Data as of .
SDS vs SPXL: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, SDS finished 2.5 points over and SPXL 2.6 points short.
ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score: SDS 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SDS | SPXL | SDS | SPXL | SDS | SPXL | |
| 1 month | +2.9% | −4.2% | +2.1% | −3.2% | +0.8 pts | −1.1 pts |
| 3 months | −4.8% | +6.5% | −6.6% | +9.9% | +1.8 pts | −3.4 pts |
| 6 months | −23.9% | +44.7% | −32.0% | +48.1% | +8.2 pts | −3.3 pts |
| 1 year | −23.2% | +39.8% | −35.0% | +52.5% | +11.8 pts | −12.7 pts |
| 3 years | −62.4% | +226.8% | −155.8% | +233.6% | +93.4 pts | −6.8 pts |
| Since launch | −99.5% | +6862.6% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
| SDS ProShares UltraShort S&P500 Aims to return twice the opposite of the daily move of the S&P 500 | SPXL Direxion Daily S&P 500(R) Bull 3X ETF Aims to return three times the daily move of the S&P 500 | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | ProShares | Direxion |
| Sets out to return | -2x | +3x |
| On | SPY | SPY |
| Segment | us large cap | us large cap |
| Fund returned, 3 months | −4.8% | +6.5% |
| Underlying returned, 3 months | +3.3% | +3.3% |
| What the stated multiple implies, 3 months | −6.6% | +9.9% |
| Difference from stated, 3 months | +1.8 pts | −3.4 pts |
| Fund returned, 1 year or since launch | −23.2% | +39.8% |
| Difference from stated, over that window | +11.8 pts | −12.7 pts |
| Underlying volatility | 12% | 12% |
| Difference over the days both have traded | no shared window | −3.4 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.91% | 0.84% |
| Launched | Jan 4, 2010 | Jan 4, 2010 |
SDS in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: SDS returned −4.8% where its own daily promise gave −7.3%, 2.5 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times SPY's 3.3% implies −6.6%, which makes SDS look 1.8 points over. 0.7 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SDS aims to return -2 times SPY'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. SPY moved at 12% 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.
SPXL in plain words
Three months to Sep 11, 2026: SPXL returned +6.5% where its own daily promise gave +9.0%, 2.6 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and +3 times SPY's 3.3% implies +9.9%, which makes SPXL look 3.4 points short. 0.9 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any +3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SPXL aims to return +3 times SPY'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, SDS or SPXL?
- Over the window to Sep 11, 2026, SDS finished 1.8 points from what its multiple implies and SPXL finished 3.4 points from its own, so SDS came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are SDS and SPXL levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the S&P 500, SDS at -2 times and SPXL at +3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SDS or SPXL?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SDS’s moved at 12% annualized and SPXL’s at 12%, so SDS has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SDS or SPXL 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, SDS or SPXL?
- SDS charges 0.91% a year and SPXL charges 0.84%, so SPXL 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, SDS against SPXL, data as of Sep 11, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/SDS-SPXL Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.