MARO
YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF
weekly DividendsMARO Quick Stats
MARO Distribution History Trend
MARO has paid 57 weekly distributions on record since inception (2024-12-09). The average distribution over the trailing 12 periods is $0.08 per share. The highest distribution was $0.11 (week of 2026-06-18) and the lowest was $0.05 (week of 2026-08-20). Distribution variance of $0.06 reflects how sensitive the option premium on YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy's underlying exposure is to market volatility — richer weeks follow volatility spikes, thinner weeks follow calm markets.
MARO vs MAAY
MARO and MAAY both target MARA exposure with weekly distributions. MARO is the larger fund by AUM, but both track the same underlying and move with it.
Fund Overview
MARO — YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF — is a weekly-distribution ETF issued by YieldMax that generates income by selling call options against MARA exposure. The fund targets investors seeking high-frequency cash flow from MARA exposure without holding the underlying directly. Distributions are paid weekly, with the ex-dividend date typically falling on a Thursday. The current annualized yield of 78.84% is calculated from the most recent weekly distribution of $0.0591 per share divided by the current share price of $3.90 and multiplied by 52. As with all option-income funds, the distribution rate reflects current implied volatility in MARA options — when volatility falls, distributions typically shrink. The fund has $84.5 million in assets under management and has returned -51.31% on a price basis year-to-date, excluding distributions.
Compared to similar YieldMax funds, MARO ranks 12 out of 56 by current yield and 51 out of 56 by year-to-date price performance.
Annual Yield Calculations
Both figures start from the same per-period rate: the average of the last 3 distributions ($0.06) divided by the current price ($3.90) = 1.516% per week. The non-DRIP yield annualizes it simply; the DRIP yield compounds it over 52 periods.
WeeklyYield™ Actual Performance
How YTD & performance are calculated: YTD returns shown across WeeklyYield are price-only, using split-adjusted close-to-close prices from the first trading day of the calendar year to the latest close — the same method your brokerage uses. Dividends are tracked separately in the yield figures above. "Actual Non-DRIP" and "Actual DRIP" add distributions back in to show total return since the earliest price we have on record (2025-09-02 at $18.97), using the same 48 distributions in both — non-DRIP collects them as cash, DRIP buys shares at each ex-date close. For MARO, DRIP trails non-DRIP: because NAV fell over this window, shares bought with early distributions ended up worth less than the cash would have been. See full methodology →
Top Performer Score
Price History (1 Year)
About This ETF
The YieldMax MARA Option Income Strategy ETF (MARO) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in information technology equity. The fund seeks to provide current income and capped gains on the MARA Holdings, Inc. stock (MARA) through a synthetic covered call strategy, collateralized by cash and US Treasurys MARO was launched on Dec 9, 2024 and is issued by YieldMax.
How MARO Generates Income
MARO generates weekly income by selling call options on MARA or a synthetic equivalent. When the fund sells a call option, it collects a premium from the buyer — this premium is what funds the weekly distribution. The tradeoff is that the fund caps its upside: if MARA rallies sharply above the strike price, the fund does not fully participate in that gain. In a flat or declining market the income generation continues while the fund absorbs price losses similar to holding the underlying. The size of the weekly distribution directly reflects implied volatility in MARA options at the time the options were written — higher volatility means more expensive options and larger distributions, lower volatility means smaller ones. This makes the distribution variable week to week rather than fixed.
Distribution Composition and Tax Considerations
Not all of MARO's weekly distributions represent taxable income. Option-income funds frequently classify part of each distribution as return of capital (ROC), which is not taxable in the year received but reduces your cost basis in the fund. When your cost basis reaches zero, subsequent ROC distributions become taxable as capital gains. The exact composition of each distribution — ordinary income, qualified dividends, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains, and return of capital — is reported annually on Form 1099-DIV and may not be known until after the tax year ends. Holding MARO in a tax-advantaged account (IRA, Roth IRA, 401k) eliminates the annual tax complexity entirely and is the approach most income-focused investors use for high-distribution funds.
Educational information only — not tax advice. See our after-tax dividend calculator to model your own situation.
Dividend History
| Ex-Dividend Date | Cash Amount | Pay Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-27 | $0.07110 | 2026-08-28 |
| 2026-08-20 | $0.05120 | 2026-08-21 |
| 2026-08-13 | $0.05510 | 2026-08-14 |
| 2026-08-06 | $0.06990 | 2026-08-07 |
| 2026-07-30 | $0.07860 | 2026-07-31 |
| 2026-07-23 | $0.08520 | 2026-07-24 |
| 2026-07-16 | $0.08880 | 2026-07-17 |
| 2026-07-09 | $0.08310 | 2026-07-10 |
| 2026-07-02 | $0.10240 | 2026-07-06 |
| 2026-06-25 | $0.11010 | 2026-06-26 |
| 2026-06-18 | $0.11150 | 2026-06-22 |
| 2026-06-11 | $0.09020 | 2026-06-12 |
MARO has paid 12 weekly distributions over the past 12 weeks. The average weekly distribution over this period was $0.0831 per share. The highest distribution in the trailing 12 weeks was $0.1115 (ex-date 2026-06-18) and the lowest was $0.0512 (ex-date 2026-08-20). Distribution consistency — the variance between the highest and lowest payment — is one indicator of underlying volatility stability. High variance suggests the fund's income generation is sensitive to volatility swings in MARA options.
Latest MARO News
- MARO declares $0.0711 weekly distribution — ex-date 2026-08-27, payment date 2026-08-28Distribution announcement · 2026-08-27
- MARO declares $0.0512 weekly distribution — ex-date 2026-08-20, payment date 2026-08-21Distribution announcement · 2026-08-20
- MARO declares $0.0551 weekly distribution — ex-date 2026-08-13, payment date 2026-08-14Distribution announcement · 2026-08-13
Similar ETFs
Frequently Asked Questions About MARO
MARO pays weekly dividends. Its most recent ex-dividend date was 2026-08-27 with a pay date of 2026-08-28.
MARO has paid an average of $0.0591 per share across its most recent 3 distributions. Its latest distribution was $0.0711 per share.
MARO's current annualized yield is 78.84%. This is calculated as the average of its last 3 distributions ($0.0591) divided by the current share price of $3.90, annualized over 52 periods. Reinvesting those distributions (DRIP) compounds the same rate: (1 + rate)^52 − 1.
Covered call and option-income ETF distributions vary week to week. MARO's actual total return figures on the fund's WeeklyYield page show total return net of NAV changes; high distribution rates can coincide with NAV decline, so investors should compare yield to actual total return before drawing conclusions. This is educational information, not investment advice.
Option-income ETF distributions are generally treated as ordinary income or return of capital, depending on the fund's structure and the underlying options strategy. For MARO's exact tax character, refer to the fund issuer's 19a-1 notices and year-end 1099-DIV. This is not tax advice.
More detail on how these numbers are calculated is on our methodology page.