Pay Attention: QQQE's Dividend Dropped By A Third While QQQ Paid 5 Times More

"The Direxion NASDAQ-100 Equal Weighted Index Shares ( NASDAQ:QQQE) doesn't generate income the way traditional dividend ETFs do. With just $1.2 billion in assets and a 0.35% expense ratio, this fund tracks the NASDAQ-100 using equal weighting rather than market cap weighting. That structural difference means each of the 100 holdings gets roughly 1% of the portfolio instead of letting mega-caps dominate. The result is a growth-focused ETF where dividends are secondary."

"QQQE's dividend payments dropped 31% from the prior year, revealing a fundamental problem with the fund's income profile. Because the ETF passively holds 100 equally-weighted tech companies, it has no control over dividend policy. When these growth-focused companies cut or reduce payouts, QQQE investors feel the impact directly. The semiconductor sector creates particular dividend risk for QQQE. Companies like Micron Technology and Western Digital prioritize capital investment over dividends, while Texas Instruments ( NASDAQ:TXN) pays out 99.3% of earnings with almost no safety cushion. This concentration in capital-intensive businesses explains the quarter-to-quarter income volatility."

"But equal weighting means each represents just 1% of the portfolio, so no single company's dividend discipline can stabilize the fund's overall income stream. The cap-weighted Invesco QQQ Trust ( NASDAQ:QQQ) paid $2.79 per share in 2025 versus QQQE's $0.53. That 5x difference stems from QQQ's concentration in dividend-paying mega-caps like Apple and Microsoft, which contribute substantial income despite tech's growth focus."

QQQE is a $1.2 billion ETF with a 0.35% expense ratio that tracks the NASDAQ-100 using equal weighting, giving each of the 100 holdings roughly 1% of the portfolio. The fund emphasizes growth over income, so dividend payments are secondary and can be volatile. Dividends fell 31% year-over-year as passively held, equally weighted tech names cut or reduced payouts. Semiconductor holdings add particular dividend risk due to capital intensity and high payout ratios at some firms. Cap-weighted QQQ produced substantially higher per-share dividends because of mega-cap concentration, while QQQE's returns were driven mainly by price appreciation.

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