Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

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Income ETFs

QQQY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQY paid 29.9% of its price in cash against XYLD’s 10.7%, though XYLD returned more with it reinvested.

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Net assets: $178m on Nov 3, 2026 for Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF, and $3.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF.

At a glance
29.9%
QQQY cash paid, 1 year
10.7%
XYLD cash paid, 1 year
+13.6%
QQQY total return, 1 year
+15.9%
XYLD total return, 1 year
QQQY · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.3 pts ahead of QQQ
QQQY
+13.6%
QQQ
+12.3%

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

QQQY over 1 year: paid 29.9%, price −17.8%, total +13.6%, QQQ +12.3%, +1.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QQQY

+13.6%

29.9% of it arrived as cash

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

QQQY over 1 year: paid 29.9%, price −17.8%, total +13.6%, QQQ +12.3%, +1.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

QQQ

+12.3%

QQQY

+13.6%

29.9% as cash

1.3 pts ahead of QQQ

29.9% of it arrived as cash. Total return, distributions reinvested. QQQY over 1 year: paid 29.9%, price −17.8%, total +13.6%, QQQ +12.3%, +1.3 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.
XYLD · 1 year to Nov 4, 2026 1.1 pts ahead of SPY
XYLD
+15.9%
SPY
+14.8%

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLD

+15.9%

10.7% of it arrived as cash

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

Total return, distributions reinvested

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

SPY

+14.8%

XYLD

+15.9%

10.7% cash

1.1 pts ahead of SPY

10.7% of it arrived as cash. Both charts share one scale, with zero at the line. XYLD over 1 year: paid 10.7%, price +4.4%, total +15.9%, SPY +14.8%, +1.1 pts. Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Data to Nov 4, 2026.

Pair scorecard

XYLD costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.3 points; XYLD is 17.6 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

QQQY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureQQQYXYLD
Paid and earned
Total return, 1 year+13.6%+15.9%
Price change, 1 yearfell 17.8%rose 4.4%
Return of capital, issuer estimate81% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment93% of the Sep 24, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
BenchmarkNasdaq-100, measured through QQQS&P 500, measured through SPY
Cost and size
Expense ratio1.01%0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026$193m$3.4bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
ETFIQ Distribution Coverage Score · XYLD scores higher How much of what it paid out did its total return cover?
IQ Income Score33.8QQQY77.5XYLD

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

0.3, the lowest in this set 99.7, the highest

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 →

Method

Risk and return

Sep 22, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026 · 162 weekly returns
QQQY XYLD
Return
Total return edge QQQY +54.5% +47.2%
Annualized edge QQQY +15.0% +13.2%
Price return edge XYLD −65.0% +5.2%
Risk
Volatility edge XYLD 14.9% 8.7%
Max drawdown edge XYLD −18.3% −14.0%
Downside capture 85.5% 70.9%
Beta 0.71 0.66
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge XYLD 0.71 0.95
Sortino edge XYLD 1.01 1.36
Treynor 0.148 0.102
Calmar edge XYLD 0.82 0.94
Against the benchmark
Alpha −3.0% a year −1.5% a year
Alpha t-stat −1.01 −0.99
Information ratio −1.11 −0.75
Tracking error 7.6% 7.8%

Each against its own benchmark: QQQY against QQQ, Sep 22, 2023 to Oct 30, 2026; XYLD against SPY, Jul 5, 2013 to Oct 30, 2026.

Reading

From Sep 2023 to Oct 2026, QQQY returned more: +54.5% to +47.2%. XYLD swung less: 8.7% to 14.9%. XYLD fell less at its worst: −14.0% to −18.3%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: QQQY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
MeasureQQQYXYLDEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+54.5%+47.2%QQQYPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+15.0%+13.2%QQQYTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return−65.0%+5.2%XYLDPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility14.9%8.7%XYLDSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation10.5%6.1%XYLDLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−18.3%−14.0%XYLDDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture61.4%51.3%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture85.5%70.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta0.710.66Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared0.880.78Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.710.95XYLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.011.36XYLDReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1480.102Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.820.94XYLDAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkQQQSPYThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−3.0% a year−1.5% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−1.01−0.99Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−9.0% to +2.9%−4.5% to +1.5%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−1.11−0.75Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error7.6%7.8%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 162 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, QQQY and XYLD hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Nov 4, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first QQQY XYLD
Only in one fund ↓
Only in QQQY
Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.45%
Ndx 11/05/2026 28516.79 C 0.38%
Ndx 11/05/2026 28437.17 C -0.51%
Only in XYLD
NVIDIA CORPORATION 7.64%
APPLE INC. 7.13%
MICROSOFT CORPORATION 5.42%
AMAZON.COM, INC. 4.18%
ALPHABET INC. 3.28%
BROADCOM INC. 2.90%
ALPHABET INC. 2.65%
META PLATFORMS, INC. 1.92%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF · Option income on QQQ, paying weekly XYLD Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF · Covered call on SPY, paying monthly
Strategy option income covered call
Benchmark Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) S&P 500 (SPY)
Pays weekly monthly
Payout rate, annualized 31.5% 9.1%
Expense ratio 1.01% 0.60%
Cash paid, 1 year 29.9% 10.7%
Price change, 1 year −17.8% +4.4%
Total return, 1 year +13.6% +15.9%
Benchmark return, 1 year +12.3% +14.8%
Ahead or behind +1.3 pts +1.1 pts
Return of capital, latest estimate 81% 93%
Age 3.1 years 13.4 years
Net assets, QQQY as of Nov 3, 2026 and XYLD as of Oct 12, 2026 $178m $3.4bn

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

Window by window: QQQY vs XYLD: Dividend Yield & Total Return
Total returnCash paidAgainst the benchmark
WindowQQQYXYLDQQQYXYLDQQQYXYLD
3 months−3.5%+2.4%7.3%2.2%−0.1 pts+2.6 pts
6 months+0.4%+7.9%15.4%5.1%+0.7 pts+2.9 pts
1 year+13.6%+15.9%29.9%10.7%+1.3 pts+1.1 pts
3 years+51.9%+48.4%88.2%34.0%−39.4 pts−34.5 pts
Since launchNot the same days: QQQY Sep 2023 · XYLD Jun 2013+49.8%+194.8%88.1%114.5%−37.0 pts−316.0 pts

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About each fund
QQQY

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQY paid 29.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 17.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.6%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +12.3% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.3 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 31.5%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 81% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

XYLD

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, XYLD paid 10.7% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 4.4%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.9%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +14.8% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 1.1 pts. At its price on Nov 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 9.1%, paid monthly. Global X estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Sep 24, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice).

Questions people ask

Which paid more, QQQY or XYLD?
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, QQQY paid 29.9% of its starting price in cash and XYLD paid 10.7%, 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 XYLD?
With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +13.6% and XYLD +15.9% over the year to Nov 4, 2026.
Which is cheaper, QQQY or XYLD?
QQQY charges 1.01% a year and XYLD charges 0.60%, so XYLD is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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Sources and dates

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, QQQY against XYLD, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-xyld

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