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Data as of .

JEPQ vs YMAX: which paid, and which earned it?

Over the year YMAX paid 39.0% of its price in cash against JEPQ’s 12.0%, though JEPQ returned more with it reinvested.

JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF and YieldMax(R) Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs, side by side, income ETFs on ETFIQ.

12.0%JEPQ cash paid, 1 year
39.0%YMAX cash paid, 1 year
+18.9%JEPQ total return, 1 year
−0.6%YMAX total return, 1 year

ETFIQ Return Stability Score: JEPQ scores higher

Was the payout funded by returns, or by your own capital?

JEPQ 65.5YMAX 8.33.2, the lowest in this set96.9, the highest

A percentile among the 161 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

JEPQ4.1 pts behind QQQ · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
QQQ+23.0%JEPQ+18.9%12.0% of it arrived as cash4.1 pts behind QQQTotal return, distributions reinvestedQQQ+23.0%JEPQ+18.9%4.1 pts behind QQQ
YMAX18.1 pts behind SPY · 1 year to Sep 11, 2026
SPY+17.5%YMAX−0.6%18.1 pts behind SPYTotal return, distributions reinvestedSPY+17.5%YMAX−0.6%18.1 pts behind SPY

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, JEPQ and YMAX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in JEPQOnly in YMAX
NVIDIA Corp. 6.68%YieldMax AMD Option Income Strategy ETF 6.95%
Apple, Inc. 5.83%Yieldmax Amzn Option Income ETF 5.36%
Micron Technology, Inc. 5.58%Yieldmax Tsm Option Income Strategy ETF 5.01%
Alphabet, Inc. 5.05%YieldMax Crypto Industry & Tec 4.99%
Microsoft Corp. 3.90%YieldMax GOOGL Option Income S 4.88%
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 3.87%YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF 4.80%
Amazon.com, Inc. 3.67%YieldMax AI & Tech Portfolio Option Inco 4.72%
Lam Research Corp. 2.89%YieldMax Semiconductor Portfolio Option 4.66%

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

JEPQ and YMAX over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ.
WindowTotal returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
JEPQYMAXJEPQYMAXJEPQYMAX
3 months+3.3%+5.6%3.4%10.8%+4.1 pts+2.3 pts
6 months+12.6%+15.5%6.6%24.3%−8.1 pts−0.5 pts
1 year+18.9%−0.6%12.0%39.0%−4.1 pts−18.1 pts
3 years+71.5%not published37.1%not published−23.6 ptsnot published
Since launch+90.2%+41.0%49.2%91.3%−32.5 pts−25.7 pts
Open the live comparison on ETFIQ
JEPQ and YMAX on the same fields, as of Sep 11, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
JEPQ
JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF
Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly
YMAX
YieldMax(R) Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs
Synthetic covered call on SPY, paying weekly
IssuerJPMorganYieldMax
Strategycovered callsynthetic covered call
BenchmarkNasdaq-100 (QQQ)S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy
Paysmonthlyweekly
Payout rate, annualized13.7%41.6%
Expense ratio0.35%1.33%
Cash paid, 1 year12.0%39.0%
Price change, 1 year+6.0%−41.0%
Total return, 1 year+18.9%−0.6%
Benchmark return, 1 year+23.0%+17.5%
Ahead or behind−4.1 pts−18.1 pts
Return of capital, latest estimatenot published68%
Age1591 days968 days

JEPQ in plain words

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, JEPQ paid 12.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 6.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +18.9%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +23.0% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 4.1 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 13.7%, paid monthly.

YMAX in plain words

Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, YMAX paid 39.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 41.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −0.6%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +17.5% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 18.1 pts. At its price on Sep 11, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 41.6%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 68% of the distribution paid Sep 10, 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, JEPQ or YMAX?
Over the year to Sep 11, 2026, JEPQ paid 12.0% of its starting price in cash and YMAX paid 39.0%, so YMAX paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, JEPQ or YMAX?
With every distribution reinvested, JEPQ returned +18.9% and YMAX returned −0.6% over the year to Sep 11, 2026, so JEPQ returned more.
Which is cheaper, JEPQ or YMAX?
JEPQ charges 0.35% a year and YMAX charges 1.33%, so JEPQ 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.

JEPQ against YMAX, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, JEPQ against YMAX, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/jepq-vs-ymax Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

How every figure is computed · Standards and sources