Data as of .
OARK vs QQQY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year OARK paid 37.4% of its price in cash against QQQY’s 30.5%, though QQQY returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQY 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 QQQY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | OARK | QQQY |
|---|---|---|
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 | 1.09% | 0.49% |
| Only in OARK | Only in QQQY |
|---|---|
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 31.97% | Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% |
| United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 31.91% | Cash & Other 0.95% |
| United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 22.43% | Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% |
| 2ARKK US 11/20/26 C85.01 FLX 8.43% | Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% |
| United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 6.55% | |
| United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 3.23% | |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C86 0.66% | |
| ARKK US 09/25/26 C91 0.26% |
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 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OARK | QQQY | OARK | QQQY | OARK | QQQY | |
| 3 months | +3.9% | −0.5% | 9.0% | 8.0% | +6.4 pts | +2.0 pts |
| 6 months | +20.0% | +24.3% | 22.6% | 17.4% | −4.2 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 1 year | +6.6% | +21.1% | 37.4% | 30.5% | −15.2 pts | −0.6 pts |
| 3 years | +61.9% | +59.1% | 87.5% | 88.1% | −36.3 pts | −39.0 pts |
| Since launch | +58.8% | +56.9% | 89.4% | 86.8% | −96.7 pts | −37.7 pts |
| OARK YieldMax(R) Innovation Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution 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% | 29.5% |
| Expense ratio | 1.00% | 1.01% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 37.4% | 30.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −34.0% | −13.2% |
| Total return, 1 year | +6.6% | +21.1% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −15.2 pts | −0.6 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 0% | 69% |
| Age | 1395 days | 1100 days |
| Net assets | $32m | $188m |
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).
QQQY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 13.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.6 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 29.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 69% 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).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, OARK or QQQY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, OARK paid 37.4% of its starting price in cash and QQQY paid 30.5%, 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 QQQY?
- With every distribution reinvested, OARK returned +6.6% and QQQY returned +21.1% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, OARK or QQQY?
- OARK charges 1.00% a year and QQQY charges 1.01%, 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 QQQY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/oark-vs-qqqy Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.