Stock Meadow · Metric glossary · Price trend
Relative Strength vs. Sector: formula and how to read it
Comparing a stock with the whole market can hide a lot: when technology shines, nearly every technology stock beats the S&P 500. Comparing it with its own sector shows whether it is leading or lagging its peers. Stock Meadow uses the SPDR Select Sector funds (XLK, XLF, XLV and so on) as the sector yardstick.
What is Relative Strength vs. Sector?
Six-month return compared with the stock's own sector. Six-month stock return minus the return of the SPDR Select Sector fund for the stock's sector (XLK for Technology, XLF for Financial Services and so on) over matching trading dates. Positive means the stock beat its sector.
Stock Meadow groups it under Price trend, and shows it in tables as RS vs sector 6m.
Formula and a worked example
Relative strength vs. sector = stock's six-month return − sector fund's six-month return (126 trading days, matching dates)
If a bank stock rose 12% in six months while the Financial Select Sector fund (XLF) rose 7%, the figure is 12% − 7% = +5%. The numbers are made up for illustration.
How to read it
Positive means the stock beat its sector over six months; negative means it trailed. A higher figure scores better. It measures leadership inside a sector, not whether the sector itself is strong.
When Stock Meadow ranks stocks, a higher figure scores better.
Common pitfalls
- A few huge stocks dominate each sector fund, so the benchmark can mostly reflect those names.
- Sector labels come from the data provider, and a company may not fit its sector neatly.
- Blank for stocks with no sector and for those with less than six months of prices.
How Stock Meadow handles gaps. Usually blank when the stock has no sector, or less than six months of prices.
Treat any single metric as one clue, and read the company's financial statements before drawing a conclusion. Stock Meadow's figures are research tools based on reported data, not investment advice.
Stock Meadow models that use it
In Weighted ranking, Z-score composite and Balanced (no weak link), you choose the metrics and weights yourself, so you can include it in a custom score.
No fixed-recipe model scores it.
Read about every scoring model in How scores work.
Frequently asked questions
- Which funds are the sector benchmarks?
- The eleven SPDR Select Sector funds: XLK (Technology), XLF (Financial Services), XLV (Healthcare), XLY (Consumer Cyclical), XLP (Consumer Defensive), XLE (Energy), XLI (Industrials), XLB (Basic Materials), XLU (Utilities), XLRE (Real Estate) and XLC (Communication Services).
- How is this different from relative strength against the S&P 500?
- The six-month relative strength metric compares the stock with the whole market. This one compares it with its own sector, so it separates a strong stock from a stock that is only riding a strong sector.
- Is a higher or lower RS vs sector 6m better?
- When Stock Meadow ranks stocks, a higher figure scores better. That is a ranking convention, so read RS vs sector 6m alongside other measures and compare similar companies.
- Why is RS vs sector 6m blank for some stocks?
- It is usually blank when the stock has no sector, or less than six months of prices. Stock Meadow leaves the figure blank rather than guessing it.
Use RS vs sector 6m in Stock Meadow
Filter on Six-month relative strength vs. sector, score it in the stock scoring model, and see how every stock compares. Sign up free, no card needed.
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