MPC vs XLE: Correlation
How closely do Marathon Petroleum (MPC) and Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLE) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.77, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are MPC and XLE?
Over the past 3 years, MPC and XLE moved with a correlation of 0.77, which is strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.73 lands near the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.78, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 606.5 %².
Within MPC's tracked universe of 29 assets, XLE comes in at #5 by 3-year correlation. Correlation aside, the last 12 months split them widely, with MPC ahead by 63.8 points (+107.8% versus +44.0%). Stability stands out here, with the rolling one-year correlation confined to 0.69 through 0.86.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
MPC vs XLE: side by side
| MPC (Marathon Petroleum) | XLE (Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +107.8% | +44.0% |
| 5-year return | +589.6% | +206.7% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 34.2% | 23.1% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.48 | 0.27 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -44.7% | -20.1% |
| Market cap | $102.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 12.6 | – |
| Dividend yield | 1.10% | 2.55% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.08% |
| Assets under management | – | $39.2B |
| Sector / category | Energy | Sector ETF |
XLE is an Equity Energy fund from State Street Investment Management: $39.2B under management, 22 holdings, a 0.08% expense ratio, a 2.55% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | MPC | XLE |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +86.6% | +64.3% |
| 2023 | +30.5% | -0.6% |
| 2024 | -4.1% | +5.6% |
| 2025 | +19.2% | +7.9% |
| 2026 | +126.1% | +41.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 5.4% of XLE is MPC itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are MPC and XLE good diversifiers for each other?
To a limited degree. At 0.77 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
FAQ
What is the correlation between MPC and XLE?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.77 over 3 years, with 0.73 over the last year and 0.78 over 5 years.
Is XLE a good diversifier for MPC?
To a limited degree. At 0.77 the two still catch most of the same waves, so the pair smooths returns a little without insulating either from a shared selloff.
What does a correlation of 0.77 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.77 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/mpc-vs-xle.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/mpc-vs-xle/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: MPC correlations · XLE correlations
