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

In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, NLR returned +4.0% and QQQ returned +25.6%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, NLR or QQQ?

NLR charges 0.52% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 15% of NLR and 97% of QQQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Are NLR and QQQ the same kind of fund?

No. NLR 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.

NLR vs QQQ

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

VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust.

NLR and QQQ on the fields both publish, as of Sep 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	NLR VanEck Uranium and Nuclear ETF	QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust
Where it sits	Themes desk	Core fund
Issuer	VanEck	Invesco
What it is	Nuclear and uranium	Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM
Total return, 1 year	+4.0%	+25.6%
S&P 500 over the same days	+20.0%	+20.0%
Gap to the S&P 500	−16.0 pts	+5.6 pts
Expense ratio	0.52%	0.18%
Already in the S&P 500	15.1%	96.7%
Holdings	25	101

NLR in plain words

By weight, 15% of NLR's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 61% of the fund across 25 positions, as filed for Jun 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 the fund returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested against +20.0% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 16.0 pts. It sits 27.0% below its all-time high of Jan 28, 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, NLR or QQQ?: In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, NLR returned +4.0% and QQQ returned +25.6%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, NLR or QQQ?: NLR charges 0.52% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do NLR and QQQ overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 15% of NLR and 97% of QQQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Are NLR and QQQ the same kind of fund?: No. NLR 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, NLR against QQQ, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/NLR-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