Is QYLD or VAR a better dividend investment in 2026?

QYLD currently yields 12.24% with a -2.1% 5-year dividend growth rate. VAR yields 4.00% with 5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: QYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between QYLD and VAR?

QYLD has a forward dividend yield of 12.24% ($2.04/share annually). VAR yields 4.00% ($2.00/share annually). The yield gap is 8.24 percentage points.

Home › Compare › QYLD vs VAR

QYLD vs VAR: Dividend Comparison 2026

QYLD yields 12.24% · VAR yields 4.00%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 VAR wins by $1.5K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

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 →

VAR

● Live price

4.00%

Share price

$50.00

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$28.0K

Annual income

$899.19

Full VAR calculator →

Portfolio growth — QYLD vs VAR

📍 VAR pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

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

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

QYLD pays

VAR pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

QYLD

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

$1,040.82/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$5,133.01/yr

VAR

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

$340.00/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$764.31/yr

At 15% tax rate, QYLD beats the other by $4,368.70/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 QYLD + VAR for your $10,000?

QYLD: 50%VAR: 50%

100% VAR50/50100% QYLD

Portfolio after 10yr

$27.3K

Annual income

$3,469.02/yr

Blended yield

12.71%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is most bullish on VAR right now

QYLD

No analyst data

VAR

Analyst Ratings

Buy

Hold

Sell

Consensus: Hold

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

QYLD buys

VAR 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 →

MetricQYLDVAR

Forward yield	12.24% ✓	4.00%
Annual dividend / share	$2.04 ✓	$2.00
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	5% ✓
5-year div CAGR	0%	5% ✓
Portfolio after 10y	$26.5K	$28.0K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$6,038.84 ✓	$899.19
Total dividends collected	$28.5K ✓	$6.4K
Payment frequency	monthly	quarterly
Sector	ETF	Stock

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

Year	QYLD Portfolio	QYLD Income/yr	VAR Portfolio	VAR Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$10,384	$1,224.49	$11,120	$420.00	$736.00 → VAR
2	$10,900	$1,388.18	$12,357	$458.31	$1.5K → VAR
3	$11,576	$1,590.76	$13,721	$499.76	$2.1K → VAR
4	$12,447	$1,844.20	$15,227	$544.58	$2.8K → VAR
5	$13,567	$2,164.97	$16,885	$593.02	$3.3K → VAR
6	$15,003	$2,576.05	$18,713	$645.34	$3.7K → VAR
7	$16,853	$3,110.04	$20,724	$701.81	$3.9K → VAR
8	$19,251	$3,813.85	$22,938	$762.73	$3.7K → VAR
9	$22,390	$4,756.08	$25,372	$828.41	$3.0K → VAR
10	$26,548	$6,038.84	$28,047	$899.19	$1.5K → VAR

QYLD vs VAR: Complete Analysis 2026

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 →

VAR — Stock

VAR is a dividend-paying stock. Use this calculator to estimate your future dividend income, DRIP compounding returns, and passive income potential from investing in VAR shares.

Full VAR 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.