USO vs. XLE

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about United States Oil Fund LP (USO) and State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE).

USO and XLE are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. USO is a passively managed fund by Concierge Technologies that tracks the performance of the Front Month Light Sweet Crude Oil. It was launched on Apr 10, 2006. XLE is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the Energy Select Sector Index. It was launched on Dec 16, 1998. Both USO and XLE are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

USO vs. XLE - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in United States Oil Fund LP (USO) and State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

USO vs. XLE - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
USO United States Oil Fund LP	83.99%	-8.46%	13.35%	-4.94%	28.97%	64.68%	-67.79%	32.61%	-19.57%	2.47%
XLE State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF	37.91%	7.88%	5.56%	-0.63%	64.32%	53.28%	-32.67%	11.74%	-18.22%	-0.89%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, USO achieves a 83.99% return, which is significantly higher than XLE's 37.91% return. Over the past 10 years, USO has underperformed XLE with an annualized return of 5.48%, while XLE has yielded a comparatively higher 11.65% annualized return.

USO

• 1D: -1.99%
• 1M: 55.28%
• YTD: 83.99%
• 6M: 72.54%
• 1Y: 64.55%
• 3Y*: 24.19%
• 5Y*: 24.91%
• 10Y*: 5.48%

XLE

• 1D: -1.13%
• 1M: 10.27%
• YTD: 37.91%
• 6M: 39.21%
• 1Y: 35.32%
• 3Y*: 17.71%
• 5Y*: 23.99%
• 10Y*: 11.65%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

USO vs. XLE - Expense Ratio Comparison

USO has a 0.79% expense ratio, which is higher than XLE's 0.08% expense ratio.

USO

United States Oil Fund LP

XLE

State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF

Return for Risk

USO vs. XLE — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

USO

USO Risk / Return Rank: 82
USO Sharpe Ratio Rank: 85
USO Sortino Ratio Rank: 88
USO Omega Ratio Rank: 80
USO Calmar Ratio Rank: 93
USO Martin Ratio Rank: 64

XLE

XLE Risk / Return Rank: 73
XLE Sharpe Ratio Rank: 79
XLE Sortino Ratio Rank: 76
XLE Omega Ratio Rank: 77
XLE Calmar Ratio Rank: 78
XLE Martin Ratio Rank: 58

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

USO vs. XLE - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for United States Oil Fund LP (USO) and State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	USO	XLE	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.65	1.42	+0.23
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.32	1.84	+0.49
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.30	1.28	+0.02
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	3.44	1.96	+1.48
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	5.96	5.16	+0.81
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

USO vs. XLE - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current USO Sharpe Ratio is 1.65, which is comparable to the XLE Sharpe Ratio of 1.42. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of USO and XLE, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	USO	XLE	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.65	1.42	+0.23
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.73	0.93	-0.20
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.14	0.40	-0.25
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	-0.19	0.32	-0.51

Correlation

The correlation between USO and XLE is 0.63, which is considered to be moderate. This suggests that the two assets have some degree of positive relationship in their price movements. Moderate correlation can be acceptable for portfolio diversification, offering a balance between risk and potential returns.

Dividends

USO vs. XLE - Dividend Comparison

USO has not paid dividends to shareholders, while XLE's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 2.44%.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
USO United States Oil Fund LP	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
XLE State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF	2.44%	3.28%	3.36%	3.55%	3.68%	4.21%	5.62%	6.72%	3.54%	3.03%	2.26%	3.39%

Drawdowns

USO vs. XLE - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum USO drawdown since its inception was -98.19%, which is greater than XLE's maximum drawdown of -71.26%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for USO and XLE.

Drawdown Indicators

	USO	XLE	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-98.19%	-71.26%	-26.93%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-20.39%	-18.79%	-1.60%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-36.23%	-26.04%	-10.19%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-86.75%	-66.81%	-19.94%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-86.46%	-2.08%	-84.38%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-75.21%	-18.05%	-57.16%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	11.77%	7.14%	+4.63%

Volatility

USO vs. XLE - Volatility Comparison

United States Oil Fund LP (USO) has a higher volatility of 21.87% compared to State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) at 5.05%. This indicates that USO's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than XLE based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	USO	XLE	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	21.87%	5.05%	+16.82%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	29.71%	13.94%	+15.77%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	39.38%	24.93%	+14.45%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	34.41%	26.06%	+8.35%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	38.33%	29.48%	+8.85%