Data as of .
QLD vs SQQQ: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, QLD finished 1.3 points short and SQQQ 3.6 points over.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: SQQQ scores higher
Did it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?
A percentile among the 391 leveraged ETFs, long, 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QLD | SQQQ | QLD | SQQQ | QLD | SQQQ | |
| 1 month | −3.0% | +4.2% | −2.4% | +3.7% | −0.6 pts | +0.5 pts |
| 3 months | −4.0% | −1.4% | −1.6% | +2.4% | −2.5 pts | −3.8 pts |
| 6 months | +38.4% | −47.4% | +41.4% | −62.1% | −3.0 pts | +14.6 pts |
| 1 year | +37.9% | −50.6% | +46.0% | −68.9% | −8.0 pts | +18.3 pts |
| 3 years | +180.9% | −89.7% | +190.2% | −285.3% | −9.3 pts | +195.6 pts |
| Since launch | +9517.6% | −100.0% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| QLD ProShares Ultra QQQ Aims to return twice the daily move of the Nasdaq-100 | SQQQ ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ Aims to return three times the opposite of the daily move of the Nasdaq-100 | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | ProShares |
| Sets out to return | +2x | -3x |
| On | QQQ | QQQ |
| Segment | us large cap | us large cap |
| Fund returned, 3 months | −4.0% | −1.4% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | −0.8% | −0.8% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | −1.6% | +2.4% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | −2.5 pts | −3.8 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | +37.9% | −50.6% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | −8.0 pts | +18.3 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 22% | 22% |
| Expense ratio | 0.95% | 0.95% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | Feb 11, 2010 |
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 one day it does that. 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. 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.
SQQQ in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: SQQQ returned −1.4% where its own daily promise gave −5.0%, 3.6 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times QQQ's −0.8% implies +2.4%, which makes SQQQ look 3.8 points short. 7.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SQQQ 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, QLD or SQQQ?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, QLD finished 2.5 points from what its multiple implies and SQQQ finished 3.8 points from its own, so QLD came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are QLD and SQQQ levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the Nasdaq-100, QLD at +2 times and SQQQ at -3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, QLD or SQQQ?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window QLD’s moved at 22% annualized and SQQQ’s at 22%, so QLD has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold QLD or SQQQ 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.
- Which is cheaper, QLD or SQQQ?
- QLD charges 0.95% a year and SQQQ charges 0.95%, so QLD 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, QLD against SQQQ, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/QLD-SQQQ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.