Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ vs SHLD: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QQQ returned +15.2% to SHLD's −6.5%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to SHLD's 0.50%.
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Net assets: $483.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, and $6.3bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Defense Tech ETF.
Pair scorecard
QQQ costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.7 points; QQQ is far larger, $501.3bn against $6.3bn.
| Measure | QQQ | SHLD |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.2% | −6.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Below its all-time high | 18.6%, high on Mar 9, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nasdaq-100 Index | Defense |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.50% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 | $501.3bn | $6.3bn |
| Active share vs the S&P 500 | 99% | |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 2% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | 59% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Sep 22, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 161 weekly returnsSHLD returned more: +161.2% to +100.1%. QQQ swung less: 19.5% to 24.0%. QQQ fell less at its worst: −21.3% to −25.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QQQ | SHLD | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +100.1% | +161.2% | SHLD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +25.1% | +36.4% | SHLD | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +96.8% | +156.8% | SHLD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.5% | 24.0% | QQQ | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.5% | 13.5% | QQQ (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −21.3% | −25.1% | QQQ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 1.02 | 1.23 | SHLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.59 | 2.17 | SHLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 1.18 | 1.45 | SHLD | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 161 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QQQ and SHLD hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
2% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
QQQ and SHLD on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
No client brief for this pair: the two funds' holdings are dated 149 days apart.
QQQ
QQQ 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 0.18% 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 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
SHLD
By weight, 45% of SHLD's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 99%. The top ten holdings are 59% of the fund across 48 positions, as filed for May 31, 2026. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 the fund returned −6.5% with distributions reinvested. It sits 18.6% below its all-time high of Mar 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Are QQQ and SHLD in the same category?
- QQQ is a stock ETF and SHLD is a thematic ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or SHLD?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +15.2% and SHLD −6.5%.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or SHLD?
- QQQ is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 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, QQQ against SHLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-shld
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). QQQ against SHLD. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-shld
[QQQ against SHLD (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-shld)
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