Data as of .
QQQI vs SPUT: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQI paid 15.2% of its price in cash against SPUT’s 5.2%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SPUT 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, QQQI and SPUT hold 27% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QQQI | SPUT |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp | 8.58% | 3.85% |
| Apple Inc | 7.79% | 3.22% |
| Microsoft Corp | 5.84% | 2.47% |
| Amazon.com Inc | 4.36% | 2.09% |
| Alphabet Inc | 3.24% | 1.84% |
| Broadcom Inc | 2.70% | 1.60% |
| Alphabet Inc | 2.99% | 1.59% |
| Meta Platforms Inc | 3.14% | 1.10% |
| Tesla Inc | 2.91% | 0.91% |
| Micron Technology Inc | 5.03% | 0.48% |
| Advanced Micro Devices Inc | 4.02% | 0.47% |
| Walmart Inc | 2.28% | 0.47% |
| Only in QQQI | Only in SPUT |
|---|---|
| Space Exploration Technologies Corp 1.28% | TREASURY BILL 49.24% |
| Shopify Inc 0.70% | JPMorgan Chase & Co 0.70% |
| ASML Holding NV 0.68% | Eli Lilly & Co 0.65% |
| ARM Holdings PLC 0.52% | Exxon Mobil Corp 0.54% |
| NXP Semiconductors NV 0.25% | Berkshire Hathaway Inc 0.54% |
| PDD Holdings Inc 0.23% | Visa Inc 0.46% |
| Honeywell Aerospace Inc 0.22% | Johnson & Johnson 0.46% |
| Nebius Group NV 0.22% | Caterpillar Inc 0.35% |
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 Apr 30, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQI | SPUT | QQQI | SPUT | QQQI | SPUT | |
| 3 months | −0.7% | +2.4% | 3.4% | 1.1% | +1.8 pts | +0.1 pts |
| 6 months | +16.7% | +11.5% | 7.7% | 2.5% | −7.5 pts | −6.5 pts |
| 1 year | +16.4% | +11.5% | 15.2% | 5.2% | −5.3 pts | −5.1 pts |
| Since launch | +59.6% | +22.4% | 39.9% | 8.5% | −12.3 pts | −15.6 pts |
| QQQI NEOS Nasdaq-100(R) High Income ETF Option income on QQQ, paying monthly | SPUT Innovator Equity Premium Income - Daily PutWrite ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | NEOS | Innovator |
| Strategy | option income | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | monthly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 14.0% | 4.7% |
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.79% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 15.2% | 5.2% |
| Price change, 1 year | −0.1% | +6.0% |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.4% | +11.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −5.3 pts | −5.1 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 98% | not published |
| Age | 962 days | 553 days |
| Net assets | $14.8bn | $17m |
QQQI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQI paid 15.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 0.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +16.4%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.0%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 98% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
SPUT in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SPUT paid 5.2% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 6.0%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +11.5%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 5.1 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 4.7%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QQQI or SPUT?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQI paid 15.2% of its starting price in cash and SPUT paid 5.2%, so QQQI paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQI or SPUT?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQI returned +16.4% and SPUT returned +11.5% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQI or SPUT?
- QQQI charges 0.68% a year and SPUT charges 0.79%, so QQQI 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, QQQI against SPUT, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqi-vs-sput Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.