TQQQ vs SOXL ETF Comparison

Set your investment period and amount to compare the returns, growth and risk of two ETFs.

•••
A TQQQ
TQQQ 100%
B SOXL
SOXL 100%
Start date:, End date: $10,000 Dividends reinvested

Data as of 2026-10-23

Key comparison

Compare growth, loss risk, and cost in the same rows first.

6 essential metrics
Portfolio overview and core performance comparison
Portfolio A · TQQQ 100%Portfolio B · SOXL 100%
CAGR +36.7%
CAGR +44.0%
Final Balance $293,738
Final Balance $513,953
Volatility +58.7%
Volatility +98.8%
MDD · daily -81.7%
MDD · daily -90.5%
Sharpe Ratio 0.82
Sharpe Ratio 0.85
Weighted expense ratio 0.78%
Weighted expense ratio 0.75%

Result summary

SOXL had the higher CAGR. TQQQ had the smaller maximum drawdown.

  • TQQQ: CAGR 36.70%, daily maximum drawdown -81.65%.
  • SOXL: CAGR 43.96%, daily maximum drawdown -90.46%.

Key points in this comparison

  • In 2016, returns were SOXL +123.2% and TQQQ +11.4%, a gap of 111.8 percentage points.
  • Across 10 complete calendar years, TQQQ had the higher return in 4 and SOXL in 6.
  • Maximum drawdown was -81.6% for TQQQ and -90.5% for SOXL; SOXL fell further. After its deepest decline, SOXL took 1521 days to get back to its previous peak.
Period & basis

2016-01-04 – 2026-10-23

Historical results for this period.

Cumulative performance

Compare growth paths and cumulative returns over the same period.

Portfolio value

Compare portfolio value and cumulative contributions on the same dates.

A vs B Cumulative Return Comparison
ETFTotal ReturnCAGRTotal invested
A+2837.4%+36.7%10000
B+5039.5%+44.0%10000
Hover over the chart to compare every value on the same date.

Risk and recovery

Compare the volatility taken for return with the loss path investors actually experienced.

Risk vs Return

Lower-left is safer, upper-right is higher risk/reward. Ideal: upper-left.

Hover over a point to review CAGR, volatility, Sharpe, and maximum drawdown together.
Risk vs Return
Compared portfoliosCAGRVolatility (Ann.)Sharpe RatioMDD · daily
A36.7%58.71%0.82-81.65%
B43.96%98.83%0.85-90.46%

Drawdown paths

Compare how far each portfolio's daily closing value fell from its prior peak over the same period.

Drawdown paths
Compared portfoliosMDD · daily
A-81.65
B-90.46
Hover over the chart to compare every value on the same date.

Returns and major declines

Compare annual returns and daily peak, trough, and recovery dates.

Annual Returns Comparison

Check consistency across annual, quarterly, decade, and rolling windows.

Annual Returns Comparison · Annual
MetricAB
2026· Partial year+48.9%+252.0%
2025+34.4%+54.9%
2024+58.2%-12.3%
2023+198.3%+227.0%
2022-79.1%-85.7%
2021+83.0%+118.8%
2020+110.0%+70.0%
2019+133.8%+231.8%
2018-19.8%-39.1%
2017+118.1%+141.7%
2016+11.4%+123.2%

Worst Drawdown Periods

A · Worst Drawdown Periods
Peak dateTrough dateRecovery dateDrawdown
2021-11-192022-12-282024-12-04-81.7%
2020-02-192020-03-202020-07-10-69.9%
2018-08-292018-12-242019-11-04-58.1%
B · Worst Drawdown Periods
Peak dateTrough dateRecovery dateDrawdown
2021-12-272022-10-142026-02-25-90.5%
2020-02-192020-03-202020-11-05-80.4%
2026-06-222026-10-22Ongoing-72.7%

Stress Test: Market Crashes

Return of each ETF during major historical market drawdown events
Event A B
Q4 2018 Selloff-56.4%-58.6%
COVID-19 Crash-69.8%-78.6%
2022 Rate Hike Bear Market-78.8%-89.8%

Questions about these results

How did the same initial investment grow?

From 2016-01-04 to 2026-10-23, an initial $10,000 ended at $293,738 for TQQQ and $513,953 for SOXL. Annualized returns were 36.70% and 43.96%, respectively.

How did the results differ during market crises?

During 2022 Rate Hike Bear Market, returns were -78.8% for TQQQ and -89.8% for SOXL. During COVID-19 Crash, returns were -69.8% for TQQQ and -78.6% for SOXL.

What are the expense ratios and annual costs?

Weighted expense ratios are 0.78% for TQQQ and 0.75% for SOXL. Applied to the initial $10,000, estimated annual costs are $78 and $75.

What are the dividend yields and their basis?

The yields are 0.73% for TQQQ and 0.11% for SOXL. They use distributions from the last 365 days divided by the last closing price and do not predict future distributions.

How similarly do the two portfolios move?

The correlation of shared monthly returns is 0.83: they mostly moved in the same direction.

About the ETFs & sources

TQQQ An ETF targeting 3x the daily return of the Nasdaq-100 Index, not 3x its long-term return.

SOXL An ETF targeting 3x the daily return of a semiconductor index, not 3x its long-term return.

Shared calculation settings

Comparison settings

Trading cost: 0 bps per side · personal taxes excluded · see the methodology for dividend calculation Calculation Methodology