Data as of .
IQQQ vs TCAL: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year TCAL paid 11.4% of its price in cash against IQQQ’s 6.5%, though IQQQ returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: IQQQ scores higher
Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?
A percentile among the 173 income ETFs writing on an index or proxy. 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, IQQQ and TCAL hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | IQQQ | TCAL |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com, Inc. | 4.27% | 1.53% |
| Microsoft Corp. | 4.92% | 1.50% |
| Costco Wholesale Corp. | 1.72% | 1.20% |
| Cisco Systems, Inc. | 1.93% | 1.14% |
| Broadcom, Inc. | 3.11% | 0.95% |
| Netflix, Inc. | 1.47% | 0.95% |
| Linde plc | 0.94% | 1.63% |
| PepsiCo, Inc. | 0.80% | 1.16% |
| Walmart, Inc. | 2.30% | 0.77% |
| Gilead Sciences, Inc. | 0.68% | 1.48% |
| Starbucks Corp. | 0.46% | 0.59% |
| Honeywell International, Inc. | 0.61% | 0.40% |
| Only in IQQQ | Only in TCAL |
|---|---|
| ProShares GENIUS Money Market ETF 7.60% | DANAHER CORP 2.01% |
| NVIDIA Corp. 7.54% | WATERS CORP 1.97% |
| Apple, Inc. 6.74% | VERALTO CORP 1.87% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 4.44% | WASTE CONNECTIONS INC 1.80% |
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 3.41% | YUM BRANDS INC 1.72% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 3.25% | MCDONALD S CORP 1.70% |
| Tesla, Inc. 3.20% | VISA INC-CLASS A SHARES 1.69% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 3.01% | LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP 1.60% |
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 Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IQQQ | TCAL | IQQQ | TCAL | IQQQ | TCAL | |
| 3 months | −3.1% | +4.2% | 1.8% | 3.5% | −0.6 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +19.1% | +5.3% | 4.2% | 6.3% | −5.1 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 1 year | +17.7% | +3.0% | 6.5% | 11.4% | −4.1 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Since launch | +51.5% | +3.9% | 24.4% | 15.2% | −13.0 pts | −32.7 pts |
| IQQQ ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | TCAL T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Premium Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | T. Rowe Price |
| Strategy | option income | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 5.7% | 9.4% |
| Expense ratio | 0.97% | 0.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 6.5% | 11.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | +10.8% | −8.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.7% | +3.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −4.1 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | not published |
| Age | 912 days | 540 days |
| Net assets | $405m | $276m |
IQQQ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, IQQQ paid 6.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 10.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.7%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 4.1 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 5.7%, paid monthly.
TCAL in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, TCAL paid 11.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.4%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, IQQQ or TCAL?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, IQQQ paid 6.5% of its starting price in cash and TCAL paid 11.4%, so TCAL paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, IQQQ or TCAL?
- With every distribution reinvested, IQQQ returned +17.7% and TCAL returned +3.0% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so IQQQ returned more.
- Which is cheaper, IQQQ or TCAL?
- IQQQ charges 0.97% a year and TCAL charges 0.34%, so TCAL 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, IQQQ against TCAL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/iqqq-vs-tcal Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.