Apple gained 15.23% in July, but the Goldman Sachs Nasdaq-100 Core Premium Income ETF (GPIQ), which holds Apple as its largest position, fell 6.1% over the same month. The gap comes from GPIQ's covered-call overlay, which sells away a stock's upside above a set strike price in exchange for monthly income.
Apple rose 15.23% in July after a stronger-than-expected earnings report, but GPIQ fell 6.1% over the same month. The fund's own covered-call strategy created the gap: selling calls against its holdings caps the upside it passes on to shareholders.
Apple's earnings drove the gap
Apple's rally followed a Q3 FY26 earnings beat. The company posted EPS of $2.02 versus the $1.89 expected, a 6.8% beat. Revenue rose 16.36%, with iPhone revenue reaching $54.25 billion. Tim Cook said it was Apple's "strongest June quarter ever, with double-digit revenue growth across iPhone, Mac and Services".
GPIQ sells call options against its Nasdaq-100 holdings to generate income. So when a stock like Apple rallies past the strike price of a written call, the fund owes the option buyer the difference, and the gain never reaches shareholders.
The real cost sits outside the expense ratio
GPIQ carries a 0.29% annual expense ratio. That's only slightly higher than the roughly 0.20% commonly quoted for the Invesco QQQ Trust, the mainstream Nasdaq-100 tracker. The larger gap shows up in performance instead.
Since GPIQ's October 26, 2023 launch, the fund's total return with distributions reinvested is 89.08%. QQQ, measured from October 2, 2023, has climbed 89.21% on price alone, before counting its own dividend stream. Apple itself returned 94.31% over that stretch.
Some of GPIQ's monthly payouts are also classified as return of capital rather than earned income, which lowers an investor's cost basis instead of delivering fresh taxable income now. That defers the tax rather than eliminating it.
Trailing returns still favor the uncapped ETF
Over the trailing one year, QQQ returned 20.34%. That's close to GPIQ's 21.04% total return over the same period, even without an income overlay. GPIQ targets high single-digit annualized income against a QQQ yield under 1%.
In a flat or choppy market, the overlay could earn its keep. But in a Nasdaq rally driven by a handful of mega-caps like Apple, it charges a cost that never appears on the expense-ratio line.
Source: 24/7 Wall St.
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