SPXL vs SPXU: which held to its multiple?
Over three months against its own daily promise, SPXL finished 2.6 points short and SPXU 3.4 points over. Direxion Daily S&P 500(R) Bull 3X ETF and ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500.
SPXL returned +4.2% while 3 times SPY's move would have been +7.6%
SPXU returned −5.4% while −3 times SPY's move would have been −7.6%
SPXL among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months
SPXU among the 125 inverse ETFs over three months
A percentile among the 470 leveraged ETFs, long, over three months. SPXU is a percentile among the 125 inverse ETFs 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 | SPXL | SPXU | SPXL | SPXU | SPXL | SPXU |
| 1 month | −2.1% | +1.6% | −1.0% | +1.0% | −1.1 pts | +0.6 pts |
| 3 months | +4.2% | −5.4% | +7.6% | −7.6% | −3.3 pts | +2.1 pts |
| 6 months | +49.1% | −35.9% | +50.9% | −50.9% | −1.9 pts | +15.1 pts |
| 1 year | +33.5% | −32.4% | +47.1% | −47.1% | −13.7 pts | +14.8 pts |
| 3 years | +268.8% | −82.5% | +254.9% | −254.9% | +13.8 pts | +172.4 pts |
| Since launch SPXL Jan 2010 · SPXU Jan 2010 | +6824.9% | −100.0% | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful | not meaningful |
SPXL and SPXU over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →
On the same fields
SPXL and SPXU on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPXL in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SPXL returned +4.2% where its own daily promise gave +6.8%, 2.6 points short. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 3 times SPY's 2.5% implies +7.6%, which makes SPXL look 3.3 points short. 0.8 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 one day it does that. 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. SPY moved at 11% 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.
SPXU in plain words
Three months to Sep 30, 2026: SPXU returned −5.4% where its own daily promise gave −8.9%, 3.4 points over. Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times SPY's 2.5% implies −7.6%, which makes SPXU look 2.1 points over. 1.3 of that is daily compounding, which happens to any −3 times fund over the same path, and the rest is the fund. SPXU 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, SPXL or SPXU?
- Over the window to Sep 30, 2026, SPXL finished 3.3 points from what its multiple implies and SPXU finished 2.1 points from its own, so SPXU came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are SPXL and SPXU levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the S&P 500, SPXL at +3 times and SPXU at -3 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SPXL or SPXU?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SPXL’s moved at 11% annualized and SPXU’s at 11%, so SPXL has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SPXL or SPXU 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.
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.
ETFIQ, SPXL against SPXU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxl-vs-spxu
Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPXL against SPXU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxl-vs-spxu Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
Other forms
- Plain
- ETFIQ, SPXL against SPXU, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxl-vs-spxu
- APA
- ETFIQ. (Sep 30, 2026). SPXL against SPXU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxl-vs-spxu
- Markdown
- [SPXL against SPXU (ETFIQ, Sep 30, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxl-vs-spxu)