International ETF Outpacing the S&P 500 This Year Is Worth a Closer Look

This financial analysis article from The Motley Fool, published on Yahoo Finance on July 18, 2026, highlights the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), which has outperformed the S&P 500 by approximately two percentage points in 2026. While the S&P 500 is up 11.3% year-to-date, VXUS has delivered even stronger returns. The article notes that a $10,000 investment in the S&P 500 a decade ago would now be worth $41,420. VXUS, with $652 billion in assets and a 0.05% expense ratio, holds over 8,700 non-U.S. stocks, providing geographic diversification away from U.S. mega-cap tech. Its top holdings include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, ASML, and Tencent, offering exposure to the AI hardware supply chain. The article recommends investors add VXUS to their watch lists for portfolio diversification, particularly to hedge against concentration in U.S. stocks like the Magnificent Seven.