NSC vs XLI: Correlation
How closely do Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLI) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.62, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are NSC and XLI?
Over the past 3 years, NSC and XLI moved with a correlation of 0.62, which is strong. The past 12 months show a weaker link (0.30) than the 3-year average (0.62). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.66, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 213.5 %².
Within NSC's tracked universe of 32 assets, XLI comes in at #9 by 3-year correlation. Over the last 12 months NSC came out ahead by 11.7 percentage points (+30.0% against +18.3%). The rolling one-year correlation moved between 0.41 and 0.83 over the past three years, a moderate range.
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.
NSC vs XLI: side by side
| NSC (Norfolk Southern) | XLI (Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +30.0% | +18.3% |
| 5-year return | +49.6% | +84.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 22.0% | 15.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.69 | 0.89 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -25.1% | -18.5% |
| Market cap | $78.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 30.1 | – |
| Dividend yield | 1.53% | 1.15% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.08% |
| Assets under management | – | $32.9B |
| Sector / category | Industrials | Sector ETF |
XLI is an Industrials fund from State Street Investment Management: $32.9B under management, 83 holdings, a 0.08% expense ratio, a 1.15% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | NSC | XLI |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -15.6% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | -1.6% | +18.1% |
| 2024 | +1.6% | +17.3% |
| 2025 | +25.6% | +19.3% |
| 2026 | +22.0% | +15.9% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 1.4% of XLI is NSC itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are NSC and XLI good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.62 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between NSC and XLI?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between NSC and XLI is 0.62 over 3 years, 0.30 over 1 year and 0.66 over 5 years.
Is XLI a good diversifier for NSC?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.62 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.62 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.62 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/nsc-vs-xli.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/nsc-vs-xli/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: NSC correlations · XLI correlations
