Is XDEF or XYLD a better dividend investment in 2026?

XDEF currently yields 9.45% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. XYLD yields 10.98% with 0.5% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: XYLD offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between XDEF and XYLD?

XDEF has a forward dividend yield of 9.45% ($2.00/share annually). XYLD yields 10.98% ($4.30/share annually). The yield gap is 1.53 percentage points.

Home › Compare › XDEF vs XYLD

XDEF vs XYLD: Dividend Comparison 2026

XDEF yields 9.45% · XYLD yields 10.98%● Live data

vsPost on X →

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

🏆 XDEF wins by $12.1K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

XDEF

● Live price

9.45%

Share price

$21.15

Annual div

$2.00

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$37.4K

Annual income

$1,714.67

Full XDEF calculator →

XYLD

Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF

● Live price

10.98%

Share price

$39.13

Annual div

$4.30

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$25.3K

Annual income

$3,219.02

Full XYLD calculator →

Portfolio growth — XDEF vs XYLD

📍 XDEF pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

🛡️

Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

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

Crisis Period	XDEF	XYLD
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%.

📅

Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, XDEF + XYLD cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

XDEF pays

XYLD pays

Both pay

Neither

💰

Tax Bracket Optimizer

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

XDEF

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

$803.66/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$1,457.47/yr

XYLD

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

$933.63/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$2,736.17/yr

At 15% tax rate, XYLD beats the other by $1,278.70/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of XDEF + XYLD for your $10,000?

XDEF: 50%XYLD: 50%

100% XYLD50/50100% XDEF

Portfolio after 10yr

$31.3K

Annual income

$2,466.84/yr

Blended yield

7.87%

🏛️

Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

XDEF buys

XYLD buys

No recent congressional trades found for XDEF or XYLD in the last 90 days.

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

MetricXDEFXYLD

Forward yield	9.45%	10.98% ✓
Annual dividend / share	$2.00	$4.30 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$37.4K ✓	$25.3K
Annual income after 10y	$1,714.67	$3,219.02 ✓
Total dividends collected	$13.3K	$19.6K ✓
Payment frequency	quarterly	monthly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: XDEF vs XYLD ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	XDEF Portfolio	XDEF Income/yr	XYLD Portfolio	XYLD Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,645	$945.48	$10,818	$1,098.39	+$827.00 → XDEF
2	$13,490	$1,029.03	$11,738	$1,222.51	+$1.8K → XDEF
3	$15,548	$1,114.01	$12,774	$1,364.64	+$2.8K → XDEF
4	$17,836	$1,199.99	$13,944	$1,527.86	+$3.9K → XDEF
5	$20,371	$1,286.54	$15,270	$1,715.87	+$5.1K → XDEF
6	$23,171	$1,373.27	$16,775	$1,933.09	+$6.4K → XDEF
7	$26,252	$1,459.79	$18,490	$2,184.87	+$7.8K → XDEF
8	$29,636	$1,545.74	$20,450	$2,477.63	+$9.2K → XDEF
9	$33,341	$1,630.80	$22,697	$2,819.19	+$10.6K → XDEF
10	$37,390	$1,714.67	$25,280	$3,219.02	+$12.1K → XDEF

XDEF vs XYLD: Complete Analysis 2026

XDEF — Stock

The fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the STOXX Europe Total Market Defence, Space and Cybersecurity Innovation 50-25 Index.

Full XDEF Calculator →

XYLD — ETF

The Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (XYLD) seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Cboe S&P 500 BuyWrite Index.

Full XYLD Calculator →

📬

Get this XDEF vs XYLD comparison by email

Save your analysis + weekly dividend insights. Free forever.

More comparisons

XDEF vs SCHD XDEF vs JEPI XDEF vs O XDEF vs KO XDEF vs MAIN XDEF vs QYLD XDEF vs JEPQ XDEF vs RYLD

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