Data as of .
PSQ vs QLD: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, PSQ finished 1.7 points over and QLD 1.3 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: QLD scores higher
Did it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?
A percentile among the 121 inverse ETFs over three months. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All leveraged ETFs ranked by it · How it is computed
Performance, window by window
| Window | Total return | Multiple would give | Difference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSQ | QLD | PSQ | QLD | PSQ | QLD | |
| 1 month | +1.7% | −3.0% | +1.2% | −2.4% | +0.5 pts | −0.6 pts |
| 3 months | +1.2% | −4.0% | +0.8% | −1.6% | +0.4 pts | −2.5 pts |
| 6 months | −16.5% | +38.4% | −20.7% | +41.4% | +4.2 pts | −3.0 pts |
| 1 year | −16.3% | +37.9% | −23.0% | +46.0% | +6.6 pts | −8.0 pts |
| 3 years | −42.6% | +180.9% | −95.1% | +190.2% | +52.5 pts | −9.3 pts |
| Since launch | −96.3% | +9517.6% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| PSQ ProShares Short QQQ Aims to return 1 times the opposite of the daily move of the Nasdaq-100 | QLD ProShares Ultra QQQ Aims to return twice the daily move of the Nasdaq-100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | ProShares |
| Sets out to return | -1x | +2x |
| On | QQQ | QQQ |
| Segment | us large cap | us large cap |
| Fund returned, 3 months | +1.2% | −4.0% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | −0.8% | −0.8% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | +0.8% | −1.6% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +0.4 pts | −2.5 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −16.3% | +37.9% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +6.6 pts | −8.0 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 22% | 22% |
| Expense ratio | not published | 0.95% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | Jan 4, 2010 |
PSQ in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: PSQ returned +1.2% where its own daily promise gave −0.5%, 1.7 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −1 times QQQ's −0.8% implies +0.8%, which makes PSQ look 0.4 points over. 1.2 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −1 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. PSQ aims to return -1 times QQQ's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not -1 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more. QQQ moved at 22% annualized over that window. That is what decides how far the two figures separate: the same fund on a calm underlying and a violent one is a different product.
QLD in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: QLD returned −4.0% where its own daily promise gave −2.8%, 1.3 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +2 times QQQ's −0.8% implies −1.6%, which makes QLD look 2.5 points short. 1.2 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. QLD aims to return +2 times QQQ's move each day, then resets. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not +2 times the period's move: in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less, and in a steady run it can be more.
Questions people ask
- Which came closer to its stated multiple, PSQ or QLD?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, PSQ finished 0.4 points from what its multiple implies and QLD finished 2.5 points from its own, so PSQ came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are PSQ and QLD levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the Nasdaq-100, PSQ at -1 times and QLD at +2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, PSQ or QLD?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window PSQ’s moved at 22% annualized and QLD’s at 22%, so PSQ has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold PSQ or QLD for a year?
- Both reset every day, so the multiple in the name applies to a single day and the daily results compound. Over a year the total is not the multiple times the year’s move, and in a market that falls and comes back it is reliably less. ETFIQ makes no recommendation either way.
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, PSQ against QLD, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/PSQ-QLD Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.