Which has more room to gain, BMAY or ZMAY?

From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BMAY can gain about 9.4% before its cap and ZMAY about 4.1%, so BMAY has more room left this period.

Which resets first, BMAY or ZMAY?

BMAY ends its outcome period on Apr 30, 2027 and ZMAY on Apr 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.

Which is cheaper, BMAY or ZMAY?

BMAY and ZMAY both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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BMAY vs ZMAY: Cap, Buffer & Days Left

As of Oct 9, 2026 BMAY can fall 6.5% before its buffer engages and ZMAY 3.0%. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $238m for Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May and $83m for Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr May.

Both cost 0.79% a year; their one-year returns differ by 6.6 points; BMAY is 2.9 times larger.

	BMAY	ZMAY
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.79%
Net assets	$238m	$83m
Total return, 1 year	+11.9%	+5.3%
What it tracks	SPY	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
Index fall to the buffer	7.7%

6.5%

BMAY can fall this far before its buffer

3.0%

ZMAY can fall this far before its buffer

9.4%

BMAY can still gain

4.1%

ZMAY can still gain

BMAYBetween buffer and cap

BMAY: reference +8.3% since period start, fund +6.6%; buffer 0 to −9; cap +16.9%; Between buffer and cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

ZMAYAt its cap

ZMAY: reference +8.3% since period start, fund +2.7%; buffer Floor; cap +7.3%; At its cap. Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

Figures to Oct 9, 2026.

These are two different products. ZMAY is a floor fund, which caps how far a holder can fall. BMAY is a buffer fund, which absorbs the first part of a fall and leaves everything below it with the holder.

ZMAY is already at its cap, so more rise in the index adds nothing to it before the period ends.

Both are Innovator funds, so the difference between them is the terms rather than the house.

Where each one stands today

BMAY resets first, on Apr 30, 2027, 203 days from now; ZMAY runs to Apr 30, 2027, 203 days. BMAY can still gain 9.4% before its cap, ZMAY 4.1%. A fall from here reaches BMAY’s buffer after 6.5% and ZMAY’s after 3.0%. Both track SPY, so what separates them is where each is in its own period.

Performance, window by window

	Total return		Gap to the reference's price return
Window	BMAY	ZMAY	BMAY	ZMAY
3 months	+3.0%	+1.7%	−0.2 pts	−1.4 pts
6 months	+7.3%	+2.9%	−7.3 pts	−11.7 pts
1 year	+11.9%	+5.3%	−4.0 pts	−10.7 pts
3 years	+56.1%	not published	−23.1 pts	not published

Each fund's gap is to its reference's price return, dividends left out: the basis the outcome period uses. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

BMAY

Innovator U.S. Equity Buffer ETF - May · Absorbs the first 9% of loss on SPY and caps the gain at 16.9%, over a period ending Apr 30, 2027

ZMAY

Innovator Equity Defined Protection ETF - 1 Yr May · Absorbs the whole loss on SPY and caps the gain at 7.3%, over a period ending Apr 30, 2027

Issuer Innovator Innovator

Reference index SPY SPY

Buffer 9% 100%

Outcome period Apr 30, 2026 to Apr 30, 2027 Apr 30, 2026 to Apr 30, 2027

Days left 203 203

Starting cap +16.9% +7.3%

Can still gain 9.4% 4.1%

Fall before buffer 6.5% 3.0%

Protection left, index points 9.0% of 9.0% 100.0% of 100.0%

Index return this period +8.3% +8.3%

Fund return this period +6.6% +2.7%

State today Open At cap

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.79%

Net assets $238m $83m

As of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

BMAY in plain words

From its price on Oct 9, 2026, the fund can gain about 9.4% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 6.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. In index terms, SPY can fall 7.7% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 9.0% of the 9.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level. 203 days remained on Oct 9, 2026. On Apr 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

ZMAY in plain words

SPY had already risen past this fund's cap of +7.3% for the period on Oct 9, 2026, so in index terms there is no more upside to collect. The fund's own price can still drift up to about 4.1% as the period runs out. The fund's price can fall 3.0% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's figure. Protection left, in index points: 100.0% of the 100.0% buffer still sits below today's SPY level.

Questions people ask

Which has more room to gain, BMAY or ZMAY?: From their prices on Oct 9, 2026, BMAY can gain about 9.4% before its cap and ZMAY about 4.1%, so BMAY has more room left this period.
Which resets first, BMAY or ZMAY?: BMAY ends its outcome period on Apr 30, 2027 and ZMAY on Apr 30, 2027. A new cap is set the day after each.
Which is cheaper, BMAY or ZMAY?: BMAY and ZMAY both charge 0.79% a year, so neither is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

BMAY vs FAPR BMAY vs DDFY BMAY vs CPSM BMAY vs XAPR ZMAY vs GAPR ZMAY vs FAPR ZMAY vs HMAY ZMAY vs CMAY

SPY →All buffer ETFs ranked by the Downside Cover Score →How the scores are computed →BMAY on its own →ZMAY on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

BMAY and ZMAY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗Innovator page for BMAY ↗Innovator page for ZMAY ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

ETFIQ calculates every figure from each issuer’s published outcome-period terms. Buffer ETFs hold options on an index, not shares, so there is no holdings overlap to report.

Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, BMAY against ZMAY, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/buffer/bmay-vs-zmay

Open data

Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.