Data as of .
SPYI vs YQQQ: which paid, and which earned it?
Over the year YQQQ paid 23.1% of its price in cash against SPYI’s 13.1%, though SPYI returned more with it reinvested.
ETFIQ Return Stability Score: SPYI 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, SPYI and YQQQ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in SPYI | Only in YQQQ |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp 8.28% | United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 28.76% |
| Apple Inc 7.52% | United States Treasury Bill 07/08/2027 28.59% |
| Microsoft Corp 5.62% | United States Treasury Bill 02/18/2027 17.25% |
| Amazon.com Inc 3.82% | United States Treasury Bill 12/10/2026 13.01% |
| Alphabet Inc 3.12% | United States Treasury Bill 10/15/2026 7.09% |
| Broadcom Inc 2.59% | First American Government Obligations Fund 12/01/2031 5.94% |
| Alphabet Inc 2.50% | QQQ 10/16/2026 720.02 P 1.66% |
| Meta Platforms Inc 2.22% | QQQ US 09/25/26 P690 0.06% |
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPYI | YQQQ | SPYI | YQQQ | SPYI | YQQQ | |
| 3 months | +3.1% | +5.8% | 3.0% | 6.5% | +0.9 pts | +8.3 pts |
| 6 months | +14.4% | −13.9% | 6.5% | 10.8% | −3.6 pts | −38.2 pts |
| 1 year | +15.3% | −3.5% | 13.1% | 23.1% | −1.2 pts | −25.3 pts |
| 3 years | +57.2% | not published | 38.6% | not published | −21.2 pts | not published |
| Since launch | +77.1% | −17.6% | 50.3% | 37.0% | −25.3 pts | −71.2 pts |
| SPYI NEOS S&P 500(R) High Income ETF Option income on SPY, paying monthly | YQQQ YieldMax(R) Short N100 Option Income Strategy ETF Synthetic covered call on QQQ, paying weekly | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | NEOS | YieldMax |
| Strategy | option income | synthetic covered call |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 (SPY) | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | monthly | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualized | 12.1% | 21.3% |
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 1.11% |
| Cash paid, 1 year | 13.1% | 23.1% |
| Price change, 1 year | +1.2% | −25.7% |
| Total return, 1 year | +15.3% | −3.5% |
| Benchmark return, 1 year | +16.6% | +21.8% |
| Ahead or behind | −1.2 pts | −25.3 pts |
| Return of capital, latest estimate | 93% | 0% |
| Age | 1480 days | 764 days |
| Net assets | $12.2bn | $27m |
SPYI in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SPYI paid 13.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 1.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +15.3%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +16.6% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 1.2 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 12.1%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 93% of the distribution paid Jun 18, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterization rather than a measure of erosion).
YQQQ in plain words
Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, YQQQ paid 23.1% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 25.7%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −3.5%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.8% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 25.3 pts. At its price on Sep 18, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 21.3%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 0% 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).
Questions people ask
- Which paid more, SPYI or YQQQ?
- Over the year to Sep 18, 2026, SPYI paid 13.1% of its starting price in cash and YQQQ paid 23.1%, so YQQQ paid more. Cash paid is not the same as money made: the price change matters too.
- Which returned more once distributions are counted, SPYI or YQQQ?
- With every distribution reinvested, SPYI returned +15.3% and YQQQ returned −3.5% over the year to Sep 18, 2026, so SPYI returned more.
- Which is cheaper, SPYI or YQQQ?
- SPYI charges 0.68% a year and YQQQ charges 1.11%, so SPYI 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, SPYI against YQQQ, data as of Sep 18, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/income/spyi-vs-yqqq Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.