Wealthy PotQQQ vs SCHD: Growth and Dividends With Almost Nothing in Common
QQQ and SCHD overlap by just 4.8%, by our calculation from their SEC holdings filings. They share eight stocks, led by Texas Instruments, Amgen, Qualcomm and PepsiCo, and nothing else. QQQ is the Nasdaq-100: half information technology, led by Nvidia, Apple and Alphabet. SCHD is 100 dividend payers in health care, consumer staples and energy. QQQ returned 22.07% a year over the ten years to 30 June 2026 against SCHD's 12.37%. SCHD pays far more income (a 3.37% SEC yield against 0.39%) and costs a third as much (0.06% against 0.18%).
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Overlap: 4.8%. Only 4.8% of QQQ is in stocks SCHD owns, and 26.1% of SCHD is in stocks QQQ owns. Our calculation from N-PORT filings for 30 June 2026 (QQQ) and 31 May 2026 (SCHD).
- Fees: SCHD 0.06%, QQQ 0.18%. $6 against $18 a year per $10,000.
- Income: SCHD 3.37%, QQQ 0.39% 30-day SEC yield, both as of 1 October 2026.
- Returns: QQQ far ahead. To 30 June 2026 at NAV, QQQ returned 34.03% over one year, 16.45% a year over five and 22.07% over ten. SCHD: 24.08%, 8.51% and 12.37%.
- Taxes: SCHD's income has a cost. Tax on distributions took 0.92 points a year off SCHD's ten-year return and 0.21 off QQQ's.
- Cheaper Nasdaq-100 option: QQQM holds the same index for 0.15%. See QQQM vs SCHD.
How Little QQQ and SCHD Overlap
We matched the two funds' Form N-PORT holdings reports, using the same data as our Portfolio Overlap Checker. QQQ's filing is for 30 June 2026 and SCHD's for 31 May 2026.
| Shared stock | Weight in QQQ | Weight in SCHD |
|---|---|---|
| Texas Instruments | 1.17% | 5.90% |
| Qualcomm | 0.84% | 6.74% |
| Amgen | 0.84% | 3.47% |
| PepsiCo | 0.80% | 3.44% |
| Automatic Data Processing | 0.39% | 2.25% |
| Comcast | 0.38% | 2.25% |
| Fastenal | 0.24% | 1.28% |
| Paychex | 0.15% | 0.79% |
| Total | 4.8% | 26.1% |
Everything else is separate. QQQ's largest positions (Nvidia 7.58%, Apple 6.65%, Alphabet 6.27%, Micron 5.62%, Microsoft 4.34%, AMD 4.09%, Amazon 4.01%) are absent from SCHD. SCHD's largest non-shared positions (UnitedHealth 5.09%, Coca-Cola 3.96%, Merck 3.86%, Chevron 3.83%, Verizon 3.65%, Procter & Gamble 3.55%) are absent from QQQ.
For portfolio building, that is the useful part: these two funds really do hold different companies. Holding both is diversification across styles, unlike pairing SCHD with another dividend fund such as HDV, where about half the money overlaps.
QQQ vs SCHD Side by Side
| QQQ | SCHD | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF |
| Index | Nasdaq-100 Index | Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100 Index |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.06% |
| Prospectus cost of $10,000 over 10 years | $230 | $77 |
| Holdings | 102 (2 Oct 2026) | 102 lines (2 Oct 2026) |
| Top 10 weight | 47.68% (30 Jun 2026, SEC filing) | 41.62% (2 Oct 2026) |
| 30-day SEC yield | 0.39% (1 Oct 2026) | 3.37% (1 Oct 2026) |
| Net assets | $505.19 billion (2 Oct 2026) | $108.67 billion (2 Oct 2026) |
| Structure | Open-end fund since December 2025; non-diversified | Open-end fund |
| Inception | 10 March 1999 | 20 October 2011 |
QQQ's structure changed recently. Its prospectus says that "effective after market close on December 19, 2025, the Fund was reclassified as an open-end management investment company"; before that it was a unit investment trust, and its fee was cut to 0.18%. Its returns before that date, including the ten-year figure below, were earned as a unit investment trust.
Where the Two Funds Differ
What gets in. The Nasdaq-100 holds "100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies" listed on Nasdaq, weighted by modified market value. There is no dividend test, so the biggest growth companies get the biggest weights, and since 1 May 2026 a large new listing can be added on a "fast entry" basis if its market value ranks in the index's top 40. SCHD requires "at least 10 consecutive years of dividend payments," then ranks the higher-yielding survivors on "cash flow to total debt, return on equity, dividend yield and 5-year dividend growth rate," and caps each stock at 4.0% at each rebalance.
| GICS sector | QQQ (31 Mar 2026) | SCHD (30 Jun 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Information Technology | 50.4% | 9.23% |
| Communication Services | 15.3% | 6.15% |
| Consumer Discretionary | 12.6% | 7.74% |
| Consumer Staples | 8.5% | 20.38% |
| Health Care | 5.1% | 20.72% |
| Industrials | 4.2% | 11.55% |
| Energy | under 2% | 14.07% |
| Financials | under 2% | 10.05% |
Even allowing for the different dates, the shapes are opposite. QQQ is half technology. SCHD is mostly staples, health care, energy, industrials and financials, the parts of the market QQQ barely owns.
Concentration. QQQ's ten largest companies were 47.68% of the fund at 30 June 2026. SCHD's were 41.62% on 2 October 2026. Both are concentrated, but in different ways: QQQ in a handful of very large technology companies, SCHD across ten mid-sized weights of about 4% each.
Returns, Income and Tax
| Average annual return at NAV | 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQ, to 30 Jun 2026 | 34.03% | 26.55% | 16.45% | 22.07% |
| SCHD, to 30 Jun 2026 | 24.08% | 13.52% | 8.51% | 12.37% |
| QQQ minus SCHD | +9.95 | +13.03 | +7.94 | +9.70 |
| QQQ after taxes on distributions | 33.88% | 26.37% | 16.26% | 21.86% |
| SCHD after taxes on distributions | 22.68% | 12.42% | 7.54% | 11.45% |
| Tax drag, QQQ / SCHD | 0.15 / 1.40 | 0.18 / 1.10 | 0.19 / 0.97 | 0.21 / 0.92 |
| QQQ, to 30 Sep 2026 (latest) | 23.74% | 28.05% | 16.33% | 20.91% |
On these numbers QQQ won at every horizon, and by a lot. $10,000 compounding at QQQ's ten-year rate to 30 June 2026 grows to about $73,467; at SCHD's, about $32,100. That is hypothetical arithmetic by Wealthy Pot on a lump sum with no costs or taxes, and it describes a decade in which large technology stocks led the market. It is not a forecast. A concentrated growth index can fall hard: QQQ's prospectus lists its worst quarter in the period shown as -22.33%, in the three months to 30 June 2022.
The income picture is the reverse. On $100,000, SCHD's 3.37% SEC yield is about $3,370 a year; QQQ's 0.39% is about $390 (our arithmetic, assuming the yields hold). In a taxable account that income costs you: SCHD's after-tax ten-year return was 0.92 points a year lower than its before-tax return, against 0.21 for QQQ. In an IRA or 401(k) the difference does not apply.
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
Which One Fits You
Still adding money for decades and comfortable with big swings? The Nasdaq-100 has the far stronger record and pays almost nothing out, which keeps the tax bill low in a brokerage account. But it is half one sector. Most investors who own it use it beside a broad fund, not instead of one; see QQQ vs VOO.
Living on the income? SCHD pays more than eight times QQQ's yield from established dividend payers, and costs a third as much. Hold it in an IRA where you can, so the extra tax drag does not apply.
Want both? This is one of the few pairings where holding both genuinely spreads your money, because they share less than 5%. A growth sleeve plus a dividend sleeve is a common way to build what investors call a barbell. Size it deliberately: the combination is still light on small companies and international stocks. SCHG vs SCHD covers the same idea inside Schwab's lineup.
Buying QQQ to hold? Look at QQQM first. It tracks the same index for 0.15% instead of 0.18%; our QQQ vs QQQM page explains when QQQ's trading volume is worth the extra fee.
Sources & Methodology
- Invesco QQQ Trust Form 485BPOS filed 19 December 2025: the 0.18% fee and $230 cost example, the December 2025 reclassification, index description and non-diversified status.
- Invesco supplement dated 30 April 2026: the Nasdaq-100 methodology change and fast-entry rule effective 1 May 2026.
- QQQ semi-annual report, period ended 31 March 2026: GICS sector weights.
- Invesco QQQ fund page: holdings, net assets, SEC yield, and before- and after-tax returns.
- Schwab Strategic Trust Form 485BPOS filed 22 December 2025 and the Schwab SCHD fund page (read 5 October 2026): SCHD's fee, index rules, yield, holdings, sectors and returns.
- Form N-PORT filings for QQQ (30 June 2026) and SCHD (31 May 2026): the overlap and QQQ's top-ten weight.
Limits. Invesco's page has moved to 30 September 2026, so QQQ's 30 June figures are as Invesco published them and as we recorded them on 4 October 2026; we could not re-open that table on 5 October. The overlap uses filings a month apart, and the sector table compares different quarter-ends.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Fund data changes daily, index returns cannot be invested in directly, and past performance does not guarantee future results. All investing carries the risk of loss. Figures were checked against the sources above on 5 October 2026.
FAQ: QQQ vs SCHD
Is QQQ better than SCHD?
For past total return, yes: 22.07% a year over the ten years to 30 June 2026 against 12.37%. SCHD is cheaper (0.06% vs 0.18%), pays far more income (3.37% vs 0.39% SEC yield) and holds a completely different set of companies.
How much do QQQ and SCHD overlap?
4.8%. They share eight stocks: Texas Instruments, Qualcomm, Amgen, PepsiCo, ADP, Comcast, Fastenal and Paychex. Our calculation from N-PORT filings for 30 June 2026 (QQQ) and 31 May 2026 (SCHD).
Is holding QQQ and SCHD together a good idea?
It is one of the few ETF pairs where owning both adds real variety, because the overlap is so small. The mix still leaves out most small companies and all international stocks, so many investors pair it with a broad fund.
Which pays more dividends?
SCHD, by far. Its 30-day SEC yield was 3.37% on 1 October 2026, against 0.39% for QQQ.
Which is better in a taxable account?
QQQ loses less to tax each year because it pays so little out: 0.21 points of tax drag over ten years against 0.92 for SCHD, on the issuers' own after-tax figures to 30 June 2026.
Should I buy QQQ or QQQM to pair with SCHD?
For buy-and-hold, QQQM: same Nasdaq-100 index, 0.15% fee instead of 0.18%. See QQQM vs SCHD.
Why does QQQ hold no banks?
Its index is built from "non-financial companies" listed on Nasdaq, in the prospectus's words. That is a rule, not a choice by Invesco.
Cite This Page
Journalists, educators and bloggers are welcome to cite this comparison. Please link back so readers can reach the underlying filings.
"QQQ vs SCHD: Growth and Dividends With Almost Nothing in Common." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/qqq-vs-schd/
Related comparisons: QQQM vs SCHD · QQQ vs QQQM · SCHG vs SCHD · SCHG vs QQQ · QQQ vs VOO · SCHD vs SPY · All ETF comparisons
