AAL vs QQQ: Correlation
How closely do American Airlines Group, Inc. (AAL) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.39, which is moderate.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are AAL and QQQ?
Over the past 3 years, AAL and QQQ moved with a correlation of 0.39, which is moderate. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.41 lands near the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.45, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 345.0 %².
By 3-year correlation, QQQ places #10 of the 22 assets tracked against AAL. The last year tells two different stories: QQQ led by 21.8 percentage points, +4.5% for AAL against +26.3% for QQQ. Note the risk asymmetry: AAL runs 2.3 times the annualized volatility of the other leg, so equal-weighting the two is not an equal-risk position.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
AAL vs QQQ: side by side
| AAL (American Airlines Group, Inc.) | QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +4.5% | +26.3% |
| 5-year return | -29.7% | +95.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 45.3% | 19.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.29 | 1.28 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -51.4% | -22.8% |
| Market cap | $9.1B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | – | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.44% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.18% |
| Assets under management | – | $452.8B |
| Sector / category | US Listed | ETF · US Growth & Tech |
QQQ is a Large Growth fund from Invesco: $452.8B under management, 104 holdings, a 0.18% expense ratio, a 0.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | AAL | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -29.2% | -32.6% |
| 2023 | +8.0% | +54.9% |
| 2024 | +26.9% | +25.6% |
| 2025 | -12.0% | +20.8% |
| 2026 | -10.5% | +17.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are AAL and QQQ good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.39, AAL and QQQ keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between AAL and QQQ?
The AAL/QQQ correlation stands at 0.39 on a 3-year window (1 year: 0.41, 5 years: 0.45), computed from weekly returns as of 2026-08-27.
Is QQQ a good diversifier for AAL?
Reasonably. At 0.39, AAL and QQQ keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.39 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.39 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
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Related comparisons
Hubs: AAL correlations · QQQ correlations
