Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
QLDY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its price in cash against XYLD’s 10.7%, though XYLD returned more with it reinvested.
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Net assets: $53m on Nov 3, 2026 for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF, and $3.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call 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%
35.3% cash
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, 2026.1.1 pts ahead of SPY
XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
SPY
+14.8%
XYLD
+15.9%
10.7% of it arrived as cash
1.1 pts ahead of SPY
Total return, distributions reinvested
1.1 pts ahead of SPY
XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
SPY
+14.8%
XYLD
+15.9%
10.7% cash
1.1 pts ahead of SPY
10.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
XYLD costs 0.44 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.8 points; XYLD is far larger, $3.4bn against $58m.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | QLDY | XYLD |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.1% | +15.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 27.2% | rose 4.4% |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 0% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment | 93% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | S&P 500, measured through SPY |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 0.60% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 | $58m | $3.4bn |
| 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 returnsEach against its own benchmark: QLDY against QQQ, Sep 26, 2025 to Oct 30, 2026; XYLD against SPY, Jul 5, 2013 to Oct 30, 2026.
From Sep 2025 to Oct 2026, XYLD returned more: +17.8% to +13.0%. XYLD swung less: 5.8% to 21.4%. XYLD fell less at its worst: −4.9% to −13.1%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QLDY | XYLD | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +13.0% | +17.8% | XYLD | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.8% | +16.1% | XYLD | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −27.2% | +5.0% | XYLD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 21.4% | 5.8% | XYLD | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.3% | 3.3% | XYLD | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −13.1% | −4.9% | XYLD | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 116.7% | 51.3% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 109.3% | 70.9% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.13 | 0.66 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.98 | 0.78 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | 1.96 | XYLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 3.45 | XYLD | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.085 | 0.102 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.90 | 3.30 | XYLD | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | QQQ | SPY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −3.7% a year | −1.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.33 | −0.99 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −9.3% to +1.9% | −4.5% to +1.5% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.56 | −0.75 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 3.8% | 7.8% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
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 XYLD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and 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 | XYLD | QLDY | XYLD | QLDY | XYLD |
| 3 months | −4.5% | +2.4% | 9.5% | 2.2% | −1.1 pts | +2.6 pts |
| 6 months | −3.1% | +7.9% | 18.5% | 5.1% | −2.8 pts | +2.9 pts |
| 1 year | +9.1% | +15.9% | 35.3% | 10.7% | −3.2 pts | +1.1 pts |
| 3 years | – | +48.4% | – | 34.0% | – | −34.5 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: QLDY Sep 2025 · XYLD Jun 2013 | +13.2% | +194.8% | 39.1% | 114.5% | −3.7 pts | −316.0 pts |
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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.
XYLD
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLD paid 10.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.1%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).
Questions people ask
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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, QLDY against XYLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-xyld
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). QLDY against XYLD. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-xyld
[QLDY against XYLD (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-xyld)
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