Data as of .
APLY vs QQQI: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year APLY paid 32.4% of its price in cash against QQQI’s 14.2%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQI scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 61 income ETFs writing on a single company. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All income ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, APLY and QQQI hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in APLY | Only in QQQI |
|---|---|
| TREASURY BILL 27.23% | NVIDIA Corp 7.66% |
| TREASURY BILL 19.97% | Apple Inc 6.63% |
| TREASURY BILL 19.80% | Micron Technology Inc 5.61% |
| TREASURY BILL 19.47% | Microsoft Corp 4.38% |
| TREASURY BILL 13.52% | Advanced Micro Devices Inc 4.12% |
| Amazon.com Inc 4.05% | |
| Tesla Inc 3.35% | |
| Alphabet Inc 3.32% |
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 Apr 30, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APLY | QQQI | APLY | QQQI | APLY | QQQI | |
| 3 months | +8.2% | +0.7% | 8.3% | 3.5% | −6.1 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 6 months | +21.6% | +13.7% | 18.2% | 7.5% | −11.4 pts | −7.0 pts |
| 1 year | +26.4% | +16.9% | 32.4% | 14.2% | −18.6 pts | −6.1 pts |
| 3 years | +52.2% | not published | 69.8% | not published | −38.8 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +55.8% | +58.2% | 74.3% | 38.6% | −47.0 pts | −12.1 pts |
| APLY YieldMax(R) AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on AAPL, paying weekly | QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | YieldMax | NEOS |
| Strategy | synthetic covered call | covered call |
| Benchmark | Apple (AAPL) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 19.8% | 14.3% |
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 0.68% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 32.4% | 14.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | −9.6% | +1.5% |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.4% | +16.9% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +45.0% | +23.0% |
| Ahead or behind | −18.6 pts | −6.1 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 84% | 98% |
| Age | 1242 days | 955 days |
APLY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, APLY paid 32.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 9.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +26.4%. Apple (AAPL) returned +45.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 18.6 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.8%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 84% of the distribution paid Sep 11, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, QQQI paid 14.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.9%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +23.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 6.1 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.3%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, APLY or QQQI?
- Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, APLY paid 32.4% of its starting price in cash and QQQI paid 14.2%, so APLY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, APLY or QQQI?
- With every distribution reinvested, APLY returned +26.4% and QQQI returned +16.9% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so APLY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, APLY or QQQI?
- APLY charges 1.04% a year and QQQI charges 0.68%, so QQQI is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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, APLY against QQQI, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/aply-vs-qqqi Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.