Which returned more over the last year, ITA or QQQ?

In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ITA returned +14.2% and QQQ returned +25.6%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

How much do ITA and QQQ overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 77% of ITA and 97% of QQQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Are ITA and QQQ the same kind of fund?

No. ITA is a thematic ETF and QQQ is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Data as of Sep 4, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ITA vs QQQ

Name: ETFIQ comparison of ITA and QQQ
Creator: ETFIQ
License: https://etfiq.com/standards/

iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust.

ITA and QQQ on the fields both publish, as of Sep 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF	QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust
Where it sits	Themes desk	Core fund
Issuer	iShares	Invesco
What it is	Defense	Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM
Total return, 1 year	+14.2%	+25.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+20.0%	+20.0%
Gap to the S&P 500	−5.7 pts	+5.6 pts
Expense ratio	not published	0.18%
Already in the S&P 500	76.6%	96.7%
Holdings	49	101

ITA in plain words

By weight, 77% of ITA's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 98%. The top ten holdings are 75% of the fund across 49 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +14.2% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 5.7 pts. It sits 10.9% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.

QQQ in plain words

QQQ is a index equity fund tracking Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +25.6% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 101 positions, with the top ten at 47.5%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Jun 2, 2026 on Sep 4, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ITA or QQQ?: In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ITA returned +14.2% and QQQ returned +25.6%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
How much do ITA and QQQ overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 77% of ITA and 97% of QQQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Are ITA and QQQ the same kind of fund?: No. ITA is a thematic ETF and QQQ is an index ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.

Other comparisons

Where to next

Cite this page. ETFIQ, ITA against QQQ, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ITA-QQQ.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. ETFIQ publishes the same fields for every fund and suggests no allocation. Standards and sources