Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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Income ETFs

ISPY vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its price in cash against ISPY’s 5.7%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $1.2bn on Oct 28, 2026 for ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF, and $8.5bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF.

At a glance
5.7%
ISPY cash paid, 1 year
12.3%
QYLD cash paid, 1 year
+10.1%
ISPY total return, 1 year
+19.3%
QYLD total return, 1 year
ISPY · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 3.5 pts behind SPY
ISPY
+10.1%
SPY
+13.6%

3.5 pts behind SPY

ISPY over 1 year: paid 5.7%, price +4.0%, total +10.1%, SPY +13.6%, −3.5 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPY

+13.6%

ISPY

+10.1%

5.7% as cash

3.5 pts behind SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.5 pts behind SPY

ISPY over 1 year: paid 5.7%, price +4.0%, total +10.1%, SPY +13.6%, −3.5 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

SPY

+13.6%

ISPY

+10.1%

3.5 pts behind SPY

5.7% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. ISPY over 1 year: paid 5.7%, price +4.0%, total +10.1%, SPY +13.6%, −3.5 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Data to Oct 28, 2026.
QYLD · 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 4.1 pts ahead of QQQ
QYLD
+19.3%
QQQ
+15.2%

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +5.8%, total +19.3%, QQQ +15.2%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

QQQ

+15.2%

QYLD

+19.3%

12.3% of it arrived as cash

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +5.8%, total +19.3%, QQQ +15.2%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

QQQ

+15.2%

QYLD

+19.3%

12.3% cash

4.1 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +19.3%. QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +5.8%, total +19.3%, QQQ +15.2%, +4.1 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +19.3%. Data to Oct 28, 2026.

Pair scorecard

ISPY costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.2 points; QYLD is 7.1 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

ISPY vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureISPYQYLD
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+10.1%+19.3%
Price change, 1 yearrose 4.0%rose 5.8%
Return of capital, issuer estimate81% of the Oct 7, 2026 payment99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkS&P 500, measured through SPYNasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.55%0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026$1.2bn$8.5bn
Holdings
Holdings in common46%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · ISPY scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score85.7ISPY82QYLD

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

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

A percentile among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 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 Aug 31, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 29, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 147 weekly returns
ISPY QYLD
Return
Total return edge ISPY (slight) +49.9% +47.5%
Annualized edge ISPY (slight) +15.4% +14.7%
Price return edge ISPY +17.6% +4.3%
Risk
Volatility edge QYLD (slight) 12.8% 12.0%
Max drawdown edge ISPY −15.6% −17.5%
Downside capture 96.6% 64.8%
Beta 0.89 0.55
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge Tie 0.84 0.84
Sortino edge Tie 1.22 1.21
Treynor 0.121 0.129
Calmar edge ISPY 0.99 0.84
Against the benchmark
Alpha −2.0% a year −2.3% a year
Alpha t-stat −1.26 −1.36
Information ratio −1.17 −0.94
Tracking error 3.1% 10.6%

Each against its own benchmark: ISPY against SPY, Dec 29, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026; QYLD against QQQ, Dec 20, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

ISPY returned slightly more: +49.9% to +47.5%. QYLD swung slightly less: 12.0% to 12.8%. ISPY fell less at its worst: −15.6% to −17.5%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: ISPY vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureISPYQYLDEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+49.9%+47.5%ISPY (slight)Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+15.4%+14.7%ISPY (slight)Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return+17.6%+4.3%ISPYPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility12.8%12.0%QYLD (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation8.8%8.3%QYLD (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−15.6%−17.5%ISPYDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture85.6%37.8%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture96.6%64.8%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.890.55Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.960.77Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.840.84TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.221.21TieReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1210.129Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.990.84ISPYAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkSPYQQQThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−2.0% a year−2.3% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−1.26−1.36Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−5.1% to +1.1%−5.5% to +1.0%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−1.17−0.94Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error3.1%10.6%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 147 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

46%

By the books each fund has filed, ISPY and QYLD hold 46% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

46% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ISPY QYLD
NVIDIA Corp. 6.80% 8.20%
Apple, Inc. 5.92% 7.65%
Microsoft Corp. 4.80% 5.82%
Amazon.com, Inc. 3.24% 4.93%
Alphabet, Inc. 2.53% 3.50%
Broadcom, Inc. 2.23% 3.11%
Alphabet, Inc. 2.02% 3.28%
Meta Platforms, Inc. 1.60% 2.78%
Micron Technology, Inc. 1.38% 4.32%
Tesla, Inc. 1.32% 2.62%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 0.98% 3.62%
Walmart, Inc. 0.58% 2.53%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in ISPY
JPMorgan Chase & Co. 1.22%
Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. 1.18%
Eli Lilly & Co. 1.16%
ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. 0.85%
Johnson & Johnson 0.81%
Visa, Inc. 0.80%
Mastercard, Inc. 0.60%
AbbVie, Inc. 0.58%
Only in QYLD
SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGIES CORP. 0.97%
ASML Holding N.V. 0.70%
SHOPIFY INC. 0.67%
ARM Holdings PLC 0.47%
MercadoLibre, Inc. 0.45%
PDD Holdings Inc. 0.26%
ELECTRONIC ARTS INC 0.25%
Astera Labs Inc 0.24%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ISPY ProShares S&P 500 High Income ETF · Option income on SPY, paying monthly QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly
Strategy option income covered call
Benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)
Pays monthly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 6.3% 11.9%
Expense ratio 0.55% 0.60%
Cash paid, 1 year 5.7% 12.3%
Price change, 1 year +4.0% +5.8%
Total return, 1 year +10.1% +19.3%
Benchmark return, 1 year +13.6% +15.2%
Ahead or behind −3.5 pts +4.1 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 81% 99%
Age 2.9 years 12.9 years
Net assets, ISPY as of Oct 28, 2026 and QYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $1.2bn $8.5bn

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: ISPY vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowISPYQYLDISPYQYLDISPYQYLD
3 months+4.8%+10.4%1.6%3.1%−1.4 pts+0.6 pts
6 months+7.3%+9.4%3.3%6.1%−1.7 pts−0.5 pts
1 year+10.1%+19.3%5.7%12.3%−3.5 pts+4.1 pts
3 years–+62.2%–39.3%–−51.5 pts
Since launchNot the same days: ISPY Dec 2023 · QYLD Dec 2013+54.8%+202.5%26.5%117.5%−15.5 pts−646.8 pts

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Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-7179C0A037

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

  1. Income paid. ISPY paid 5.7% and QYLD 12.3% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 6.6 points.
  2. What each is measured against. ISPY is measured against S&P 500 through SPY and QYLD against Nasdaq-100 through QQQ.
  3. Holdings in common. 46% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Aug 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
ISPY

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ISPY paid 5.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.1%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.5 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 6.3%, paid monthly. ProShares estimates that 81% of the distribution paid Oct 7, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

QYLD

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +19.3%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.1 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.9%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, ISPY or QYLD?
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ISPY paid 5.7% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.3%, so QYLD paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, ISPY or QYLD?
With every distribution reinvested, ISPY returned +10.1% and QYLD +19.3% over the year to Oct 28, 2026.
Which is cheaper, ISPY or QYLD?
ISPY charges 0.55% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so ISPY 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, ISPY against QYLD, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ispy-vs-qyld

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