QQQ vs SCL: Correlation
How closely do Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and Stepan Company (SCL) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.27, which is weak.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are QQQ and SCL?
Over the past 3 years, QQQ and SCL moved with a correlation of 0.27, which is weak. The past 12 months show a weaker link (0.03) than the 3-year average (0.27). Over 5 years the correlation is 0.34, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 189.8 %².
Among the 4755 assets we track against QQQ, SCL ranks #1903 by 3-year correlation. Twelve-month performance is nearly a tie, at +26.3% for QQQ and +26.2% for SCL. One caveat on sizing: SCL 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.
QQQ vs SCL: side by side
| QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | SCL (Stepan Company) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.3% | +26.2% |
| 5-year return | +95.4% | -40.5% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 19.6% | 36.4% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.28 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.8% | -54.0% |
| Market cap | – | $1.4B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.44% | 2.51% |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | – |
| Assets under management | $452.8B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Growth & Tech | US Listed |
On the fund side, QQQ sits in the Large Growth category at Invesco, with $452.8B under management, 104 holdings, a 0.18% expense ratio, a 0.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | QQQ | SCL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.6% | -13.2% |
| 2023 | +54.9% | -9.7% |
| 2024 | +25.6% | -30.3% |
| 2025 | +20.8% | -24.6% |
| 2026 | +17.7% | +34.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are QQQ and SCL good diversifiers for each other?
Reasonably. At 0.27, QQQ and SCL keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between QQQ and SCL?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between QQQ and SCL is 0.27 over 3 years, 0.03 over 1 year and 0.34 over 5 years.
Is SCL a good diversifier for QQQ?
Reasonably. At 0.27, QQQ and SCL keep a meaningful degree of independence, and combining them has historically reduced portfolio volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.27 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.27 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-scl.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/qqq-vs-scl/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: QQQ correlations · SCL correlations
