Which paid more, LJAN or QYLD?

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% 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, LJAN or QYLD?

With every distribution reinvested, LJAN returned +5.1% and QYLD +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.

Which is cheaper, LJAN or QYLD?

LJAN charges 0.79% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Income ETFs

LJAN vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its price in cash against LJAN’s 4.9%, and returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $12m on Nov 4, 2026 for Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - January, and $8.5bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF.

LJAN on its own →QYLD on its own →

At a glance

4.9%

LJAN cash paid, 1 year

12.3%

QYLD cash paid, 1 year

+5.1%

LJAN total return, 1 year

+16.5%

QYLD total return, 1 year

LJAN · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 9.7 pts behind VOO

LJAN

+5.1%

VOO

+14.8%

9.7 pts behind VOO

LJAN over 1 year: paid 4.9%, price +0.1%, total +5.1%, VOO +14.8%, −9.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

LJAN

+5.1%

4.9% as cash

9.7 pts behind VOO

Total return, distributions reinvested

9.7 pts behind VOO

LJAN over 1 year: paid 4.9%, price +0.1%, total +5.1%, VOO +14.8%, −9.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

VOO

+14.8%

LJAN

+5.1%

9.7 pts behind VOO

4.9% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. LJAN over 1 year: paid 4.9%, price +0.1%, total +5.1%, VOO +14.8%, −9.7 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QYLD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD

+16.5%

QQQ

+12.3%

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% of it arrived as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QYLD

+16.5%

12.3% as cash

4.2 pts ahead of QQQ

12.3% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. QYLD over 1 year: paid 12.3%, price +3.3%, total +16.5%, QQQ +12.3%, +4.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Both charts share one scale, 0 to +16.5%. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

QYLD costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.4 points; QYLD is far larger, $8.5bn against $12m.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

LJAN vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	LJAN	QYLD
Paid and earned
Measure	LJAN	QYLD
Total return, 1 year	+5.1%	+16.5%
Price change, 1 year	rose 0.1%	rose 3.3%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	47% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment	99% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	LJAN	QYLD
Benchmark	Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, measured through VOO	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	LJAN	QYLD
Expense ratio	0.79%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026	$12m	$8.5bn
Holdings
Measure	LJAN	QYLD
Holdings in common	0%

ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · QYLD scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?

IQ Income Score60.2LJAN72.8QYLD

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 167 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

LJAN 60.2

QYLD 72.8

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

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 →

Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, LJAN and QYLD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first LJAN QYLD

Only in one fund ↓

Only in LJAN

Only in QYLD

NVIDIA CORPORATION 8.20%

APPLE INC. 7.65%

MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.82%

AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.93%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC. 4.32%

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. 3.62%

ALPHABET INC. 3.50%

ALPHABET INC. 3.28%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

LJAN Innovator Premium Income 15 Buffer ETF - January · Buffer with income on VOO, paying monthly QYLD Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying monthly

Issuer Innovator Global X

Strategy buffer with income covered call

Benchmark Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays monthly monthly

Payout rate, annualized 4.9% 12.2%

Expense ratio 0.79% 0.60%

Cash paid, 1 year 4.9% 12.3%

Price change, 1 year +0.1% +3.3%

Total return, 1 year +5.1% +16.5%

Benchmark return, 1 year +14.8% +12.3%

Ahead or behind −9.7 pts +4.2 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 47% 99%

Age 2.8 years 12.9 years

Net assets, LJAN as of Nov 4, 2026 and QYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $12m $8.5bn

As of Nov 4, 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: LJAN vs QYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	LJAN	QYLD	LJAN	QYLD	LJAN	QYLD
3 months	+1.1%	+2.4%	1.2%	3.0%	+1.2 pts	+5.9 pts
6 months	+2.6%	+5.4%	2.4%	6.0%	−2.4 pts	+5.8 pts
1 year	+5.1%	+16.5%	4.9%	12.3%	−9.7 pts	+4.2 pts
3 years	–	+52.7%	–	37.9%	–	−38.6 pts
Since launchNot the same days: LJAN Jan 2024 · QYLD Dec 2013	+16.7%	+194.8%	14.8%	117.5%	−51.3 pts	−610.5 pts

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Alert

About each fund

LJAN

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +5.1%. Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 9.7 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.9%, paid monthly. Innovator estimates that 47% of the distribution paid Nov 2, 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 Nov 4, 2026, QYLD paid 12.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 3.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.2%, 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, LJAN or QYLD?: Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, LJAN paid 4.9% 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, LJAN or QYLD?: With every distribution reinvested, LJAN returned +5.1% and QYLD +16.5% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, LJAN or QYLD?: LJAN charges 0.79% a year and QYLD charges 0.60%, so QYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

LJAN vs QRMI LJAN vs QQQI LJAN vs QDTE LJAN vs ROCQ QYLD vs TPAY QYLD vs OVLH QYLD vs XPAY QYLD vs TSPY

Where to next

Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) →Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →LJAN on its own →QYLD on its own →LJAN dividend history →QYLD dividend history →QYLD holdings →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

LJAN filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

LJAN prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

LJAN 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Innovator page for LJAN ↗

QYLD filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QYLD prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QYLD 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Global X page for QYLD ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, LJAN against QYLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/ljan-vs-qyld

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