FSTA and XLP some people this abstraction with identical, ultra-low costs, they disagree importantly successful portfolio concentration, liquidity, and humanities output payouts.

Snapshot (cost & size)

Beta measures terms volatility comparative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr instrumentality represents full instrumentality implicit the trailing 12 months. Dividend output is the trailing-12-month organisation yield.

Both funds are highly cost-efficient, each charging conscionable 0.08% annually. However, XLP has historically provided a higher payout to investors, with its trailing-12-month dividend output sitting 40 ground points supra the output offered by Fidelity's fund.

Performance & hazard examination

What's wrong

The SPDR ETF focuses connected large-cap stableness by tracking user staples companies wrong the S&P 500. Its portfolio is comparatively concentrated, with conscionable 36 holdings, and its assemblage allocation consists of user antiaircraft astatine 99% and user cyclical astatine 1%. Its largest positions see Walmart (NASDAQ:WMT) astatine 11.03%, Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) astatine 9.05%, and Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) astatine 7.2%. The money was launched successful 1998 and has a trailing-12-month dividend payout of $2.18 per share.

In contrast, the Fidelity ETF provides broader marketplace scope by tracking the MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples 25/50 Index with 96 holdings. It allocates 98% to user antiaircraft and 2% to user cyclical stocks. Its apical holdings are besides Walmart, Costco, and P&G astatine 14.62%, 11.69%, and 8.69%, respectively. Fidelity's fund, which was launched successful 2013, paid $1.16 per stock successful dividends implicit the trailing 12 months. FSTA's broader attack results successful somewhat much vulnerability to mid-cap companies compared to the SPDR fund.

For much guidance connected ETF investing, cheque retired the afloat usher astatine this link.