BABO vs. SPY

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF (BABO) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

BABO and SPY are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. BABO is an actively managed fund by YieldMax. It was launched on Aug 7, 2024. SPY is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index. It was launched on Jan 22, 1993.

Performance

BABO vs. SPY - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF (BABO) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

BABO vs. SPY - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024
BABO YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF	-12.67%	46.84%	-0.08%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	-4.37%	17.72%	11.16%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, BABO achieves a -12.67% return, which is significantly lower than SPY's -4.37% return.

BABO

• 1D: 2.67%
• 1M: -10.26%
• YTD: -12.67%
• 6M: -23.73%
• 1Y: -6.74%
• 3Y*: —
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

SPY

• 1D: 2.91%
• 1M: -4.94%
• YTD: -4.37%
• 6M: -1.82%
• 1Y: 17.59%
• 3Y*: 18.19%
• 5Y*: 11.69%
• 10Y*: 13.98%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

BABO vs. SPY - Expense Ratio Comparison

BABO has a 0.99% expense ratio, which is higher than SPY's 0.09% expense ratio.

BABO

YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF

SPY

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF

Return for Risk

BABO vs. SPY — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

BABO

BABO Risk / Return Rank: 9
BABO Sharpe Ratio Rank: 8
BABO Sortino Ratio Rank: 10
BABO Omega Ratio Rank: 10
BABO Calmar Ratio Rank: 8
BABO Martin Ratio Rank: 8

SPY

SPY Risk / Return Rank: 64
SPY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 56
SPY Sortino Ratio Rank: 60
SPY Omega Ratio Rank: 65
SPY Calmar Ratio Rank: 65
SPY Martin Ratio Rank: 75

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

BABO vs. SPY - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF (BABO) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	BABO	SPY	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	-0.18	0.93	-1.11
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	0.00	1.45	-1.45
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.00	1.22	-0.22
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	-0.23	1.53	-1.76
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	-0.52	7.30	-7.82
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

BABO vs. SPY - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current BABO Sharpe Ratio is -0.18, which is lower than the SPY Sharpe Ratio of 0.93. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of BABO and SPY, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	BABO	SPY	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	-0.18	0.93	-1.11
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	0.69	—
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	—	0.78	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.44	0.56	-0.12

Correlation

The correlation between BABO and SPY is 0.30, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

BABO vs. SPY - Dividend Comparison

BABO's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 87.67%, more than SPY's 1.14% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
BABO YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF	87.67%	85.50%	20.65%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	1.14%	1.07%	1.21%	1.40%	1.65%	1.20%	1.52%	1.75%	2.04%	1.80%	2.03%	2.06%

Drawdowns

BABO vs. SPY - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum BABO drawdown since its inception was -29.26%, smaller than the maximum SPY drawdown of -55.19%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for BABO and SPY.

Drawdown Indicators

	BABO	SPY	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-29.26%	-55.19%	+25.93%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-28.85%	-12.05%	-16.80%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-24.50%	—
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	—	-33.72%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-26.64%	-6.24%	-20.40%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-12.54%	-9.09%	-3.45%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	12.93%	2.52%	+10.41%

Volatility

BABO vs. SPY - Volatility Comparison

YieldMax BABA Option Income Strategy ETF (BABO) has a higher volatility of 10.87% compared to State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) at 5.31%. This indicates that BABO's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SPY based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	BABO	SPY	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	10.87%	5.31%	+5.56%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	24.93%	9.47%	+15.46%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	37.51%	19.05%	+18.46%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	36.96%	17.06%	+19.90%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	36.96%	17.92%	+19.04%