Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
QLDY vs YQQQ: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QLDY paid 35.3% of its price in cash against YQQQ’s 26.8%, and returned more with it reinvested.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $53m for Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread Income ETF and $15m for YieldMax Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF.
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.YQQQ over 1 year: paid 26.8%, price −21.3%, total +6.6%, short QQQ −14.5%, +21.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.
Data to Nov 4, 2026.Pair scorecard
QLDY costs 0.07 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.5 points; QLDY is 3.5 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | QLDY | YQQQ |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +9.1% | +6.6% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 27.2% | fell 21.3% |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 0% of the Nov 2, 2026 payment | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) held short |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 1.11% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $53m | $15m |
| 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 →
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QLDY and YQQQ 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 | YQQQ | QLDY | YQQQ | QLDY | YQQQ |
| 3 months | −4.5% | +10.7% | 9.5% | 10.6% | −1.1 pts | +8.0 pts |
| 6 months | −3.1% | +9.0% | 18.5% | 15.9% | −2.8 pts | +11.1 pts |
| 1 year | +9.1% | +6.6% | 35.3% | 26.8% | −3.2 pts | +21.1 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: QLDY Sep 2025 · YQQQ Aug 2024 | +13.2% | −10.1% | 39.1% | 40.8% | −3.7 pts | +28.7 pts |
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.
YQQQ
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, YQQQ paid 26.8% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 21.3%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +6.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) held short returned −14.5% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 21.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 22.7%, paid weekly.
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 YQQQ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-yqqq
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). QLDY against YQQQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-yqqq
[QLDY against YQQQ (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qldy-vs-yqqq)
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