Is AIC or QYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

AIC currently yields 6.94% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. QYLD yields 11.92% with -2.1% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: QYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between AIC and QYLD?

AIC has a forward dividend yield of 6.94% ($1.69/share annually). QYLD yields 11.92% ($2.04/share annually). The yield gap is 4.98 percentage points.

Home › Compare › AIC vs QYLD

AIC vs QYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

AIC yields 6.94% · QYLD yields 11.92%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 QYLD wins by $4.4K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 8

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

AIC

● Live price

6.94%

Share price

$24.33

Annual div

$1.69

5Y div CAGR

-47.8%

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$21.0K

Annual income

$1.11

Full AIC calculator →

QYLD

Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

11.92%

Share price

$17.15

Annual div

$2.04

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.4K

Annual income

$5,659.31

Full QYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — AIC vs QYLD

📍 QYLD pulled ahead of the other in Year 8

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	AIC	QYLD
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, AIC + QYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

AIC pays

QYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

AIC

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$589.55/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$0.94/yr

QYLD

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$1,013.51/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$4,810.41/yr

At 15% tax rate, QYLD beats the other by $4,809.47/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

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Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of AIC + QYLD for your $10,000?

AIC: 50%QYLD: 50%

100% QYLD50/50100% AIC

Portfolio after 10yr

$23.2K

Annual income

$2,830.22/yr

Blended yield

12.20%

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

AIC buys

QYLD buys

Politician	Chamber	Ticker	Type	Amount	Date
Tim Moore	🏢 House	$QYLD	▼ Sell	$15,001 - $50,000	2025-05-02
Tim Moore	🏢 House	$QYLD	▲ Buy	$15,001 - $50,000	2025-04-07
Dwight Evans	🏢 House	$QYLD	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2022-11-14
Dwight Evans	🏢 House	$QYLD	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2020-10-29

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricAICQYLD

Forward yield	6.94%	11.92% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$1.69	$2.04 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	-47.8%	0% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$21.0K	$25.4K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$1.11	$5,659.31 ✓
Total dividends collected	$774.00 ✓	$27.1K
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: AIC vs QYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	AIC Portfolio	AIC Income/yr	QYLD Portfolio	QYLD Income/yr	Gap
1	$11,062	$362.06	$10,352	$1,192.36	+$710.00 → AIC
2	$12,032	$195.39	$10,830	$1,347.57	+$1.2K → AIC
3	$12,978	$103.68	$11,460	$1,539.07	+$1.5K → AIC
4	$13,941	$54.55	$12,275	$1,777.84	+$1.7K → AIC
5	$14,945	$28.59	$13,323	$2,078.95	+$1.6K → AIC
6	$16,006	$14.95	$14,667	$2,463.34	+$1.3K → AIC
7	$17,134	$7.81	$16,396	$2,960.57	+$738.00 → AIC
8← crossover	$18,338	$4.08	$18,631	$3,612.97	$293.00 → QYLD
9	$19,624	$2.13	$21,548	$4,482.15	$1.9K → QYLD
10	$20,999	$1.11	$25,398	$5,659.31	$4.4K → QYLD

AIC vs QYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

AIC — Stock

Arlington Asset Investment Corp. (NYSE: AAIC) currently invests primarily in mortgage related and residential real estate and has elected to be taxed as a REIT. The Company is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. For more information, please visit www.arlingtonasset.com.

Full AIC Calculator →

QYLD — ETF

The Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF (QYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe Nasdaq-100 BuyWrite V2 Index.

Full QYLD Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.