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

In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +25.6% and SPY returned +20.0%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 97% of QQQ and 100% of SPY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

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

QQQ vs SPY

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

Invesco QQQ Trust and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

QQQ and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Sep 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust	SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
Where it sits	Core fund	Core fund
Issuer	Invesco	State Street
What it is	Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM	S&P 500, book from IVV
Total return, 1 year	+25.6%	+20.0%
S&P 500 over the same days	+20.0%	+20.0%
Gap to the S&P 500	+5.6 pts	+0.0 pts
Expense ratio	0.18%	not published
Already in the S&P 500	96.7%	100.0%
Holdings	101	504

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.

SPY in plain words

SPY is a index equity fund tracking S&P 500, book from IVV. Over the year to Sep 4, 2026 it returned +20.0% with distributions reinvested, against +20.0% for the S&P 500 and +25.6% for the Nasdaq-100. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or SPY?: In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +25.6% and SPY returned +20.0%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
How much do QQQ and SPY overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 97% of QQQ and 100% of SPY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

Where to next

Cite this page. ETFIQ, QQQ against SPY, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QQQ-SPY.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