Data as of .
KNG vs XYLD: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year XYLD paid 11.0% of its price in cash against KNG’s 8.5%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: XYLD 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 XYLD hold 11% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | KNG | XYLD |
|---|---|---|
| ExxonMobil Holdings Corp. | 1.54% | 1.03% |
| Johnson & Johnson | 1.85% | 1.00% |
| Walmart Inc. | 1.71% | 0.73% |
| AbbVie Inc. | 1.52% | 0.71% |
| Chevron Corporation | 1.58% | 0.64% |
| Caterpillar Inc. | 1.32% | 0.57% |
| The Coca-Cola Company | 1.56% | 0.52% |
| The Procter & Gamble Company | 1.72% | 0.52% |
| International Business Machines Corporat | 1.62% | 0.33% |
| Linde Plc | 1.32% | 0.33% |
| Abbott Laboratories | 1.49% | 0.27% |
| McDonald's Corporation | 1.37% | 0.27% |
| Only in KNG | Only in XYLD |
|---|---|
| Brown-Forman Corporation 1.43% | NVIDIA CORP 8.24% |
| 2026-10-16 Cincinnati Financial Corporat 0.00% | APPLE INC 7.55% |
| 2026-10-16 Essex Property Trust, Inc. C 0.00% | MICROSOFT CORP 5.61% |
| 2026-10-16 Eversource Energy C 70 0.00% | AMAZON.COM INC 3.83% |
| 2026-10-16 Federal Realty Investment Tru 0.00% | ALPHABET INC-CL A 3.13% |
| 2026-10-16 Kenvue Inc. C 18 0.00% | BROADCOM INC 2.62% |
| 2026-10-16 Kimberly-Clark Corporation C 0.00% | ALPHABET INC-CL C 2.49% |
| 2026-10-16 Realty Income Corporation C 5 0.00% | META PLATFORMS INC 2.26% |
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 | XYLD | KNG | XYLD | KNG | XYLD | |
| 3 months | +1.8% | +4.5% | 2.2% | 2.6% | −0.1 pts | +2.3 pts |
| 6 months | +7.1% | +12.4% | 4.4% | 5.6% | −0.9 pts | −5.6 pts |
| 1 year | +8.3% | +17.9% | 8.5% | 11.0% | −1.6 pts | +1.4 pts |
| 3 years | +24.0% | +44.5% | 25.4% | 32.5% | −4.3 pts | −33.9 pts |
| Since launch | +101.5% | +191.5% | 59.4% | 112.9% | −15.2 pts | −315.3 pts |
| KNG FT Vest S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Target Income ETF Dividend stocks with call overlay on NOBL, paying monthly | XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | First Trust | Global X |
| Strategy | dividend stocks with call overlay | covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats (NOBL) | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 8.8% | 8.9% |
| Expense ratio | 0.74% | 0.60% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 8.5% | 11.0% |
| Price change, 1 year | −0.4% | +5.9% |
| Total return, 1 year | +8.3% | +17.9% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +9.9% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −1.6 pts | +1.4 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | not published | 93% |
| Age | 3097 days | 4834 days |
| Net assets | $3.3bn | $3.4bn |
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.
XYLD in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, XYLD paid 11.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 5.9%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +17.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.4 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 8.9%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% 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 XYLD?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, KNG paid 8.5% of its starting price in cash and XYLD paid 11.0%, so XYLD 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 XYLD?
- With every distribution reinvested, KNG returned +8.3% and XYLD returned +17.9% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so XYLD returned more.
- Which is cheaper, KNG or XYLD?
- KNG charges 0.74% a year and XYLD charges 0.60%, so XYLD 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 XYLD, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/kng-vs-xyld Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.