What Is SOXX? iShares Semiconductor ETF

SOXX is the iShares Semiconductor ETF, a passively-managed fund from BlackRock that tracks the ICE Semiconductor Index. In one ticker it gives you a concentrated stake in roughly 30 US-listed chip companies: the firms that design processors, the ones that fabricate memory and logic, and the equipment makers that build the machines those fabs depend on. It launched in July 2001, which makes it one of the longest-running semiconductor sector funds available.

The index methodology caps individual weights more aggressively than the MVIS index that the better-known SMH tracks. That single design choice is what gives SOXX its character: it is a chip sector bet, but a slightly broader and less top-heavy one than its main rival. It carries a 0.35% expense ratio and yields roughly 0.6%, with most of the return investors care about coming from price movement in the underlying names rather than dividends.

Approximate weights as of early 2026; refresh quarterly from iShares (BlackRock)'s fund page. Each ticker links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.

Because SOXX caps single-stock weights, the top of the fund is spread across more names than a pure cap-weighted approach would produce. As of early 2026 the largest positions include NVIDIA, Broadcom, AMD, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Applied Materials, Micron, Lam Research, Marvell, and Analog Devices. NVIDIA sits near the top at roughly 9.5% rather than dominating the fund, which is the practical effect of the weighting caps. See the top-10 table above for current weights.

The roster deliberately mixes the three layers of the chip stack: designers like NVIDIA, AMD, and Qualcomm; memory and analog makers like Micron, Texas Instruments, and Analog Devices; and the equipment names like Applied Materials and Lam Research that supply every fab on earth. That breadth is why SOXX leans a little more toward analog and equipment exposure than SMH does, and why its dividend yield runs slightly higher: those mature equipment and analog firms pay more meaningful dividends than the growth-tilted leaders.

SOXX and SMH cover the same corner of the market at the same 0.35% expense ratio, so the choice between them is about methodology, not cost. SOXX tracks the ICE Semiconductor Index and caps individual weights more aggressively, holding roughly 30 names with a more balanced top. SMH tracks the MVIS index and lets its largest position (NVIDIA) run far higher, which makes it a more concentrated expression of the AI infrastructure leaders. The practical gap shows up at the very top of each fund: NVIDIA near 9.5% in SOXX versus a much larger slice in SMH.

Neither is the strictly correct answer. SOXX gives you broader, steadier semiconductor exposure with less single-name risk and a bit more weight in analog and equipment companies. SMH gives you a higher-conviction bet on the largest AI chip names. Returns over multi-year windows have been close, with SMH tending to lead in strong AI legs and SOXX holding up more evenly across the chip cycle. Both are concentrated, volatile sector funds, so most investors who pick one do not also need the other.

Semiconductors are deeply cyclical, and SOXX moves with that cycle. The industry swings between periods of tight supply and oversupply, and chip stocks tend to amplify those swings, which means SOXX has historically been considerably more volatile than a broad-market fund. In the recent AI infrastructure buildout, demand for advanced logic and memory has been a powerful tailwind for the names SOXX holds, but the sector has a long history of sharp drawdowns when the cycle turns.

The fund's diversification across designers, memory makers, and equipment suppliers smooths some of the single-name risk, but it does not remove the sector cyclicality. The longer-term outlook tends to track the structural demand story (more compute, more devices, more AI workloads) against the reality that capacity, pricing, and inventory cycles still drive chip earnings. SOXX is best judged over a full cycle rather than on any single strong or weak leg, and on a total-return basis that includes its modest dividend.

SOXX is built to be a satellite, not a core holding. Many investors use it as a tactical sleeve around a broad-market core (something like VOO or VTI) to add concentrated exposure to the chip cycle and the AI infrastructure theme. Because the sector is volatile and cyclical, position sizes in the range of a small single-digit to low-double-digit share of a portfolio are typical; concentration much above that turns the whole portfolio into a sector-cycle bet.

Walnut isn't an investment adviser and this isn't a recommendation, but it is worth knowing what SOXX overlaps with before you buy. If you already own NVIDIA, AMD, or a broad tech fund like VGT or QQQ, you likely hold many of these chip names already, and adding SOXX stacks more weight onto the same cyclical, concentrated corner of the market. In conversation, Walnut's AI can show you how much SOXX duplicates what you already own and where a semiconductor sleeve fits as a satellite around your core.

SOXX trades like any stock during US market hours (9:30am to 4:00pm ET) and is available at every major broker, including Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, and Webull. Fractional shares are supported at most modern brokers, which lowers the minimum dollar commitment needed to take a position and lets the quarterly dividend reinvest automatically (DRIP).

Walnut doesn't replace your broker, it sits on top of it. Connect any major broker and Walnut adds an AI layer that helps you build a basket around SOXX, track how your semiconductor sleeve is doing against your targets, and rebalance when that allocation drifts away from where you wanted it.

ETFs are passive bundles; thematic baskets in Walnut let you concentrate within them. If you hold SOXX as a core position, these are the themes you might layer on as satellites.

There are three common ways to get SOXX exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of SOXX directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic basket in Walnut, so SOXX sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. SOXX trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.

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Whether SOXX is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks ICE Semiconductor, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is SOXX a buy?

SOXX is a more diversified take on semiconductors than SMH, spreading exposure across designers, memory, and equipment names with lower single-stock concentration. It works as a cyclical sector satellite around a broad core like VOO or VTI, and owning it alongside SMH adds little since both cover the same universe.

Whether SOXX is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is SOXX a buy?

SOXX yields ~0.6% as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see SOXX dividend: yield and schedule.

SMH and SOXX both track semiconductors, but SMH is more concentrated in its largest holding (NVIDIA-heavy) and a tighter roster, while SOXX spreads across more chip names. SMH amplifies the leaders; SOXX is the more evenly distributed bet. Read the full side-by-side in SMH vs SOXX.

New to funds like SOXX? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.