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Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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QQQ vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees

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QQQ is an equity index fund and USO a commodity futures fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, USO returned +133.3% against +15.2%.

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Net assets: $483.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, and $1.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for United States Oil Fund, LP.

QQQ on its own →USO on its own →
At a glance
+15.2%
QQQ total return, 1 year
+133.3%
USO total return, 1 year
0.18%
QQQ expense ratio
0.86%
USO expense ratio

Pair scorecard

QQQ costs 0.68 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 118.1 points; QQQ is far larger, $483.0bn against $1.9bn.

QQQ vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureQQQUSO
Return
Total return, 1 year+15.2%+133.3%
Drawdown
Below its high4.5%, high on Oct 6, 202682.3%, high on Jul 14, 2008
Benchmark
What it tracksNasdaq-100 IndexOil futures
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.18%0.86%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$483.0bn$1.9bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight96%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund46.7%

Method

Risk and return

Apr 21, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,070 weekly returns
QQQ USO
Return
Total return edge QQQ +1,862.3% −70.9%
Annualized edge QQQ +15.6% −5.8%
Price return edge QQQ +1,577.1% −70.9%
Risk
Volatility edge QQQ 20.2% 37.1%
Max drawdown edge QQQ −51.4% −98.0%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge QQQ 0.73 −0.02
Sortino edge QQQ 1.08 −0.03
Calmar edge QQQ 0.30 −0.06
Reading

QQQ returned more: +1,862.3% to −70.9%. QQQ swung less: 20.2% to 37.1%. QQQ fell less at its worst: −51.4% to −98.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
Risk and return: QQQ vs USO: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureQQQUSOEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+1,862.3%−70.9%QQQPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+15.6%−5.8%QQQTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+1,577.1%−70.9%QQQPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility20.2%37.1%QQQSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation13.8%26.9%QQQLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−51.4%−98.0%QQQDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.73−0.02QQQReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.08−0.03QQQReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.30−0.06QQQAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,070 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

QQQ Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 USO United States Oil Fund, LP
Where it sits Stock ETF Commodity ETF
Issuer Invesco USCF
What it is Tracks the Nasdaq-100 Holds oil futures
Total return, 1 year +15.2% +133.3%
Its benchmark over the same days +15.2% (QQQM) not measured
Gap to its benchmark 0.0 pts vs QQQM not measured
Expense ratio 0.18% 0.86%
Holdings 103 not counted
Net assets, QQQ as of Oct 27, 2026 and USO as of Oct 28, 2026 $483.0bn $1.9bn

QQQ and USO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CD9A50874E

QQQ and USO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. QQQ follows Nasdaq-100 Index and USO follows Oil futures.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 QQQ returned +15.2% and USO +133.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 118.1 points.
  3. Cost. QQQ charges 0.18% of assets a year and USO 0.86%, a gap of 0.68 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
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.

USO

USO holds oil futures. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +133.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.86% a year. It sat 82.3% below its high of Jul 14, 2008 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, QQQ or USO?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +15.2% and USO +133.3%.
Which is cheaper, QQQ or USO?
QQQ is cheaper, by 0.68 percentage points a year. That is about $68 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
BWET vs QQQQQQ vs SIVRQQQ vs SLVGLDM vs QQQUSO vs VUGQQQM vs USOSPYG vs USOUSO vs XOVR
Where to next
QQQ on its own →USO on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →QQQ dividend history →QQQ holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
QQQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
QQQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Invesco page for QQQ ↗
USCF website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QQQ against USO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-uso

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