Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QQQI vs YMAX: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, YMAX paid 36.1% of its price in cash against QQQI’s 13.7%, though QQQI returned more with it reinvested.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $15.4bn for NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF and $352m for YieldMax Universe Fund of Option Income ETFs.
3.3 pts behind QQQ
QQQI over 1 year: paid 13.7%, price −2.8%, total +11.9%, QQQ +15.2%, −3.3 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ
+15.2%
QQQI
+11.9%
13.7% of it arrived as cash
3.3 pts behind QQQ
Total return, distributions reinvested
3.3 pts behind QQQ
QQQI over 1 year: paid 13.7%, price −2.8%, total +11.9%, QQQ +15.2%, −3.3 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ
+15.2%
QQQI
+11.9%
13.7% cash
3.3 pts behind QQQ
13.7% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QQQI over 1 year: paid 13.7%, price −2.8%, total +11.9%, QQQ +15.2%, −3.3 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.14.9 pts behind its own holdings
YMAX over 1 year: paid 36.1%, price −42.4%, total −4.0%, its own holdings +10.9%, −14.9 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
its own holdings
+10.9%
YMAX
−4.0%
14.9 pts behind its own holdings
Total return, distributions reinvested
14.9 pts behind its own holdings
YMAX over 1 year: paid 36.1%, price −42.4%, total −4.0%, its own holdings +10.9%, −14.9 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
its own holdings
+10.9%
YMAX
−4.0%
14.9 pts behind its own holdings
36.1% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. YMAX over 1 year: paid 36.1%, price −42.4%, total −4.0%, its own holdings +10.9%, −14.9 pts. Data to Oct 28, 2026.
Data to Oct 28, 2026.Pair scorecard
QQQI costs 0.65 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.9 points; QQQI is far larger, $15.4bn against $352m.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | QQQI | YMAX |
|---|---|---|
| Paid and earned | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.9% | −4.0% |
| Price change, 1 year | fell 2.8% | fell 42.4% |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 100% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment | 35% of the Oct 29, 2026 payment |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100, measured through QQQ | its own holdings |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 1.33% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $15.4bn | $352m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
How much of its payouts the fund's total return covered, ranked against 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 100 is best. How it is computed
A percentile among the 164 income ETFs not writing on a single company. 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 →
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 9, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 141 weekly returnsQQQI returned more: +52.7% to +35.2%. QQQI swung less: 16.0% to 21.9%. QQQI fell less at its worst: −18.4% to −24.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QQQI | YMAX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +52.7% | +35.2% | QQQI | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.9% | +11.8% | QQQI | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +3.2% | −65.6% | QQQI | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.0% | 21.9% | QQQI | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.8% | 15.2% | QQQI | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.4% | −24.1% | QQQI | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.79 | 0.42 | QQQI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.16 | 0.61 | QQQI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.92 | 0.49 | QQQI | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 141 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, QQQI and YMAX hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 28, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
As of Oct 28, 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 | QQQI | YMAX | QQQI | YMAX | QQQI | YMAX |
| 3 months | +9.9% | +10.0% | 3.8% | 10.6% | +0.2 pts | −18.4 pts |
| 6 months | +7.8% | +10.4% | 7.2% | 22.3% | −2.1 pts | −15.1 pts |
| 1 year | +11.9% | −4.0% | 13.7% | 36.1% | −3.3 pts | −14.9 pts |
| Since launchNot the same days: QQQI Jan 2024 · YMAX Jan 2024 | +60.7% | +43.9% | 41.2% | 93.4% | −12.4 pts | not measured |
QQQI and YMAX are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- Income paid. QQQI paid 13.7% and YMAX 36.1% (cash paid over 1 year, as a share of its price at the start), a gap of 22.4 points.
- What each is measured against. QQQI is measured against Nasdaq-100 through QQQ and YMAX against its own holdings.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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QQQI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QQQI paid 13.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 2.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +11.9%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +15.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 3.3 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 14.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
YMAX
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, YMAX paid 36.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 42.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −4.0%. YMAX's own holdings, without the options (from its filed holdings, rebalanced at each filing; latest Oct 26, 2026) returned +10.9% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 14.9 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 39.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 35% of the distribution paid Oct 29, 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, QQQI against YMAX, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqi-vs-ymax
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[QQQI against YMAX (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqi-vs-ymax)
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