ETF Explainer: XLC

Each month, we look at an ETF selected by ETF.com based on its performance and importance to investors. This month, we consider the performance of the $7.3 billion Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLC). The sector was broken out from the consumer discretionary, technology and telecommunications sectors in the Global Industry Classification Standard in 2018. All the companies mentioned below are holdings in XLC, unless otherwise noted (*).

MAR 21 After news of an expected merger between 21st Century Fox and Disney, Netflix releases the trailer for the third season of its hit series “Stranger Things.”

JUN 3 Facebook stock tumbles sharply after a court ruling indicates the company could be subject to antitrust action. The company loses more than $38 billion in market cap.

JUL 26 Google parent company Alphabet sees its share price rise 9% after it beats second-quarter earnings estimates, and the company announces a $25 billion share repurchase.

SEP 5 Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan upgrades Comcast stock to “outperform” one month after it reported its fourth consecutive quarter of exceeding consensus estimates

OCT 4 Activision Blizzard stock is boosted by the release of “Call of Duty: Mobile” video game, which surpassed 35 million downloads with never-before-seen speed.

JAN 23 AT&T’s DirecTV unit files a request with the FCC for permission to conduct an emergency operation to prevent the possibility of its Spaceway-1 satellite from exploding.

Source: Bloomberg. Data for 2/28/2019 to 2/29/2020.