Data as of . Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation from exchange prices and cash distributions (Tiingo end-of-day), total return with distributions reinvested. Return of capital is the issuer’s estimate.
QLDY · Defiance Nasdaq 100 LightningSpread(TM) Income ETF
Defiance · Income desk
Open the live card on ETFIQOver the period since launch on Sep 18, 2025 to Sep 4, 2026, QLDY paid 28.3% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 19.2%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +10.8%. Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) returned +21.4% over the same days, so a holder was behind by 10.5 pts. At its price on Sep 4, 2026 the latest distribution annualises to 19.7%, paid weekly. Defiance estimates that 2% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was a return of capital (19a-1 notice, estimated, a tax characterisation rather than a measure of erosion).
| Strategy | option income |
|---|---|
| Benchmark | Nasdaq-100 (QQQ) |
| Pays | weekly |
| Payout rate, annualised (ETFIQ) | 19.7% |
| Expense ratio (prospectus XBRL) | 1.04% |
| Cash paid, trailing 12 months (ETFIQ) | 35.0% |
| Launched | Sep 18, 2025 |
| 3 months: paid / price / total / QQQ / ahead or behind (ETFIQ) | 8.4% / −10.8% / −2.5% / +2.1% / −4.6 pts |
| 6 months: paid / price / total / QQQ / ahead or behind (ETFIQ) | 17.7% / −3.0% / +15.3% / +20.2% / −4.9 pts |
| since launch: paid / price / total / QQQ / ahead or behind (ETFIQ) | 28.3% / −19.2% / +10.8% / +21.4% / −10.5 pts |
| Return of capital, latest distribution (Defiance 19a-1 estimate) | 2.3% |
Questions people ask
- How much has QLDY paid over the last year?
- Over the period from its launch on Sep 18, 2025 to Sep 4, 2026, QLDY paid 28.3% of its starting price in cash distributions, while the price fell 19.2%.
- Is QLDY ahead of QQQ?
- Over the period from its launch on Sep 18, 2025 to Sep 4, 2026, with every distribution reinvested, QLDY returned +10.8% against +21.4% for Nasdaq-100 (QQQ), so a holder was behind it by 10.5 points.
- How often does QLDY pay, and how much?
- QLDY pays weekly. The latest distribution annualises to 19.7% at its price on Sep 4, 2026, which is not a promise; the next one can differ.
- Is the QLDY distribution return of capital?
- Defiance estimates 2% of the distribution paid Sep 3, 2026 was return of capital. That is a tax characterisation from the fund's own 19a-1 notice, not a measure of erosion.
- What does QLDY cost?
- The prospectus expense ratio is 1.04% a year.
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.
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<p><a href="https://etfiq.com/funds/QLDY.html">QLDY payout bar, updated daily by ETFIQ</a></p>Cite this page. ETFIQ, QLDY on the income desk, data as of Sep 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/funds/QLDY.html Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
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