Data as of Sep 4, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
QQQ vs YMAX
Invesco QQQ Trust and YieldMax(R) Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, QQQ and YMAX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QQQ | Only in YMAX |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. 8.16% | YieldMax AMD Option Income Strategy ETF 6.95% |
| Apple Inc. 7.29% | Yieldmax Amzn Option Income ETF 5.36% |
| Microsoft Corp. 5.32% | Yieldmax Tsm Option Income Strategy ETF 5.01% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 4.80% | YieldMax Crypto Industry & Tec 4.99% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. 4.62% | YieldMax GOOGL Option Income S 4.88% |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 3.70% | YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF 4.80% |
| Alphabet Inc. 3.52% | YieldMax AI & Tech Portfolio Option Inco 4.72% |
| Tesla, Inc. 3.46% | YieldMax Semiconductor Portfolio Option 4.66% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings as filed for Apr 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust | YMAX YieldMax(R) Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core fund | Income desk |
| Issuer | Invesco | YieldMax |
| What it is | Nasdaq-100, book from QQQM | synthetic covered call, vs SPY |
| Total return, 1 year | +25.6% | +3.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +20.0% | +20.0% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +5.6 pts | −16.5 pts |
| Cash paid, 1 year | not an income fund | 40.0% |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 1.33% |
| Holdings | 101 | n/a |
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.
YMAX in plain words
Over the year to Sep 4, 2026, YMAX paid 40.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 38.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.5%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +20.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 16.5 pts. At its price on Sep 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualises to 40.6%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 43% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterisation rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or YMAX?
- In the year to Sep 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +25.6% and YMAX returned +3.5%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or YMAX?
- QQQ charges 0.18% a year and YMAX charges 1.33%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- Are QQQ and YMAX the same kind of fund?
- No. QQQ is an index ETF and YMAX is an option-income ETF, so they are built for different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and what each actually holds.
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, QQQ against YMAX, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/QQQ-YMAX.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources