Energy Stocks Hunt A Streak Record Unseen Since 2013: Are They Still A Buy Now?

The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE) has now extended its winning streak to 14 straight weeks — the longest run in the history of the fund. But that is only the beginning of what makes this streak historically unusual. Measured against every other S&P 500 sector’s all-time best run, XLE now stands among just two funds ever to sustain 14 or more consecutive weeks of gains. One more winning week would tie a record that has gone untouched since April 2013. Barack Obama was in the first months of his second term. The iPhone 5 was the most advanced device in your pocket. And Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were at No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 with Thrift Shop. That is how long it has been since any S&P 500 sector ETF last ran a winning streak this long — and XLE is one week away from matching it. What The Streak Actually Means A weekly winning streak for a sector ETF means the fund closed higher than the prior Friday for that many weeks in a row — no interruptions, no flat weeks. Fourteen of those in sequence, across bear raids, economic data releases and rate decisions, is a statistical rarity. The only other sector fund ever to match this is the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK), which hit 14 consecutive weekly gains ending in April 2012, during the post-financial-crisis tech rally. The outright record belongs to the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU), which posted 15 straight weekly gains ending in April 2013 — a streak driven by a defensive rotation into dividend-yielding assets as investors hedged against equity volatility. That record has continued to stand for 13 years. How Rare Is A 14-Week Winning Streak, Really? What the table makes clear: sustained sector-wide winning streaks of this length are vanishingly rare. Only twice in the history of the S&P 500 sector SPDR funds has any sector reached 14 consecutive weekly gains. XLE now shares that company with XLK’s 2012 run — and stands one week from territory only XLU has ever entered. S&P 500 SectorMax Weekly StreakSet InUtilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLU)15April 2013Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLE)142026Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLK)14April 2012Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLY)13July 2013Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLV)11February 2004Communication Services Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLC)10December 2019Materials Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLB)10March 2024Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLF)10April 2010Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLP)9August 2020Industrial Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLI)9March 2024Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSE:XLRE)9August 2021 Why Energy, Why Now? The streak did not begin with the Iran war. XLE has closed higher every week since Dec. 22, 2025 — more than two months before U.S.-Iran tensions escalated in early March — suggesting the underlying bid for energy was already structural before geopolitics entered the picture. What the conflict did was accelerate a trend already in motion. The prospect of disruptions to Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes — a chokepoint for roughly 20% of global seaborne oil supply — layered a hard physical supply shock on top of a rally that needed no geopolitical catalyst to sustain itself. Oil prices climbed sharply on supply-risk premiums, lifting revenue and earnings expectations for the integrated majors, exploration and production companies and oilfield services firms that dominate XLE’s weighting. What Are The Risks? Fourteen weeks of gains have made energy the most-consensus-long trade in the equity market. That concentration is itself a risk. Since the war began, energy is the only S&P 500 sector in positive territory. XLE has rallied 9% over that span. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) has fallen 6% in the same period. A ceasefire or a U.S.-Iran diplomatic agreement would remove the supply-shock premium that has driven the second leg of the rally — and there would be little cushion left. Valuation offers no protection either. Energy stocks now trade at 21 times forward earnings, against 22 times for the broader S&P 500. The sector’s long-standing discount to the broader market — one of the most reliable bullish arguments for energy over the past few years — has effectively disappeared. Photo: Shutterstock