SON vs XLB: Correlation
Sonoco Products Company (SON) and Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLB) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.59.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are SON and XLB?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of SON and XLB correlate at 0.59, moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.54 over 1 year against 0.59 over 3. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.61, with an annualized covariance of 254.6 %².
In SON's tracked universe of 15 assets, XLB sits right near the top at #3. Over the last 12 months SON came out ahead by 8.9 percentage points (+26.5% against +17.6%). Risk is not evenly split, since SON carries 1.5 times the volatility of the other side.
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.
SON vs XLB: side by side
| SON (Sonoco Products Company) | XLB (Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.5% | +17.6% |
| 5-year return | +4.8% | +36.9% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 25.7% | 16.7% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 0.62 | 0.72 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -32.5% | -23.2% |
| Market cap | $5.6B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 8.9 | – |
| Dividend yield | 3.70% | 1.68% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.08% |
| Assets under management | – | $8.3B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | Sector ETF |
XLB is a Natural Resources fund from State Street Investment Management: $8.3B under management, 26 holdings, a 0.08% expense ratio, a 1.68% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | SON | XLB |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +8.3% | -12.3% |
| 2023 | -4.7% | +12.5% |
| 2024 | -9.1% | +0.1% |
| 2025 | -6.3% | +9.9% |
| 2026 | +33.8% | +18.3% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are SON and XLB good diversifiers for each other?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.59 means SON and XLB share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
FAQ
What is the correlation between SON and XLB?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between SON and XLB is 0.59 over 3 years, 0.54 over 1 year and 0.61 over 5 years.
Is XLB a good diversifier for SON?
Only partially. A correlation of 0.59 means SON and XLB share most of their swings. Pairing them dampens volatility somewhat, but it will not protect against a common drawdown.
What does a correlation of 0.59 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.59 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/son-vs-xlb.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/son-vs-xlb/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: SON correlations · XLB correlations
