Data as of .
OARK vs QLDY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year OARK paid 37.4% of its price in cash against QLDY’s 29.2%, though QLDY returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QLDY 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, OARK and QLDY hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | OARK | QLDY |
|---|---|---|
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 | 1.09% | 4.77% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 | 31.97% | 0.53% |
| Only in OARK | Only in QLDY |
|---|---|
| United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 31.91% | Ndx 12/18/2026 2001.44 C 94.80% |
| United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 22.43% | Ndxp Us 09/21/26 P29500 0.08% |
| 2ARKK US 11/20/26 C85.01 FLX 8.43% | Xnd 12/18/2026 10.44 C 0.05% |
| United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 6.55% | Cash & Other -0.06% |
| United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 3.23% | Nasdaq-1 Put Opt 09/26 29650 -0.16% |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C86 0.66% | |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C91 0.26% | |
| ARK INNO CLL OPT 09/26 88.500 -0.42% |
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 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OARK | QLDY | OARK | QLDY | OARK | QLDY | |
| 3 months | +3.9% | −6.6% | 9.0% | 8.3% | +6.4 pts | −4.1 pts |
| 6 months | +20.0% | +20.1% | 22.6% | 18.7% | −4.2 pts | −4.2 pts |
| 1 year | +6.6% | +10.6% | 37.4% | 29.2% | −15.2 pts | −11.2 pts |
| 3 years | +61.9% | not published | 87.5% | not published | −36.3 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +58.8% | +10.6% | 89.4% | 29.2% | −96.7 pts | −11.2 pts |
| OARK YieldMax(R) Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread(TM) Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | YieldMax | Defiance |
| Strategy | synthetic covered call | option income |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | weekly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 27.9% | 19.6% |
| Expense ratio | 1.00% | 1.04% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 37.4% | 29.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | −34.0% | −20.3% |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.6% | +10.6% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −15.2 pts | −11.2 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 0% | 100% |
| Age | 1395 days | 365 days |
| Net assets | $32m | $52m |
OARK in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 34.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), used as the innovation proxy returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 15.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 27.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 0% of the distribution paid Sep 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
QLDY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QLDY paid 29.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 20.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 11.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.6%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 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, OARK or QLDY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting price in cash and QLDY paid 29.2%, so OARK paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, OARK or QLDY?
- With every distribution reinvested, OARK returned +6.6% and QLDY returned +10.6% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QLDY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, OARK or QLDY?
- OARK charges 1.00% a year and QLDY charges 1.04%, so OARK 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, OARK against QLDY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/oark-vs-qldy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.