Data as of .
QQQY vs ULTY: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year ULTY paid 44.9% of its price in cash against QQQY’s 30.5%, though QQQY 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 ULTY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QQQY | ULTY |
|---|---|---|
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 | 0.49% | 2.74% |
| Only in QQQY | Only in ULTY |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% | Advanced Micro Devices Inc 5.23% |
| Cash & Other 0.95% | MercadoLibre Inc 4.99% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% | Lumentum Holdings Inc 4.75% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% | Strategy Inc 4.66% |
| Comfort Systems USA Inc 4.61% | |
| Alphabet Inc 4.39% | |
| Lam Research Corp 4.34% | |
| Coherent Corp 4.30% |
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 Sep 21, 2026.
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Cash paid | Against the benchmark | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQY | ULTY | QQQY | ULTY | QQQY | ULTY | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | −1.1% | 8.0% | 13.7% | +2.0 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 6 months | +24.3% | +14.0% | 17.4% | 30.1% | +0.1 pts | −4.0 pts |
| 1 year | +21.1% | −7.8% | 30.5% | 44.9% | −0.6 pts | −24.3 pts |
| 3 years | +59.1% | not published | 88.1% | not published | −39.0 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +56.9% | +10.7% | 86.8% | 86.9% | −37.7 pts | −44.1 pts |
| QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | ULTY YieldMax(R) Ultra Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on SPY, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | YieldMax |
| Strategy | option income | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy |
| Pays | weekly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 29.5% | 59.8% |
| Expense ratio | 1.01% | 1.30% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 30.5% | 44.9% |
| Price change, 1 year | −13.2% | −54.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.1% | −7.8% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +16.6% |
| Ahead or behind | −0.6 pts | −24.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 69% | 100% |
| Age | 1100 days | 932 days |
| Net assets | $188m | $721m |
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).
ULTY in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, ULTY paid 44.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 54.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −7.8%. S&P 500 (SPY), used as a default proxy returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 24.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 59.8%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Sep 17, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, QQQY or ULTY?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting price in cash and ULTY paid 44.9%, so ULTY 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 ULTY?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +21.1% and ULTY returned −7.8% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQY or ULTY?
- QQQY charges 1.01% a year and ULTY charges 1.30%, so QQQY 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 ULTY, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-ulty Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.