QQQ vs SAM: Correlation
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The) (SAM) show a near-zero relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is -0.01.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are QQQ and SAM?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of QQQ and SAM correlate at -0.01, near zero, meaning they move largely independently. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of -0.09 lands near the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.27, with an annualized covariance of -4.8 %².
Within QQQ's tracked universe of 4755 assets, SAM comes in at #4529 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QQQ outperformed by 43.9 percentage points (+26.3% for QQQ against -17.6% for SAM). One caveat on sizing: SAM is 1.8 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.
QQQ vs SAM: side by side
| QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | SAM (Boston Beer Company, Inc. (The)) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.3% | -17.6% |
| 5-year return | +95.4% | -68.3% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 19.6% | 35.3% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.28 | 0.21 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.8% | -59.1% |
| Market cap | – | $1.9B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.44% | 0.00% |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | – |
| Assets under management | $452.8B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Growth & Tech | US Listed |
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 | QQQ | SAM |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.6% | -34.8% |
| 2023 | +54.9% | +4.9% |
| 2024 | +25.6% | -13.2% |
| 2025 | +20.8% | -35.0% |
| 2026 | +17.7% | -6.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are QQQ and SAM good diversifiers for each other?
Yes: at -0.01, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
FAQ
What is the correlation between QQQ and SAM?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: -0.01 over 3 years, with -0.09 over the last year and 0.27 over 5 years.
Is SAM a good diversifier for QQQ?
Yes: at -0.01, the two have gone their own ways historically, which is what genuine diversification looks like.
What does a correlation of -0.01 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, -0.01 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/qqq-vs-sam.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/qqq-vs-sam/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: QQQ correlations · SAM correlations
