Data as of .
KNG vs QYLD: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QYLD paid 12.5% of its price in cash against KNG’s 8.5%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QYLD 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, KNG and QYLD hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | KNG | QYLD |
|---|---|---|
| Walmart Inc. | 1.71% | 2.28% |
| Linde Plc | 1.32% | 0.93% |
| PepsiCo, Inc. | 1.39% | 0.78% |
| Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | 1.62% | 0.47% |
| Cintas Corporation | 1.43% | 0.35% |
| Fastenal Company | 1.57% | 0.25% |
| Roper Technologies, Inc. | 1.61% | 0.17% |
| Only in KNG | Only in QYLD |
|---|---|
| Johnson & Johnson 1.85% | NVIDIA CORP 8.54% |
| Nucor Corporation 1.85% | APPLE INC 7.82% |
| West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. 1.77% | MICROSOFT CORP 5.84% |
| Chubb Limited 1.74% | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC 5.05% |
| Becton, Dickinson and Company 1.72% | AMAZON.COM INC 4.36% |
| The Procter & Gamble Company 1.72% | ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 4.02% |
| Archer-Daniels-Midland Company 1.71% | ALPHABET INC-CL A 3.27% |
| FactSet Research Systems Inc. 1.69% | META PLATFORMS INC 3.15% |
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 Sep 18, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KNG | QYLD | KNG | QYLD | KNG | QYLD | |
| 3 months | +1.8% | +3.2% | 2.2% | 3.0% | −0.1 pts | +5.7 pts |
| 6 months | +7.1% | +14.5% | 4.4% | 6.3% | −0.9 pts | −9.7 pts |
| 1 year | +8.3% | +23.0% | 8.5% | 12.5% | −1.6 pts | +1.2 pts |
| 3 years | +24.0% | +55.3% | 25.4% | 36.6% | −4.3 pts | −42.9 pts |
| Since launch | +101.5% | +198.3% | 59.4% | 116.0% | −15.2 pts | −644.6 pts |
| KNG FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF Dividend stocks with call overlay on NOBL, paying monthly | QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | Global X |
| Strategy | dividend stocks with call overlay | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.8% | 11.8% |
| Expense ratio | 0.74% | 0.60% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% | 12.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −0.4% | +9.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +8.3% | +23.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +9.9% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −1.6 pts | +1.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 100% |
| Age | 3097 days | 4663 days |
| Net assets | $3.3bn | $8.5bn |
KNG in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, KNG paid 8.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +8.3%. S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) returned +9.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.6 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.8%, paid monthly.
QYLD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QYLD paid 12.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 9.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +23.0%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.8%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Aug 27, 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, KNG or QYLD?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, KNG paid 8.5% of its starting price in cash and QYLD paid 12.5%, 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, KNG or QYLD?
- With every distribution reinvested, KNG returned +8.3% and QYLD returned +23.0% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QYLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, KNG or QYLD?
- KNG charges 0.74% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD 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, KNG against QYLD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/kng-vs-qyld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.