PBJ vs. XLP: Which Consumer Staples ETF Is the Better Bet?

John Ballard, The Motley Fool

Tue, August 18, 2026 at 3:46 PM GMT+3 4 min read

The Invesco Food & Beverage ETF (NYSEMKT:PBJ) provides targeted exposure to food industry stocks via a dynamic indexing strategy, while the State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEMKT:XLP) offers broad, low-cost access to S&P 500 consumer staples.

Investors seeking defensive stability often turn to consumer staples to weather market volatility. While both funds target this segment, they differ significantly in cost, total assets under management (AUM), and the breadth of their underlying portfolios. This comparison examines how a focused food-and-beverage approach compares with a diversified sector giant.

Snapshot (cost & size)

Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&P 500; beta is calculated from monthly returns over the available fund history (up to five years). The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months. Dividend yield is the trailing-12-month distribution yield.

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF is significantly more affordable, featuring a low expense ratio of 0.08% compared to the 0.61% charged by the Invesco Food & Beverage ETF.

Furthermore, the State Street fund offers a much higher payout to income-seeking investors, with a yield gap of 1.26 percentage points.

Performance & risk comparison

What's inside

The State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF tracks a diversified basket of 35 holdings, with a primary focus on Consumer Defensive (98%) and Consumer Cyclical (2%). Its largest positions include Walmart at 10.86%, Costco Wholesale at 9.00%, and Coca-Cola at 7.17%.

The fund was launched in 1998. State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF has paid $2.20 per share over the trailing 12 months, which, at its recent ~$86.00 share price, works out to a 2.6% yield.

The Invesco Food & Beverage ETF uses a dynamic index to select 31 companies, tilting toward Consumer Defensive at 78%, Consumer Cyclical at 8%, and Industrials at 6%. Its top holdings include Coca-Cola at 5.46%, Starbucks at 5.42%, and Monster Beverage at 5.33%.

The fund was launched in 2005. Invesco Food & Beverage ETF has paid $0.61 per share over the trailing 12 months, which, on its recent ~$48.03 share price, works out to a 1.3% yield.

For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.

Which looks like the better buy?

These consumer staples funds offer ballast to offset the volatility of growth stocks. This is evident in their relatively low beta of about 0.5, meaning these funds are less volatile than the S&P 500 index.

I think it's hard to beat the State Street (XLP). It has much lower costs with an expense ratio of just 0.08%, compared to PBJ's 0.61%. Moreover, XLP offers a dividend yield roughly double that of PBJ.

Sometimes the higher-yielding fund doesn't offer the returns of a low-yield comparable fund. But that's not the case here. XLP has outperformed PBJ over the last five years, which includes a down year for the market (2022).

XLP includes many top brands and industry leaders from the S&P 500. On the basic measures of returns, cost, and yield, it offers consumer staples investors more for their money than PBJ does.

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John Ballard has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Costco Wholesale, Monster Beverage, Starbucks, and Walmart. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

PBJ vs. XLP: Which Consumer Staples ETF Is the Better Bet? was originally published by The Motley Fool