Which paid more, QLDY or QXQ?

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QLDY paid 35.0% of its starting price in cash and QXQ paid 15.1%, so QLDY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.

Which returned more once distributions are counted, QLDY or QXQ?

With every distribution reinvested, QLDY returned +8.2% and QXQ +12.1% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.

Which is cheaper, QLDY or QXQ?

QLDY charges 1.04% a year and QXQ charges 0.98%, so QXQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 12, 2026.

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QLDY vs QXQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return

Return, fees and overlap, side by side.

Return gap

+3.9 pts

1 year to Nov 12, 2026: QXQ ahead, total return

Fee gap

0.06 pts

A year: QLDY 1.04%, QXQ 0.98%, per filings dated May 23, 2025 and Jan 5, 2026

Overlap

–

No book read for both funds

Net flow

–

Needs daily flows for both funds

Pair scorecard

QXQ costs 0.06 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.9 points.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QLDY vs QXQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Measure	QLDY	QXQ
Paid and earned
Measure	QLDY	QXQ
Total return, 1 year	+8.2%	+12.1%
Price change, 1 year	fell 27.5%	fell 4.7%
Return of capital, issuer estimate	1% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
Measure	QLDY	QXQ
Benchmark	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ	Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ
Cost and size
Measure	QLDY	QXQ
Expense ratio	1.04%	0.98%
Net assets, QLDY as of Nov 11, 2026 and QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026	$54m	$82m
Holdings
Measure	QLDY	QXQ
Holdings in common	not published

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

IQ Income Score29.5QLDY52QXQ

How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 171 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed

QLDY 29.5

QXQ 52

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

Key numbers

35.0%

QLDY cash paid, 1 year

15.1%

QXQ cash paid, 1 year

+8.2%

QLDY total return, 1 year

+12.1%

QXQ total return, 1 year

QLDY · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 3.1 pts behind QQQ

QLDY

+8.2%

QQQ

+11.3%

3.1 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.0%, price −27.5%, total +8.2%, QQQ +11.3%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QLDY

+8.2%

35.0% of it arrived as cash

3.1 pts behind QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

3.1 pts behind QQQ

QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.0%, price −27.5%, total +8.2%, QQQ +11.3%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QLDY

+8.2%

35.0% as cash

3.1 pts behind QQQ

35.0% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.0%, price −27.5%, total +8.2%, QQQ +11.3%, −3.1 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QXQ · 1 year to Nov 12, 2026 0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ

+12.1%

QQQ

+11.3%

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% of it arrived as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

QQQ

+11.3%

QXQ

+12.1%

15.1% as cash

0.8 pts ahead of QQQ

15.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. QXQ over 1 year: paid 15.1%, price −4.7%, total +12.1%, QQQ +11.3%, +0.8 pts. Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Data to Nov 12, 2026.

Side by side

QLDY Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying weekly QXQ SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF · Covered call on QQQ, paying quarterly

Issuer Defiance SGI

Strategy option income covered call

Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) Nasdaq-100 (QQQ)

Pays weekly quarterly

Payout rate, annualized 19.8% 1.0%

Expense ratio 1.04% 0.98%

Cash paid, 1 year 35.0% 15.1%

Price change, 1 year −27.5% −4.7%

Total return, 1 year +8.2% +12.1%

Benchmark return, 1 year +11.3% +11.3%

Ahead or behind −3.1 pts +0.8 pts

Return of capital, latest estimate 1% not published

Age 1.1 years 2.4 years

Net assets, QLDY as of Nov 11, 2026 and QXQ as of Aug 31, 2026 $54m $82m

As of Nov 12, 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: QLDY vs QXQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
	Total return		Cash paid		Against the benchmark
Window	QLDY	QXQ	QLDY	QXQ	QLDY	QXQ
3 months	−6.7%	−5.4%	9.3%	0.2%	−0.8 pts	+0.5 pts
6 months	−7.2%	−3.8%	17.8%	0.5%	−3.1 pts	+0.4 pts
1 year	+8.2%	+12.1%	35.0%	15.1%	−3.1 pts	+0.8 pts
Since launchNot the same days: QLDY Sep 2025 · QXQ Jun 2024	+12.6%	+47.7%	39.6%	22.8%	−3.6 pts	+2.2 pts

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About each fund

QLDY

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QLDY paid 35.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 27.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +8.2%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +11.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.1 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.8%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 1% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

QXQ

Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QXQ paid 15.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 4.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +12.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +11.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 0.8 pts. At its price on Nov 12, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 1.0%, paid quarterly.

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QLDY or QXQ?: Over the year to Nov 12, 2026, QLDY paid 35.0% of its starting price in cash and QXQ paid 15.1%, so QLDY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
Which returned more once distributions are counted, QLDY or QXQ?: With every distribution reinvested, QLDY returned +8.2% and QXQ +12.1% over the year to Nov 12, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QLDY or QXQ?: QLDY charges 1.04% a year and QXQ charges 0.98%, so QXQ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

QLDY vs QRMI QLDY vs CAIQ QLDY vs IQQQ QLDY vs XQQI QXQ vs CAIQ QXQ vs FTQI QXQ vs BALQ QXQ vs ACQQ

Where to next

Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) →QLDY on its own →QXQ on its own →QLDY dividend history →QLDY holdings →QXQ dividend history →Method →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

QLDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QLDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

QLDY 19a-1 distribution notice ↗

Defiance page for QLDY ↗

QXQ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

QXQ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

SGI website ↗

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.

Every number is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QLDY against QXQ, data as of Nov 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-qxq

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.

Net assets: $54m on Nov 11, 2026 for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF, and $82m on Aug 31, 2026 for SGI Enhanced Nasdaq-100 ETF.

QLDY on its own →QXQ on its own →

Growth of 100

QLDY and QXQ

Total return, distributions reinvested, 1 year.

QLDY +8.2%QXQ +12.1%

Nov 12, 2025Nov 12, 2026

QLDY +8.2%, QXQ +12.1%: QXQ +3.9 pts ahead, 1 year, Nov 12, 2025 to Nov 12, 2026.