Data as of .
QQQY vs YMAG: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year YMAG paid 35.5% 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 YMAG hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | QQQY | YMAG |
|---|---|---|
| First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 | 0.49% | 0.87% |
| Only in QQQY | Only in YMAG |
|---|---|
| Ndx 12/18/2026 1000.34 C 98.70% | YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF 14.58% |
| Cash & Other 0.95% | YieldMax AAPL Option Income Strategy ETF 14.24% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29730.14 C 0.20% | YieldMax Tsla Option Income ETF 14.21% |
| Ndx 09/21/2026 29644.17 C -0.34% | YieldMax Amzn Option Income ETF 14.11% |
| YieldMax GOOGL Option Income Strategy ETF 14.11% | |
| YieldMax Meta Option Income Strategy ETF 13.99% | |
| YieldMax MSFT Option Income Strategy ETF 13.90% |
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 | YMAG | QQQY | YMAG | QQQY | YMAG | |
| 3 months | −0.5% | +6.1% | 8.0% | 9.4% | +2.0 pts | −1.6 pts |
| 6 months | +24.3% | +15.4% | 17.4% | 21.1% | +0.1 pts | −5.3 pts |
| 1 year | +21.1% | +9.7% | 30.5% | 35.5% | −0.6 pts | −1.5 pts |
| 3 years | +59.1% | not published | 88.1% | not published | −39.0 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +56.9% | +70.7% | 86.8% | 89.1% | −37.7 pts | −34.1 pts |
| QQQY Defiance Nasdaq 100 Weekly Distribution ETF Option income on QQQ, paying weekly | YMAG YieldMax(R) Magnificent 7 Fund of Option Income ETFs Synthetic covered call on MAGS, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Defiance | YieldMax |
| Strategy | option income | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) | Magnificent Seven (MAGS) |
| Pays | weekly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 29.5% | 30.9% |
| Expense ratio | 1.01% | 1.34% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 30.5% | 35.5% |
| Price change, 1 year | −13.2% | −28.1% |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.1% | +9.7% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +21.8% | +11.2% |
| Ahead or behind | −0.6 pts | −1.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 69% | 80% |
| Age | 1100 days | 962 days |
| Net assets | $188m | $297m |
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).
YMAG in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, YMAG paid 35.5% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 28.1%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +9.7%. Magnificent Seven (MAGS) returned +11.2% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.5 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 30.9%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 80% 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 YMAG?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, QQQY paid 30.5% of its starting price in cash and YMAG paid 35.5%, so YMAG 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 YMAG?
- With every distribution reinvested, QQQY returned +21.1% and YMAG returned +9.7% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so QQQY returned more.
- Which is cheaper, QQQY or YMAG?
- QQQY charges 1.01% a year and YMAG charges 1.34%, 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 YMAG, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/qqqy-vs-ymag Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.