DAL vs QQQ: Correlation
Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.38.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are DAL and QQQ?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of DAL and QQQ correlate at 0.38, moderate. Lately the two have drifted apart, with the 1-year correlation at 0.24 versus 0.38 over 3 years. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.43, with an annualized covariance of 272.3 %².
Among the 33 assets we track against DAL, QQQ ranks #23 by 3-year correlation. On 12-month performance DAL holds a 7.6-point edge, +33.9% against +26.3%. Across three years, the rolling one-year figure varied moderately, from 0.13 to 0.59. One caveat on sizing: DAL is 1.9 times as volatile as the other leg, so an equal-dollar split is far from equal-risk.
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.
DAL vs QQQ: side by side
| DAL (Delta Air Lines) | QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +33.9% | +26.3% |
| 5-year return | +110.6% | +95.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 37.1% | 19.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.17 | 1.28 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -47.9% | -22.8% |
| Market cap | – | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 13.8 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.94% | 0.44% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.18% |
| Assets under management | – | $452.8B |
| Sector / category | Industrials | 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 | DAL | QQQ |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -15.9% | -32.6% |
| 2023 | +23.0% | +54.9% |
| 2024 | +52.0% | +25.6% |
| 2025 | +16.1% | +20.8% |
| 2026 | +17.8% | +17.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are DAL and QQQ good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.38, DAL and QQQ keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between DAL and QQQ?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between DAL and QQQ is 0.38 over 3 years, 0.24 over 1 year and 0.43 over 5 years.
Is QQQ a good diversifier for DAL?
Reasonably. At 0.38, DAL and QQQ keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.38 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.38 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
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/dal-vs-qqq.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/dal-vs-qqq/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: DAL correlations · QQQ correlations
