Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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Income ETFs

APLY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, APLY paid 28.6% of its price in cash against XYLD’s 10.6%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $112m on Oct 27, 2026 for YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF, and $3.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF.

At a glance
28.6%
APLY cash paid, 1 year
10.6%
XYLD cash paid, 1 year
+18.2%
APLY total return, 1 year
+15.8%
XYLD total return, 1 year
APLY · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 10.1 pts behind AAPL
APLY
+18.2%
AAPL
+28.3%

10.1 pts behind AAPL

APLY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −14.2%, total +18.2%, AAPL +28.3%, −10.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

AAPL

+28.3%

APLY

+18.2%

28.6% of it arrived as cash

10.1 pts behind AAPL

Total return, distributions reinvested

10.1 pts behind AAPL

APLY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −14.2%, total +18.2%, AAPL +28.3%, −10.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

AAPL

+28.3%

APLY

+18.2%

28.6% cash

10.1 pts behind AAPL

28.6% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. APLY over 1 year: paid 28.6%, price −14.2%, total +18.2%, AAPL +28.3%, −10.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.
XYLD · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 2.2 pts ahead of SPY
XYLD
+15.8%
SPY
+13.6%

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.6%, price +4.3%, total +15.8%, SPY +13.6%, +2.2 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPY

+13.6%

XYLD

+15.8%

10.6% of it arrived as cash

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.6%, price +4.3%, total +15.8%, SPY +13.6%, +2.2 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPY

+13.6%

XYLD

+15.8%

2.2 pts ahead of SPY

10.6% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.6%, price +4.3%, total +15.8%, SPY +13.6%, +2.2 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XYLD costs 0.44 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.4 points; XYLD is far larger, $3.4bn against $120m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

APLY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureAPLYXYLD
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+18.2%+15.8%
Price change, 1 yearfell 14.2%rose 4.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate93% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkApple (AAPL)S&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Expense ratio1.04%0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026$120m$3.4bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · APLY scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?

APLY among the 74 income ETFs writing on a single company

IQ Income Score84.5APLY77.7XYLD

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 74 income ETFs writing on a single company and 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

APLY 84.5
0.7, the lowest in this set 99.3, the highest

XYLD among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company

XYLD 77.7
0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

A percentile among the 74 income ETFs writing on a single company. XYLD is a percentile among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. One year only, and a ratio of two published numbers: it says nothing about where a distribution came from. All income ETFs ranked by it →

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 28, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 182 weekly returns
APLY XYLD
Return
Total return edge APLY +61.3% +47.9%
Annualized edge APLY +14.6% +11.8%
Price return edge XYLD −41.2% +1.6%
Risk
Volatility edge XYLD 21.0% 8.5%
Max drawdown edge XYLD −24.1% −14.0%
Downside capture 91.8% 70.9%
Beta 0.78 0.66
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge XYLD 0.54 0.82
Sortino edge XYLD 0.73 1.15
Treynor 0.145 0.103
Calmar edge XYLD 0.61 0.84
Against the benchmark
Alpha −4.1% a year −1.5% a year
Alpha t-stat −1.45 −1.00
Information ratio −1.09 −0.75
Tracking error 7.8% 7.8%

Each against its own benchmark: APLY against AAPL, Apr 28, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026; XYLD against SPY, Jul 5, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

APLY returned more: +61.3% to +47.9%. XYLD swung less: 8.5% to 21.0%. XYLD fell less at its worst: −14.0% to −24.1%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: APLY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureAPLYXYLDEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+61.3%+47.9%APLYPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+14.6%+11.8%APLYTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−41.2%+1.6%XYLDPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility21.0%8.5%XYLDSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation15.5%6.1%XYLDLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−24.1%−14.0%XYLDDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture66.1%51.3%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture91.8%70.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.780.66Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.940.78Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.540.82XYLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.731.15XYLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1450.103Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.610.84XYLDAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkAAPLSPYThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−4.1% a year−1.5% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−1.45−1.00Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−9.7% to +1.5%−4.5% to +1.5%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−1.09−0.75Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error7.8%7.8%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 182 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, APLY and XYLD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first APLY XYLD
Only in one fund ↓
Only in APLY
United States Treasury Note/Bond 3.375% 09/15/2027 26.10%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 13.93%
AAPL 12/18/2026 310.01 C 11.68%
AAPL US 10/30/26 C352.5 0.03%
AAPL US 10/30/26 C355 0.02%
AAPL US 10/30/26 C350 -0.12%
AAPL US 10/30/26 C347.5 -0.13%
AAPL 12/18/2026 310.01 P -0.86%
Only in XYLD
NVIDIA CORPORATION 7.64%
APPLE INC. 7.13%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.42%
AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.18%
ALPHABET INC. 3.28%
BROADCOM INC. 2.90%
ALPHABET INC. 2.65%
META PLATFORMS, INC. 1.92%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

APLY YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF · Synthetic covered call on AAPL, paying weekly XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
Strategy synthetic covered call covered call
Benchmark Apple (AAPL) S&P 500 (SPY)
Pays weekly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 20.9% 9.1%
Expense ratio 1.04% 0.60%
Cash paid, 1 year 28.6% 10.6%
Price change, 1 year −14.2% +4.3%
Total return, 1 year +18.2% +15.8%
Benchmark return, 1 year +28.3% +13.6%
Ahead or behind −10.1 pts +2.2 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate not published 93%
Age 3.5 years 13.3 years
Net assets, APLY as of Oct 27, 2026 and XYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $112m $3.4bn

As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price. Payout rate: the latest payment, annualized, over today’s price.

Window by window

Window by window: APLY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowAPLYXYLDAPLYXYLDAPLYXYLD
3 months0.0%+5.0%6.7%2.3%−1.8 pts−1.1 pts
6 months+18.3%+9.2%17.5%5.2%−9.2 pts+0.1 pts
1 year+18.2%+15.8%28.6%10.6%−10.1 pts+2.2 pts
3 years+63.0%+53.3%73.1%35.1%−44.1 pts−41.7 pts
Since launchNot the same days: APLY Apr 2023 · XYLD Jun 2013+62.0%+195.1%76.2%114.5%−47.9 pts−320.2 pts

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Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-6678516F79

APLY and XYLD are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. Income paid. APLY paid 28.6% and XYLD 10.6% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 18.0 points.
  2. What each is measured against. APLY is measured against Apple (AAPL) and XYLD against S&P 500 through SPY.
  3. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
APLY

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, APLY paid 28.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 14.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.2%. Apple (AAPL) returned +28.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 20.9%, paid weekly.

XYLD

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, XYLD paid 10.6% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.8%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 2.2 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.1%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, APLY or XYLD?
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, APLY paid 28.6% of its starting price in cash and XYLD paid 10.6%, 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 XYLD?
With every distribution reinvested, APLY returned +18.2% and XYLD +15.8% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, APLY or XYLD?
APLY charges 1.04% a year and XYLD charges 0.60%, so XYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

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

How this is computed

It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

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ETFIQ, APLY against XYLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/aply-vs-xyld

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