QQQI (NEOS Nasdaq-100 High Income ETF) pays monthly — roughly $0.65 per share — and yields around 14% a year as of Aug 2026, with the next ex-dividend date projected near mid-September. This calculator projects your cash flow, yield and DRIP reinvestment — with the trade-offs explained honestly.
Inputs are prefilled with QQQI's actual share price ($53.89) and TTM distribution yield (14.2%) as of Sep 16, 2026 — edit any field to model your own scenario.
| Year | Start Balance | Start Shares | Share Price | Div / Share | Div Yield | Yield on Cost | Annual Div | Total Divs | End Shares | End Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10,000 | 185.56 | $53.89 | $7.65 | 14.20% | 14.20% | $1,420.00 | $1,420.00 | 211.91 | $11,877 |
| 2 | $11,877 | 211.91 | $56.05 | $7.96 | 14.20% | 16.87% | $1,686.51 | $3,106.51 | 242 | $14,106 |
| 3 | $14,106 | 242 | $58.29 | $8.28 | 14.20% | 20.03% | $2,003.03 | $5,109.53 | 276.37 | $16,753 |
| 4 | $16,753 | 276.37 | $60.62 | $8.61 | 14.20% | 23.79% | $2,378.96 | $7,488.49 | 315.61 | $19,897 |
| 5 | $19,897 | 315.61 | $63.04 | $8.95 | 14.20% | 28.25% | $2,825.44 | $10,314 | 360.43 | $23,632 |
| 6 | $23,632 | 360.43 | $65.57 | $9.31 | 14.20% | 33.56% | $3,355.72 | $13,670 | 411.61 | $28,067 |
| 7 | $28,067 | 411.61 | $68.19 | $9.68 | 14.20% | 39.86% | $3,985.52 | $17,655 | 470.06 | $33,335 |
| 8 | $33,335 | 470.06 | $70.92 | $10.07 | 14.20% | 47.34% | $4,733.52 | $22,389 | 536.81 | $39,591 |
| 9 | $39,591 | 536.81 | $73.75 | $10.47 | 14.20% | 56.22% | $5,621.91 | $28,011 | 613.04 | $47,021 |
| 10 | $47,021 | 613.04 | $76.70 | $10.89 | 14.20% | 66.77% | $6,677.03 | $34,688 | 700.09 | $55,846 |
DRIP compounding for QQQI: distributions buy more shares, which pay more distributions next period. Growth rates are planning assumptions, not predictions.
Estimates only, not financial advice. Dividend yields and growth rates are assumptions, not guarantees of future results. Always consult a qualified financial professional before investing.
QQQI holds the Nasdaq-100 and sells call options on a portion of it. The option premiums become your monthly distribution, which is why the yield is much higher than a plain index fund. For month-by-month payout dates and recent amounts, see the QQQI dividend calendar.
The trade-off: upside above the option strike is given up. In a sharp rally, QQQI will likely underperform QQQ — you trade price growth for cash income.
QQQI distributions are a mix: qualified dividends, ordinary income, return of capital, and Section 1256 contract gains (taxed 60% long-term / 40% short-term). Return of capital lowers your cost basis and is taxed later as a capital gain. This is more complex than a plain dividend ETF — consult a tax professional before assuming any rate.
Suppose you put $10,000 into QQQI at $50/share with a 13% distribution yield, no distribution growth and 4% price growth, reinvesting each monthly payment. Month one delivers roughly $108 in distributions; reinvested, that buys about 2 extra shares. After a year you hold more shares than you started with, but because distribution growth is set to 0%, your per-share payout does not rise the way SCHD’s does — the income grows only because you own more shares. Use the calculator above to test what happens if yield drops to 10% or NAV growth turns negative: the income line bends fast.
QQQI's per-share distribution moves with volatility and option premiums, so the recent history below is the honest baseline for any projection: month-to-month amounts wobble, and the projected rows simply repeat the latest payment until NEOS announces otherwise.
| Ex-dividend date | Per-share amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Aug 19, 2026 | $0.652 | Paid |
| Jul 22, 2026 | $0.635 | Paid |
| Jun 16, 2026 | $0.657 | Paid |
| Sep 16, 2026 | ~$0.652 | Projected — assumes last amount repeats |
| Oct 14, 2026 | ~$0.652 | Projected — assumes last amount repeats |
| Nov 11, 2026 | ~$0.652 | Projected — assumes last amount repeats |
Historical amounts from Yahoo Finance (monthly payer). Projected rows repeat the most recent per-share amount on the fund's cadence — distributions change from period to period, so confirm dates and amounts on the official fund page before trading. Data as of Sep 16, 2026.
Three concrete runs through the same math as the calculator above, using the live prefilled price and yield — DRIP on, distribution growth 0%, share price growth 4% a year. The point of the exercise: see how monthly-income compounding behaves before you touch a single input.
$10,000 lump sum, no monthly additions, 10 years, DRIP on
Income-first: compare with the same $10,000 in the SCHD calculator — lower starting income, but the per-share payout grows instead of staying flat.
$0 to start, $500 added every month for 10 years, DRIP on
Watch the gap between final value and total invested — with a ~14% distribution yield reinvesting monthly, the distributions do real work even with zero price growth.
$100,000 lump sum, no additions, 10 years, DRIP on
At the current yield the first year alone distributes roughly $14,000 — switch DRIP off in the calculator above to model taking that as cash instead.
Every number above is precomputed at build time with this page's assumptions using our open-source math engine — see the methodology page for the exact formulas and how to verify them yourself.
QQQ simply holds the Nasdaq-100 — full upside, full downside, a yield near 0.6%. QQQI holds the same index but sells covered calls on roughly half of it, converting some upside into ~13% monthly income. QYLD sells calls on nearly 100% of the portfolio, generating even higher income but capping almost all upside — its NAV has historically drifted down over time. QQQI sits in the middle: more income than QQQ, more upside than QYLD, with the same Nasdaq-100 exposure at the core.
If your goal is long-term wealth, QQQ usually wins on total return. If your goal is monthly cash flow today and you accept capped upside, QQQI is the compromise. This calculator helps you see the income side clearly — it does not predict NAV erosion.
Two very different tools. SCHD (~3% yield, quarterly, ~10% dividend growth) is a dividend-growth holding. QQQI (~13% yield, monthly, flat growth, capped upside) is an income holding. Many investors blend the two: growth at the core, a smaller high-income sleeve for cash flow.
See the SCHD Dividend Calculator for the growth-oriented comparison, or the Monthly Dividend Income Calculator for monthly cash-flow math.
Dividend Calculator · SCHD Dividend Calculator · Monthly Income Calculator · DRIP Calculator
For a similar monthly-pay covered-call ETF, see the JEPI dividend calendar. For QQQI's own projected payout schedule, see QQQI ex-dividend dates month by month.