Is DEF or QYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

DEF currently yields 1.25% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. QYLD yields 12.24% with -2.1% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: QYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between DEF and QYLD?

DEF has a forward dividend yield of 1.25% ($0.85/share annually). QYLD yields 12.24% ($2.04/share annually). The yield gap is 10.99 percentage points.

Home › Compare › DEF vs QYLD

DEF vs QYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

DEF yields 1.25% · QYLD yields 12.24%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 QYLD wins by $5.1K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 8

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

DEF

● Live price

1.25%

Share price

$67.84

Annual div

$0.85

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$21.5K

Annual income

$135.07

Full DEF calculator →

QYLD

Global X Nasdaq 100 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

12.24%

Share price

$16.70

Annual div

$2.04

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$26.5K

Annual income

$6,038.84

Full QYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — DEF 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	DEF	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, DEF + QYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

DEF pays

QYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

DEF

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

$105.90/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$114.81/yr

QYLD

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

$1,040.82/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$5,133.01/yr

At 15% tax rate, QYLD beats the other by $5,018.20/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

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

DEF: 50%QYLD: 50%

100% QYLD50/50100% DEF

Portfolio after 10yr

$24.0K

Annual income

$3,086.95/yr

Blended yield

12.86%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

DEF buys

QYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for DEF or QYLD in the last 90 days.

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

MetricDEFQYLD

Forward yield	1.25%	12.24% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$0.85	$2.04 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$21.5K	$26.5K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$135.07	$6,038.84 ✓
Total dividends collected	$1.3K	$28.5K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

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

Year	DEF Portfolio	DEF Income/yr	QYLD Portfolio	QYLD Income/yr	Gap
1	$10,825	$124.58	$10,384	$1,224.49	+$441.00 → DEF
2	$11,708	$126.03	$10,900	$1,388.18	+$808.00 → DEF
3	$12,655	$127.40	$11,576	$1,590.76	+$1.1K → DEF
4	$13,670	$128.70	$12,447	$1,844.20	+$1.2K → DEF
5	$14,757	$129.92	$13,567	$2,164.97	+$1.2K → DEF
6	$15,921	$131.08	$15,003	$2,576.05	+$918.00 → DEF
7	$17,167	$132.17	$16,853	$3,110.04	+$314.00 → DEF
8← crossover	$18,502	$133.19	$19,251	$3,813.85	$749.00 → QYLD
9	$19,932	$134.16	$22,390	$4,756.08	$2.5K → QYLD
10	$21,462	$135.07	$26,548	$6,038.84	$5.1K → QYLD

DEF vs QYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

DEF — Stock

The fund generally will invest at least 80% of its total assets in the securities that comprise the underlying index. The underlying index is comprised of a subset of securities from the S&P 500® Index (the S&P 500). The fund will concentrate its investments in securities of issuers in any one industry or group of industries only to the extent that the underlying index reflects a concentration in that industry or group of industries.

Full DEF 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.