Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ITA vs QQQM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ITA returned −4.3% to QQQM's +15.2%, and QQQM charges 0.15% to ITA's 0.37%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $12.0bn for iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF and $110.4bn for Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF.
Pair scorecard
QQQM costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 19.5 points; QQQM is 9.2 times larger.
| Measure | ITA | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −4.3% | +15.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its all-time high | 17.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Defense | Nasdaq-100 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.37% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $12.0bn | $110.4bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 98% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 76% | 46.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 23, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026 · 313 weekly returnsITA and QQQM returned about the same: +157.5% and +157.2%. ITA and QQQM swung about the same: 21.2% and 21.0%. ITA fell less at its worst: −20.0% to −35.0%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ITA | QQQM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +157.5% | +157.2% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +17.0% | +17.0% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +145.4% | +147.9% | Tie | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.2% | 21.0% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 13.6% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −20.0% | −35.0% | ITA | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.69 | 0.70 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.06 | 1.07 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.85 | 0.49 | ITA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 313 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ITA and QQQM hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ITA and QQQM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ITA and QQQM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. ITA follows Defense and QQQM follows Nasdaq-100 Index.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ITA returned −4.3% and QQQM +15.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 19.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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ITA
By weight, 81% 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 76% of the fund across 51 positions, as published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −4.3% with distributions reinvested. It sits 17.9% below its all-time high of Aug 14, 2026.
QQQM
QQQM tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are ITA and QQQM in the same category?
- ITA is a thematic ETF and QQQM is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, ITA or QQQM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ITA returned −4.3% and QQQM +15.2%.
- Which is cheaper, ITA or QQQM?
- QQQM is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, ITA against QQQM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ita-vs-qqqm
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ITA against QQQM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ita-vs-qqqm
[ITA against QQQM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ita-vs-qqqm)
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