Is ICOW or QYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

ICOW currently yields 2.28% 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 ICOW and QYLD?

ICOW has a forward dividend yield of 2.28% ($0.96/share annually). QYLD yields 11.92% ($2.04/share annually). The yield gap is 9.64 percentage points.

Home › Compare › ICOW vs QYLD

ICOW vs QYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

ICOW yields 2.28% · QYLD yields 11.92%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 QYLD wins by $2.3K in total portfolio value· pulled ahead in Year 9

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

ICOW

● Live price

2.28%

Share price

$42.20

Annual div

$0.96

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$23.1K

Annual income

$263.62

Full ICOW 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 — ICOW vs QYLD

📍 QYLD pulled ahead of the other in Year 9

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	ICOW	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, ICOW + QYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

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Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

ICOW pays

QYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

ICOW

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

$193.44/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$224.08/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 $4,586.34/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 ICOW + QYLD for your $10,000?

ICOW: 50%QYLD: 50%

100% QYLD50/50100% ICOW

Portfolio after 10yr

$24.2K

Annual income

$2,961.47/yr

Blended yield

12.23%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

ICOW 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 →

MetricICOWQYLD

Forward yield	2.28%	11.92% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$0.96	$2.04 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$23.1K	$25.4K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$263.62	$5,659.31 ✓
Total dividends collected	$2.5K	$27.1K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

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

Year	ICOW Portfolio	ICOW Income/yr	QYLD Portfolio	QYLD Income/yr	Gap
1	$10,928	$227.57	$10,352	$1,192.36	+$576.00 → ICOW
2	$11,925	$232.41	$10,830	$1,347.57	+$1.1K → ICOW
3	$12,997	$237.03	$11,460	$1,539.07	+$1.5K → ICOW
4	$14,148	$241.44	$12,275	$1,777.84	+$1.9K → ICOW
5	$15,384	$245.63	$13,323	$2,078.95	+$2.1K → ICOW
6	$16,710	$249.61	$14,667	$2,463.34	+$2.0K → ICOW
7	$18,133	$253.40	$16,396	$2,960.57	+$1.7K → ICOW
8	$19,660	$256.99	$18,631	$3,612.97	+$1.0K → ICOW
9← crossover	$21,296	$260.39	$21,548	$4,482.15	$252.00 → QYLD
10	$23,051	$263.62	$25,398	$5,659.31	$2.3K → QYLD

ICOW vs QYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

ICOW — Stock

A strategy driven exchange traded fund that aims to provide capital appreciation over time by screening the FTSE Developed ex-US Index for the top 100 international companies based on free cash flow yield.

Full ICOW 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.