Data as of .
IQQQ vs ULTY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year ULTY paid 44.9% 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 ULTY hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | IQQQ | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 3.41% | 5.23% |
| Alphabet, Inc. | 3.25% | 4.39% |
| NVIDIA Corp. | 7.54% | 2.36% |
| Lam Research Corp. | 1.61% | 4.34% |
| Palantir Technologies, Inc. | 1.46% | 4.27% |
| Analog Devices, Inc. | 0.82% | 4.11% |
| Shopify, Inc. | 0.59% | 3.55% |
| MercadoLibre, Inc. | 0.35% | 4.99% |
| Lumentum Holdings, Inc. | 0.25% | 4.75% |
| Strategy, Inc. | 0.20% | 4.66% |
| Only in IQQQ | Only in ULTY |
|---|---|
| ProShares GENIUS Money Market ETF 7.60% | Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.61% |
| Apple, Inc. 6.74% | Coherent Corp 4.30% |
| Microsoft Corp. 4.92% | Space Exploration Technologies Corp 4.11% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 4.44% | Alibaba Group Holding Ltd 4.07% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. 4.27% | Robinhood Markets Inc 4.07% |
| Tesla, Inc. 3.20% | VanEck Gold Miners ETF/USA 4.07% |
| Broadcom, Inc. 3.11% | Figure Technology Solutions Inc 4.02% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 3.01% | TransMedics Group Inc 3.48% |
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 May 31, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IQQQ | ULTY | IQQQ | ULTY | IQQQ | ULTY | |
| 3 months | −3.1% | −1.1% | 1.8% | 13.7% | −0.6 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 6 months | +19.1% | +14.0% | 4.2% | 30.1% | −5.1 pts | −4.0 pts |
| 1 year | +17.7% | −7.8% | 6.5% | 44.9% | −4.1 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Since launch | +51.5% | +10.7% | 24.4% | 86.9% | −13.0 pts | −44.1 pts |
| IQQQ ProShares Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | YieldMax |
| Strategy | option income | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 5.7% | 59.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.97% | 1.30% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 6.5% | 44.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | +10.8% | −54.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.7% | −7.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −4.1 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 912 days | 932 days |
| Net assets | $405m | $721m |
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.
ULTY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, ULTY paid 44.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 54.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −7.8%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 24.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 59.8%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 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, IQQQ or ULTY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, IQQQ paid 6.5% of its starting price in cash and ULTY paid 44.9%, so ULTY 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 ULTY?
- With every distribution reinvested, IQQQ returned +17.7% and ULTY returned −7.8% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so IQQQ returned more.
- Which is cheaper, IQQQ or ULTY?
- IQQQ charges 0.97% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so IQQQ 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 ULTY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/iqqq-vs-ulty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.