Which came closer to its stated multiple, SCO or UCO?

Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SCO finished 17.9 points from what its multiple implies and UCO finished 4.3 points from its own, so UCO came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.

Are SCO and UCO levered on the same thing?

Yes. Both are levered on ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil ETF, SCO at -2 times and UCO at +2 times the daily move.

Which one decays faster, SCO or UCO?

Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SCO’s moved at 32% annualized and UCO’s at 32%, so SCO has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.

Can I hold SCO or UCO 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, SCO or UCO?

SCO charges 0.95% a year and UCO charges 0.95%, so SCO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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SCO vs UCO: which held to its multiple?

Over three months against its own daily promise, SCO finished 1.5 points over and UCO 1.3 points short. ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil and ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil.

−45.1%

SCO returned, 3 months

+67.2%

UCO returned, 3 months

+17.9 pts

SCO from its stated multiple

+4.3 pts

UCO from its stated multiple

SCO · 3 months to Sep 30, 202617.9 pts ahead of its stated multiple

SCO returned −45.1% while −2 times OILK's move would have been −62.9%

UCO · 3 months to Sep 30, 20264.3 pts ahead of its stated multiple

UCO returned +67.2% while 2 times OILK's move would have been +62.9%

ETFIQ Decay Resistance Score · UCO scores higherDid it keep up with its own daily multiple, compounded day by day?

SCO among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months

SCO 47.6

0.4, the lowest in this set99.6, the highest

UCO among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months

UCO 92

0.1, the lowest in this set99.9, the highest

A percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months. UCO is a percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. 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

	Total return		Multiple would give		Difference
Window	SCO	UCO	SCO	UCO	SCO	UCO
1 month	−17.2%	+19.7%	−19.1%	+19.1%	+1.9 pts	+0.5 pts
3 months	−45.1%	+67.2%	−62.9%	+62.9%	+17.9 pts	+4.3 pts
6 months	−43.5%	+43.5%	−48.2%	+48.2%	+4.7 pts	−4.7 pts
1 year	−71.5%	+137.5%	−130.6%	+130.6%	+59.1 pts	+6.9 pts
3 years	−70.5%	+51.3%	−95.4%	+95.4%	+24.9 pts	−44.0 pts
Since launch SCO Sep 2016 · UCO Sep 2016	−99.4%	−56.6%	−117.2%	+117.2%	+17.8 pts	−173.8 pts

SCO and UCO over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

SCO

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil · Aims to return twice the opposite of the daily move of ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil ETF (OILK)

UCO

ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil · Aims to return twice the daily move of ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil ETF (OILK)

Issuer ProShares ProShares

Sets out to return -2x +2x

Underlying asset OILK OILK

Segment commodity commodity

Fund returned, 3 months or since launch −45.1% +67.2%

Underlying returned, over that window +31.5% +31.5%

What the stated multiple implies, over that window −62.9% +62.9%

Difference from stated, over that window +17.9 pts +4.3 pts

Fund returned, 1 year or since launch −71.5% +137.5%

Difference from stated, over that window +59.1 pts +6.9 pts

Underlying volatility 32% 32%

Expense ratio 0.95% 0.95%

Launched Jan 4, 2010 Jan 4, 2010

Net assets $1.0bn $402m

SCO and UCO on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

SCO in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SCO returned −45.1% where its own daily promise gave −46.6%, 1.5 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −2 times OILK's 31.5% implies −62.9%, which makes SCO look 17.9 points over. 16.4 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SCO aims to return -2 times OILK'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. OILK moved at 32% 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.

UCO in plain words

Three months to Sep 30, 2026: UCO returned +67.2% where its own daily promise gave +68.5%, 1.3 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times OILK's 31.5% implies +62.9%, which makes UCO look 4.3 points over. 5.5 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any 2 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. UCO aims to return +2 times OILK'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, SCO or UCO?: Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SCO finished 17.9 points from what its multiple implies and UCO finished 4.3 points from its own, so UCO came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
Are SCO and UCO levered on the same thing?: Yes. Both are levered on ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil ETF, SCO at -2 times and UCO at +2 times the daily move.
Which one decays faster, SCO or UCO?: Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SCO’s moved at 32% annualized and UCO’s at 32%, so SCO has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
Can I hold SCO or UCO 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, SCO or UCO?: SCO charges 0.95% a year and UCO charges 0.95%, so SCO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SCO on its own →UCO on its own →How every figure is computed →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ProShares page for SCO ↗ProShares page for UCO ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page

ETFIQ, SCO against UCO, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/sco-vs-uco

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.