Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ vs ULTY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QQQ returned +15.2% to ULTY's −11.2%, and QQQ charges 0.18% to ULTY's 1.30%.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $483.0bn for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 and $627m for YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF.
Pair scorecard
QQQ costs 1.12 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.4 points; QQQ is far larger, $483.0bn against $627m.
| Measure | QQQ | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.2% | −11.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 14.6% | fell 55.2% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 60.7% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 100% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment | |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nasdaq-100 Index | Benchmark: its own holdings |
| Against its benchmark, same days | ahead by 4.1 pts | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 1.30% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $483.0bn | $627m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 21% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 96% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Mar 8, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 137 weekly returnsQQQ returned more: +62.8% to −0.3%. QQQ swung less: 20.0% to 24.1%. QQQ fell less at its worst: −21.3% to −25.9%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QQQ | ULTY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +62.8% | −0.3% | QQQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +20.3% | −0.1% | QQQ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +60.4% | −88.7% | QQQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 20.0% | 24.1% | QQQ | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.1% | 18.4% | QQQ | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −21.3% | −25.9% | QQQ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.81 | −0.06 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.24 | −0.08 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.95 | 0.00 | QQQ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 137 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QQQ and ULTY hold 21% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
21% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
QQQ and ULTY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.
QQQ and ULTY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. QQQ follows Nasdaq-100 Index and ULTY is measured against its own holdings.
- Holdings in common. 21% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QQQ returned +15.2% and ULTY −11.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 26.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) returned −15.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.1 pts.
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ULTY paid 44.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 55.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −11.2%. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 60.7%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 29, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
Questions people ask
- Are QQQ and ULTY in the same category?
- QQQ is a stock ETF and ULTY is an option-income 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 ULTY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +15.2% and ULTY −11.2%.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or ULTY?
- QQQ is cheaper, by 1.12 percentage points a year. That is about $112 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 ULTY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-ulty
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