Data as of Sep 13, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
PPA vs QQQ: how they differ
Over the year QQQ returned more, +23.0% against +8.5%, and QQQ charges 0.18% against 0.58%.
Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF and Invesco QQQ Trust.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, PPA and QQQ hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | PPA | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Palantir Technologies Inc | 1.79% | 1.69% |
| Honeywell Aerospace Inc | 3.30% | 0.22% |
| Axon Enterprise Inc | 3.15% | 0.17% |
| Rocket Lab Corp | 1.62% | 0.16% |
| Only in PPA | Only in QQQ |
|---|---|
| RTX Corp 8.29% | NVIDIA Corp 8.52% |
| Boeing Co/The 7.05% | Apple Inc 7.72% |
| General Electric Co 6.94% | Microsoft Corp 5.89% |
| Lockheed Martin Corp 6.59% | Micron Technology Inc 4.90% |
| General Dynamics Corp 4.97% | Amazon.com Inc 4.36% |
| Northrop Grumman Corp 4.95% | Advanced Micro Devices Inc 3.65% |
| Howmet Aerospace Inc 3.92% | Alphabet Inc 3.12% |
| Parker-Hannifin Corp 3.84% | Meta Platforms Inc 3.07% |
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 dated Sep 10, 2026.
| PPA Invesco Aerospace & Defense ETF | QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Thematic ETF | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Invesco | Invesco |
| What it is | Defense | Nasdaq-100 |
| Total return, 1 year | +8.5% | +23.0% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −9.0 pts | +5.5 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.58% | 0.18% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 71.8% | 96.7% |
| Holdings | 62 | 105 |
PPA in plain words
By weight, 72% of PPA's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 96%. The top ten holdings are 54% of the fund across 62 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 10, 2026. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 the fund returned +8.5% with distributions reinvested against +17.5% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 9.0 pts. It sits 12.7% below its all-time high of Mar 2, 2026.
QQQ in plain words
QQQ is an index equity fund tracking the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +23.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings filed for Sep 10, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 47.0%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Jun 2, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, PPA or QQQ?
- In the year to Sep 13, 2026, with distributions reinvested, PPA returned +8.5% and QQQ returned +23.0%, so QQQ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, PPA or QQQ?
- PPA charges 0.58% a year and QQQ charges 0.18%, so QQQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do PPA and QQQ overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 72% of PPA and 97% of QQQ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 2% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
- Are PPA and QQQ the same kind of fund?
- No. PPA 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.
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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, PPA against QQQ, data as of Sep 13, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ppa-vs-qqq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources