Top Holdings SP Oil And Gas ETF-Not What You Expect
- 01. Key holdings snapshot
- 02. Top 10 holdings table (illustrative, sourced snapshot)
- 03. How the ETF builds exposure
- 04. Sector context and historical note
- 05. Practical investor metrics
- 06. Risks tied to top holdings
- 07. Quick checklist before you trade
- 08. Illustrative historical quote
- 09. Data sources and verification
Top holdings of the SP Oil & Gas ETF (XOP) as of May 12, 2026 are led by SM Energy, Murphy Oil, Chord Energy and APA - collectively accounting for roughly 11.0% of the fund's weight, while the top 10 holdings represent about 29-30% of assets. State Street's XOP uses a sampling approach to track the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index and the fund's top weights rotate frequently with sector volatility and corporate events.
Key holdings snapshot
Top 5 names in XOP typically include a mix of mid-cap E&P companies and a few large integrated producers; on 2026-05-12 the leading weights reported were SM Energy (≈3.15%), Murphy Oil (≈2.93%), Chord Energy (≈2.93%), APA Corporation (≈2.90%), and Venture Global/ Texas Pacific Land among the next positions.
- SM Energy Company - energy exploration and production focus, ~3.15% weight.
- Murphy Oil Corporation - upstream oil & gas, ~2.93% weight.
- Chord Energy Corporation - Permian-focused producer, ~2.93% weight.
- APA Corporation - diversified upstream, ~2.90% weight.
- Venture Global / Texas Pacific Land - periodically in top slots, weights vary near 3-4%.
Top 10 holdings table (illustrative, sourced snapshot)
Top 10 allocation shows concentration: the fund is fairly concentrated in its top decile compared with broad energy indexes.
| Rank | Symbol | Company | % Weight (approx.) | 1-yr change (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SM | SM Energy Company | 3.15% | +37% |
| 2 | MUR | Murphy Oil Corporation | 2.93% | +82%* |
| 3 | CHRD | Chord Energy Corporation | 2.93% | +40% |
| 4 | APA | APA Corporation | 2.90% | +9% |
| 5 | VG | Venture Global, Inc. | ~3.5-4.5% | -53% |
| 6 | TPL | Texas Pacific Land | ~3.0-3.8% | -23% |
| 7 | OXY | Occidental Petroleum | 2.7-2.9% | -2% |
| 8 | PBF | PBF Energy Inc. | ~2.8-2.9% | +12% |
| 9 | XOM | Exxon Mobil Corporation | ~2.7-2.8% | +34% |
| 10 | COP | ConocoPhillips | ~2.6-2.8% | +7% |
How the ETF builds exposure
Index methodology - XOP tracks the S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production Select Industry Index through a sampling strategy that selects a representative basket of the index constituents rather than holding every security.
- Sampling approach: the fund selects stocks from the underlying index to replicate risk/return characteristics; this is common for industry-specific ETFs.
- Reconstitution schedule: index rebalances and S&P updates can change weights; major reconstitutions historically occur quarterly or semi-annually depending on S&P rules.
- Corporate events: mergers, bankruptcies, and large issuance can move weightings quickly (example: a 2024-2025 wave of consolidation in midstream and E&P changed top weights materially).
Sector context and historical note
Energy sector dynamics since 2020 have been driven by oil price cycles, demand recovery, and capital discipline among producers; those forces concentrated performance among a smaller set of E&P names which in turn altered XOP's top holdings throughout 2021-2026.
Historical concentration - during 2024-2025 several mid-cap names (e.g., Texas Pacific Land) briefly rose to top weights after resource-value re-rating events; by May 2026 the top 10 accounted for roughly 29-30% of assets in many published snapshots.
Practical investor metrics
Holdings count and turnover - XOP holds around 50-55 individual names (StockAnalysis lists 53 holdings), which is modest for a sector ETF and results in higher *active* turnover relative to broad market ETFs.
Expense and tracking - XOP's expense ratio is economically modest for specialized ETFs (check the fund page for the current figure before trading); sampling can create small tracking error relative to the full index.
Risks tied to top holdings
Concentration risk: with roughly 29-30% in the top 10, a negative shock to a few names can materially affect fund performance.
Commodity sensitivity: XOP's returns are strongly correlated to oil and natural gas prices and to sector macro trends; a sudden oil price drop or policy shock can compress E&P equity valuations swiftly.
Quick checklist before you trade
Due diligence steps you should perform prior to buying XOP: verify the fund's latest holdings page, check the trade date for holdings data, confirm the current expense ratio, and assess the fund's turnover and liquidity.
- Confirm date on the holdings page (holdings change frequently).
- Compare weightings against competitors and the underlying index.
- Review corporate news for the top 5 names (M&A, bankruptcy, spinoffs).
- Check tax characteristics if you hold the ETF in a taxable account.
Illustrative historical quote
"Investors should expect rotating leadership in the E&P space; small cap discovery and acreage re-rating often reshapes ETF weights within a single year." - hypothetical analyst comment aligned with observed index behavior in 2024-2026.
Data sources and verification
Primary sources for holdings snapshots include the issuer's fund page (State Street / SPDR) and major data providers (StockAnalysis, MarketWatch, FT Markets); always verify against the fund's official page for the exact trade date and weights.
What are the most common questions about Top Holdings Sp Oil And Gas Etf Not What You Expect?
How often do the top holdings change?
Top holdings shift with index reconstitution, corporate events, and price moves; XOP's top names have changed multiple times between 2021 and 2026, with the top 10 concentration fluctuating near 29-62% depending on the snapshot and ETF share class.
Is XOP the same as other oil & gas ETFs?
XOP is focused specifically on exploration & production stocks (S&P Select Industry Index) and differs from broad energy ETFs that include pipelines, refiners and integrated majors; performance can diverge significantly over short periods.
Where can I get the latest holdings?
Check the fund issuer's holdings page (State Street / SPDR XOP) or trusted aggregator pages; the fund page dated 2026-05-11/12 lists the most recent published weights at the time of this article.
Should I rely on top holdings for stock ideas?
Use ETF top holdings as a screening starting point, but perform company-level fundamental analysis before investing in individual names because ETF inclusion simply reflects index membership, not an analyst endorsement.
What percent of assets are in the top 10?
Published snapshots show the top 10 holdings representing about 29.6% of XOP in several sources and up to ~62% in other related oil & gas ETFs or at other snapshot dates; the commonly reported figure for XOP in May 2026 was ~29.7%.