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- Pays: monthly — 158 distributions since July 2013, the longest S&P 500 covered-call record we chart.
- Trailing 12 months: $4.33 per share across 12 payments — down 16% from $5.14 the year before, as index volatility eased.
- What it does: owns the S&P 500 and writes at-the-money calls on the whole position each month (the Cboe BuyWrite index recipe) — maximum premium, minimum participation in rallies.
- Fee: 0.60% expense ratio.
- Yield context: roughly 10.5% of the recent ~$41.36 price; the record single payment, $1.435, came December 2017.
XYLD's 13-year record is the category's reference text. Writing calls on 100% of the portfolio at the money harvests the most premium a covered-call fund can — and gives away the most upside, which is why the strategy's long bull-market stretches lag the index badly. The recent decline is cyclical, not structural: calm markets price options cheaper, and the trailing year's $4.33 reflects 2026's tamer S&P.
Each point is one monthly XYLD distribution since July 2013 — 158 of them, through two corrections, one pandemic, and several volatility droughts.
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Each point is one payment; the line ends at the most recent payout. The table below totals them by year.
- Trailing 12 months: $4.32 per share across 12 payments — down 15% from $5.10 in the 12 months before. What a change like that does to your income →
- Current pace: recent payments annualize to $4.50 — 4% above the trailing figure. When those two disagree, the trailing yield is quoting the past. Live cut & raise board →
- Share price, same 12 months: up 7% (dividends excluded) — income and principal are one story. Erosion Index →
- Record: 159 payments over 13 years; the largest single payment was $1.44 (Dec 2017).
- Payment drops ≥20% below trend, last 24 months: 1. Get alerted to the next one →
- Payment steadiness: the last 12 checks wobble ±9% around their median. Compare that against any fund →
Every figure above is computed from XYLD's actual payment record and share-price history as of the date shown — not copied from a fact sheet. Recomputed regularly; the chart above always shows the live data.
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| Recent Ex-Dividend Dates | Distribution / Share |
|---|
"Next expected" is estimated from XYLD's recent payment rhythm — the fund announces exact dates shortly before each payout, and the data feed can lag a few days. You must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout; the cash typically arrives days later. See every fund's upcoming date on the live dividend calendar.
A real total-return estimate, assuming every payout was reinvested — including what happened to the share price. Before taxes and fees. Past performance does not predict the future.
Newer covered-call funds pitch refinements — daily options, partial coverage, active selection. XYLD is the plain original: the full S&P 500, fully covered, at the money, every month since July 2013. That makes its record the honest baseline for the whole category: trailing income of $4.33 per share (down 16% in a calm year — premium follows volatility), roughly 10.5% on the current price, and a share price that has structurally lagged the index it holds, because the upside was sold in advance for thirteen years.
The comparisons that teach the most: QYLD (same recipe on the Nasdaq-100), SPYI (the tax-managed modern rival), and XDTE (the daily-option remix). The compare tool overlays any pair.
| Year | Total Distributions / Share | Payments | Change vs Prior Year |
|---|
Data source: Yahoo Finance. Figures are per share; the current year may be partial and figures should be verified against official sources.
Calculated from complete calendar years in the data above. Past results don't guarantee future payments.
When Is XYLD's Next Ex-Dividend Date?
XYLD pays monthly — from at-the-money index calls. The exact date of each payout is announced by the fund only shortly beforehand, so no site can promise the next date — but the live schedule box above shows the most recent ex-dividend date and the expected window for the next one, computed from XYLD's actual payment rhythm. Remember: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout.
The Original S&P Income Machine
When XYLD started writing index calls in July 2013, "covered-call ETF" wasn't yet a category. Thirteen years and 158 monthly checks later, its record is the dataset every newer fund gets measured against. The recipe hasn't changed: hold the S&P 500, sell next month's at-the-money call on the entire position, distribute the premium, charge 0.60%. Maximum harvest, maximum sacrifice.
What Thirteen Years Proves
Three things, and the chart shows each. Premium follows fear: the fattest distributions cluster in rough markets, and the trailing year's $4.33 — down 16% from $5.14 — is what a calm S&P pays. The income is relentless: not one missed month since 2013, through the pandemic crash and two rate shocks. And the bill is real: a fund that sells all of its upside every month cannot keep pace with the index over a long bull run — XYLD's price history is the plainest demonstration in the category, and the reason the strategy suits income-first holders rather than growth investors.
Reading It Against Its Heirs
Every modern variant is an argument with XYLD's design: SPYI writes further out of the money to keep some upside, XDTE re-strikes daily, QYLD applies the original recipe to a wilder index. Thirteen years of monthly receipts make this page the control group. The compare tool runs any head-to-head, and the Erosion Index tracks what each strategy's price paid for its yield.
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