JEPQ Dividend: Next Ex-Date, History & Total Return

The JPMorgan Nasdaq Equity Premium Income ETF (JEPQ) seeks to deliver a monthly income stream from two sources: premiums from call options sold on the Nasdaq-100 Index and dividends on the stocks it owns. The stock side is an actively managed portfolio comprised significantly of Nasdaq-100 companies, the index the prospectus names as the fund's primary benchmark. Those stocks are picked without regard to their expected dividends.^1,2

The option premiums reach JEPQ through equity-linked notes (ELNs), which are notes issued by counterparties, including banks, broker-dealers, or their affiliates, that combine Nasdaq-100 exposure and written call options in one instrument that does not trade on an exchange. Each ELN runs a covered call strategy: the short calls inside it earn the fund a premium, and in return the fund's opportunity to profit from a rise in the underlying index or ETF is limited to the exercise price, plus the premium received.¹

JEPQ may invest up to 20% of its net assets in ELNs. The options inside them are based on the Nasdaq-100 or on ETFs that replicate it, and the notes are reset periodically to adapt to market conditions. The fund is managed to seek monthly distributions at a relatively stable level under normal circumstances.¹

JEPQ's starting universe is the Nasdaq-100, which includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market and leaves out financial companies entirely. The prospectus says many of the fund's stocks are currently technology companies or companies that rely heavily on technological advances. The fund may also buy stocks outside the index.^1,2

The fund is designed to capture a majority of the index's returns while exposing investors to lower volatility than the index. If the fund succeeds in delivering lower volatility, the prospectus says its value will fluctuate less than the index over a full market cycle, typically a 3-5 year horizon.¹

JEPQ normally keeps any one industry at or below 25% of its assets, but it may go up to 35% in an industry that makes up 20% or more of the benchmark when it invests. It is also non-diversified, so it may own fewer issuers than a diversified fund would.¹

Stock selection rests on what the adviser, J.P. Morgan Investment Management Inc., calls a fundamental data science enabled approach. It blends decades of proprietary research, company financial statements, and other data to forecast each company's prospects, then favors stocks it sees as attractively valued relative to their risk.¹

Dividend Stacker's record of past JEPQ payments starts with an ex-date in June 2022. The fund made 12 distributions in each of 2023, 2024, and 2025, adding up to $5.01, $5.44, and $6.12 per share in those years.³

The annual total climbed 8.7% from 2023 to 2024 and 12.5% from 2024 to 2025, two straight completed years of increases. Individual payments moved around within each year: in 2024 they ranged from $0.3417 to $0.5569, and in 2025 from $0.442 to $0.6207.³

Covered call risk: the calls inside JEPQ's ELNs limit its opportunity to profit from a rise in the Nasdaq-100 or a tracking ETF to the exercise price, plus the premium received. When the underlying falls by more than the premium collected, the overall position loses money.¹

Equity-linked note risk: JEPQ relies on the counterparties that issue its ELNs to pay when due, and an actual or perceived decline in their credit quality may hurt the notes. Should the prices of the underlying instruments move in an unexpected manner, the fund may realize losses on ELNs that could be significant and could include its entire principal investment. ELNs are also subject to liquidity risk, which may make them difficult to sell and value.¹

Technology and non-diversification risk: with many of its stocks in technology companies, JEPQ is exposed to rapid product cycles, obsolescence, and the loss of patent or intellectual property rights. As a non-diversified fund, its shares may be more volatile than a fund that invests in more securities.¹

Strategy risk: the adviser may not succeed in keeping JEPQ less volatile than the Nasdaq-100, particularly during higher market volatility, because the fund may not be able to adjust its call options strategy as quickly as the market does. Its lower-volatility aim may leave it behind the index, particularly in rising markets, and distributions are not guaranteed.¹

Data science approach risk: the prospectus says there is no guarantee that the adviser's proprietary data science approach will result in effective investment decisions for JEPQ. If the approach does not perform as designed, the fund may lose value.¹