Data as of .
QQQY vs TCAL: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year QQQY paid 30.5% of its price in cash against TCAL’s 11.4%, and returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: QQQY 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, QQQY and TCAL hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in QQQY | Only in TCAL |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% | DANAHER CORP 2.01% |
| Cash & Other 0.95% | WATERS CORP 1.97% |
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 0.49% | VERALTO CORP 1.87% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% | WASTE CONNECTIONS INC 1.80% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% | YUM BRANDS INC 1.72% |
| MCDONALD S CORP 1.70% | |
| VISA INC-CLASS A SHARES 1.69% | |
| LINDE PLC 1.63% |
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 Jun 30, 2026 and Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQY | TCAL | QQQY | TCAL | QQQY | TCAL | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +4.2% | 8.0% | 3.5% | +2.0 pts | +1.9 pts |
| 6 months | +24.3% | +5.3% | 17.4% | 6.3% | +0.1 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 1 year | +21.1% | +3.0% | 30.5% | 11.4% | −0.6 pts | −13.5 pts |
| 3 years | +59.1% | not published | 88.1% | not published | −39.0 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +56.9% | +3.9% | 86.8% | 15.2% | −37.7 pts | −32.7 pts |
| QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | TCAL T. Rowe Price Capital Appreciation Premium Income ETF Covered call on SPY, paying monthly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | T. Rowe Price |
| Strategy | option income | covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | weekly | monthly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 29.5% | 9.4% |
| Expense ratio | 1.01% | 0.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 30.5% | 11.4% |
| Price change, 1 year | −13.2% | −8.6% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.1% | +3.0% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −0.6 pts | −13.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 69% | not published |
| Age | 1100 days | 540 days |
| Net assets | $188m | $276m |
QQQY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 13.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +21.1%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 0.6 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 29.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 69% of the distribution paid Sep 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
TCAL in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, TCAL paid 11.4% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 8.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +3.0%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 13.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.4%, paid monthly.
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QQQY or TCAL?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting price in cash and TCAL paid 11.4%, so QQQY paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, QQQY or TCAL?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +21.1% and TCAL returned +3.0% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQY or TCAL?
- QQQY charges 1.01% a year and TCAL charges 0.34%, so TCAL 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, QQQY against TCAL, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-tcal Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.