SPXS vs SPYQ: Leverage, Returns & Decay
Over three months against its daily multiple, compounded, SPXS finished 3.4 points over and SPYQ 1.8 points short. Net assets on Oct 22, 2026: $321m for Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3X ETF and $13m for Tradr 2X Long SPY Quarterly ETF.
SPYQ costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 54.4 points; SPXS is far larger, $321m against $13m.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| SPXS | SPYQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 1.04% | 1.00% |
| Net assets | $321m | $13m |
| Total return, 1 year | −31.9% | +22.5% |
| What it tracks | S&P 500 | S&P 500 |
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| What its daily multiple gave, 3 months | −12.1% | 7.3% |
| What the underlying did, 3 months | SPY 3.7% | SPY 3.7% |
SPXS returned −8.7% while −3 times SPY's move would have been −11.1%. Figures from Jul 23, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026.
SPXS returned −8.7% while −3 times SPY's move would have been −11.1%. Figures from Jul 23, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026.
SPYQ returned +5.5% while 2 times SPY's move would have been +7.4%. Figures from Jul 23, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026.
SPYQ returned +5.5% while 2 times SPY's move would have been +7.4%. Figures from Jul 23, 2026 to Oct 22, 2026.
SPXS among the 19 inverse ETFs at 3x, over three months
How closely it delivered its daily multiple over 3 months, ranked against 19 inverse ETFs at 3x, over three months and 510 leveraged ETFs at 2x, over three months. 100 is best. How it is computed
SPYQ among the 510 leveraged ETFs at 2x, over three months
A percentile among the 19 inverse ETFs at 3x, over three months. SPYQ is a percentile among the 510 leveraged ETFs at 2x, over three months, a different set, so the two marks are not on one scale. Three months only, against the fund's own daily multiple; a different quarter can rank it very differently. All leveraged ETFs ranked by it →
Performance, window by window
| Total return | Multiple would give | Difference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Window | SPXS | SPYQ | SPXS | SPYQ | SPXS | SPYQ |
| 1 month | +4.7% | −2.9% | +3.6% | −2.4% | +1.1 pts | −0.5 pts |
| 3 months | −8.7% | +5.5% | −11.1% | +7.4% | +2.4 pts | −1.9 pts |
| 6 months | −19.0% | +12.3% | −25.2% | +16.8% | +6.2 pts | −4.5 pts |
| 1 year | −31.9% | +22.5% | −46.8% | +31.2% | +14.9 pts | −8.7 pts |
| 3 years | −83.1% | – | not meaningful | – | not meaningful | – |
| Since launch Not the same days: SPXS Nov 2008 · SPYQ Oct 2024 | −100.0% | +56.5% | not meaningful | +74.8% | not meaningful | −18.3 pts |
Source: ETFIQ. – means no data for this window, usually because the fund is younger than it. Open this comparison in the app →
On the same fields
As of Oct 22, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About SPXS
Read the multiple against the whole window instead and −3 times SPY's 3.7% implies −11.1%, which makes SPXS look 2.4 points over. That is not the fund's objective, which is daily. Of that 2.4, daily compounding is −1.0 points, which any −3 times fund would show over the same path, and the fund itself is +3.4 points against −3 times each day's move, compounded. SPXS aims to return -3 times SPY's move each day, then resets. Over one day it does that. Over longer periods the daily results compound, so the total is not -3 times the period's move: it is lower after a fall and recovery, and can be higher in a steady run. SPY moved at 11% annualized over that window. The more it moves, the further the two figures separate.
Over the three months to Oct 22, 2026, SPXS lost 8.7%, against −12.1% for three times the inverse of SPY's daily moves.
About SPYQ
Read the multiple against the whole window instead and 2 times SPY's 3.7% implies +7.4%, which makes SPYQ look 1.9 points short. Of that 1.9, daily compounding is −0.1 points, which any 2 times fund would show over the same path, and the fund itself is −1.8 points against 2 times each day's move, compounded. SPYQ aims to return +2 times SPY's move each day, then resets. Over longer periods the daily results compound, so the total is not +2 times the period's move: it is lower after a fall and recovery, and can be higher in a steady run.
Over the three months to Oct 22, 2026, SPYQ returned 5.5%, against 7.3% for twice SPY's daily moves.
Questions people ask
- Which came closer to its daily multiple, SPXS or SPYQ?
- Over the window to Oct 22, 2026, SPXS finished 2.4 points from what its multiple implies and SPYQ finished 1.9 points from its own, so SPYQ came closer. Neither figure predicts the next window: it depends on how much the underlying moves about.
- Are SPXS and SPYQ levered on the same thing?
- Yes. Both are levered on the S&P 500, SPXS at -3 times and SPYQ at +2 times the daily move.
- Which one decays faster, SPXS or SPYQ?
- Decay follows how much the underlying moves about. Over this window SPXS’s moved at 11% annualized and SPYQ’s at 11%, so SPXS has the rougher ride and, at the same multiple, loses more to compounding.
- Can I hold SPXS or SPYQ for a year?
- Both reset every day, so the multiple in the name applies to a single day, and daily results compound. Over a year the total is not the multiple times the year’s move; after a fall and recovery it is lower.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
It is a place in a set, not a rating or a recommendation.
Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, SPXS against SPYQ, data as of Oct 22, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxs-vs-spyq
ETFIQ. (Oct 22, 2026). SPXS against SPYQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxs-vs-spyq
[SPXS against SPYQ (ETFIQ, Oct 22, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/leverage/spxs-vs-spyq)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.