QQQ vs UAL: Correlation
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) and United Airlines Holdings (UAL) show a moderate relationship: their 3-year correlation of weekly returns is 0.33.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are QQQ and UAL?
Over the past 3 years, QQQ and UAL moved with a correlation of 0.33, which is moderate. Recent behaviour matches the longer record: 0.34 over 1 year against 0.33 over 3. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.39, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 304.7 %².
By 3-year correlation, UAL places #1239 of the 4755 assets tracked against QQQ. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QQQ outperformed by 18.5 percentage points (+26.3% for QQQ against +7.8% for UAL). This link changes with the market regime, having swung between -0.09 and 0.63 on a rolling one-year basis. Note the risk asymmetry: UAL runs 2.4 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.
QQQ vs UAL: side by side
| QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust) | UAL (United Airlines Holdings) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.3% | +7.8% |
| 5-year return | +95.4% | +144.8% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 19.6% | 46.6% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.28 | 1.33 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.8% | -49.2% |
| Market cap | – | $36.5B |
| P/E (trailing) | – | 10.8 |
| Dividend yield | 0.44% | 0.00% |
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | – |
| Assets under management | $452.8B | – |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Growth & Tech | Industrials |
QQQ, Invesco's Large Growth fund, carries $452.8B under management, 104 holdings, a 0.18% expense ratio, a 0.44% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | QQQ | UAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.6% | -13.9% |
| 2023 | +54.9% | +9.4% |
| 2024 | +25.6% | +135.3% |
| 2025 | +20.8% | +15.2% |
| 2026 | +17.7% | +0.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are QQQ and UAL good diversifiers for each other?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.33 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
FAQ
What is the correlation between QQQ and UAL?
Using weekly returns as of 2026-08-27: 0.33 over 3 years, with 0.34 over the last year and 0.39 over 5 years.
Is UAL a good diversifier for QQQ?
Yes, to a useful degree: a correlation of 0.33 leaves real independence between the two, which historically damped combined volatility.
What does a correlation of 0.33 mean?
Correlation ranges from −1 to +1. Values near +1 mean two assets move together, near 0 that they move independently, and negative values that they tend to move in opposite directions. It measures co-movement, not performance.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/qqq-vs-ual.json
Drop this badge in a README or notebook; it updates with the data:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/qqq-vs-ual/)
No key needed, free to use. Full endpoint list in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: QQQ correlations · UAL correlations
