QQQ vs SMG: Correlation
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The) (SMG) show a weak relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.19.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are QQQ and SMG?
On 3 years of weekly data the QQQ/SMG correlation comes out at 0.19, weak. The past 12 months show a weaker link (-0.02) than the 3-year average (0.19). The 5-year figure is 0.40, and annualized covariance runs at 141.5 %².
By 3-year correlation, SMG places #2972 of the 4755 assets tracked against QQQ. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QQQ outperformed by 24.5 percentage points (+26.3% for QQQ against +1.8% for SMG). One caveat on sizing: SMG is 2.0 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 SMG: side by side
| QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | SMG (Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (The)) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.3% | +1.8% |
| 5-year return | +95.4% | -53.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 19.6% | 38.9% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.28 | 0.76 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.8% | -47.4% |
| Market cap | – | $3.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 23.4 |
| Dividend yield | 0.44% | 4.30% |
| 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 | SMG |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.6% | -68.8% |
| 2023 | +54.9% | +36.9% |
| 2024 | +25.6% | +8.3% |
| 2025 | +20.8% | -8.0% |
| 2026 | +17.7% | +7.2% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are QQQ and SMG good diversifiers for each other?
By historical standards, yes. A correlation of 0.19 means the two rarely move for the same reasons.
FAQ
What is the correlation between QQQ and SMG?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.19 over 3 years, with -0.02 over the last year and 0.40 over 5 years.
Is SMG a good diversifier for QQQ?
By historical standards, yes. A correlation of 0.19 means the two rarely move for the same reasons.
What does a correlation of 0.19 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.19 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-smg.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/qqq-vs-smg/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: QQQ correlations · SMG correlations
