Data as of .
PSQ vs TQQQ: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, PSQ finished 1.7 points over and TQQQ 2.4 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: TQQQ 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 | TQQQ | PSQ | TQQQ | PSQ | TQQQ | |
| 1 month | +1.7% | −4.8% | +1.2% | −3.7% | +0.5 pts | −1.2 pts |
| 3 months | +1.2% | −8.2% | +0.8% | −2.4% | +0.4 pts | −5.8 pts |
| 6 months | −16.5% | +55.1% | −20.7% | +62.1% | +4.2 pts | −6.9 pts |
| 1 year | −16.3% | +49.5% | −23.0% | +68.9% | +6.6 pts | −19.4 pts |
| 3 years | −42.6% | +262.4% | −95.1% | +285.3% | +52.5 pts | −22.9 pts |
| Since launch | −96.3% | +34453.8% | 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 | TQQQ ProShares UltraPro QQQ Aims to return three times the daily move of the Nasdaq-100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | ProShares |
| Sets out to return | -1x | +3x |
| On | QQQ | QQQ |
| Segment | us large cap | us large cap |
| Fund returned, 3 months | +1.2% | −8.2% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | −0.8% | −0.8% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | +0.8% | −2.4% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +0.4 pts | −5.8 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −16.3% | +49.5% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +6.6 pts | −19.4 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 22% | 22% |
| Expense ratio | not published | 0.82% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | Feb 11, 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.
TQQQ in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: TQQQ returned −8.2% where its own daily promise gave −5.9%, 2.4 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +3 times QQQ's −0.8% implies −2.4%, which makes TQQQ look 5.8 points short. 3.5 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. TQQQ aims to return +3 times QQQ's move each day, then resets. Over longer, the daily results compound, so the total is not +3 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 TQQQ?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, PSQ finished 0.4 points from what its multiple implies and TQQQ finished 5.8 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 TQQQ levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the Nasdaq-100, PSQ at -1 times and TQQQ at +3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, PSQ or TQQQ?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window PSQ’s moved at 22% annualized and TQQQ’s at 22%, so PSQ has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold PSQ or TQQQ 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 TQQQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/PSQ-TQQQ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.