Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
QLDY vs ULTY: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ULTY paid 46.0% of its price in cash against QLDY’s 35.3%, though QLDY returned more with it reinvested.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $53m for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF and $576m for YieldMax Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF.
3.2 pts behind QQQ
QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
QQQ
+12.3%
QLDY
+9.1%
35.3% of it arrived as cash
3.2 pts behind QQQ
Total return, distributions reinvested
3.2 pts behind QQQ
QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
QQQ
+12.3%
QLDY
+9.1%
3.2 pts behind QQQ
35.3% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QLDY over 1 year: paid 35.3%, price −27.2%, total +9.1%, QQQ +12.3%, −3.2 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.4.4 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY over 1 year: paid 46.0%, price −55.5%, total −12.4%, its own holdings −16.8%, +4.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
its own holdings
−16.8%
ULTY
−12.4%
4.4 pts ahead of its own holdings
Total return, distributions reinvested
4.4 pts ahead of its own holdings
ULTY over 1 year: paid 46.0%, price −55.5%, total −12.4%, its own holdings −16.8%, +4.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
its own holdings
−16.8%
ULTY
−12.4%
46.0% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. ULTY over 1 year: paid 46.0%, price −55.5%, total −12.4%, its own holdings −16.8%, +4.4 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
QLDY costs 0.26 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.5 points; ULTY is 10.9 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | QLDY | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.1% | −12.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 27.2% | fell 55.5% |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 0% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment | 100% of the Nov 5, 2026 payment |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | its own holdings |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 1.30% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $53m | $576m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
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
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 →
Risk and return
Sep 26, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026 · 57 weekly returnsFrom Sep 2025 to Oct 2026, QLDY returned more: +13.0% to −15.9%. ULTY swung slightly less: 20.0% to 21.4%. QLDY fell less at its worst: −13.1% to −21.6%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QLDY | ULTY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +13.0% | −15.9% | QLDY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.8% | −14.6% | QLDY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −27.2% | −60.3% | QLDY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.4% | 20.0% | ULTY (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.3% | 16.6% | QLDY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −13.1% | −21.6% | QLDY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | −0.88 | QLDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | −1.06 | QLDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.90 | −0.68 | QLDY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 57 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QLDY and ULTY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Nov 4, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
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
| Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | QLDY | ULTY | QLDY | ULTY | QLDY | ULTY |
| 3 months | −4.5% | −8.3% | 9.5% | 14.3% | −1.1 pts | +3.4 pts |
| 6 months | −3.1% | −9.9% | 18.5% | 26.6% | −2.8 pts | +1.6 pts |
| 1 year | +9.1% | −12.4% | 35.3% | 46.0% | −3.2 pts | +4.4 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: QLDY Sep 2025 · ULTY Feb 2024 | +13.2% | −1.9% | 39.1% | 87.9% | −3.7 pts | not measured |
Client brief:
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QLDY
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 27.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.2 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 19.7%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 0% 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.
ULTY
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ULTY paid 46.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 55.5%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −12.4%. ULTY's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Nov 2, 2026) returned −16.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.4 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 60.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Nov 5, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).
Questions people ask
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.
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ETFIQ, QLDY against ULTY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-ulty
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). QLDY against ULTY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-ulty
[QLDY against ULTY (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-ulty)
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