QQQ’s worst drop since 1999 was 83%
Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 83% from Mar 2000 to Oct 2002. It took 14.9 years from that peak to close at a new high, in Feb 2015. Over the same years the S&P 500 fell as much as 55%.
That drop ranks 15th deepest among the 203 ETFs PortfolioAutopsy tracks.
Drawdown from the last high, 1999 to now
How QQQ held up in each crash
| Crash | Years | QQQ | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dot-com bust | 2000–02 | −83.0% | −47.5% |
| Financial crisis | 2007–09 | −53.4% | −55.2% |
| COVID crash | 2020 | −28.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 rate shock | 2022 | −34.8% | −24.5% |
Each number is the deepest fall from a high inside that window, using daily prices with dividends reinvested.
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What was QQQ’s maximum drawdown?
QQQ’s deepest fall since 1999 was 83.0%, from its high on March 27, 2000 to its low on October 9, 2002. The figure uses daily prices with dividends reinvested.
How long did QQQ take to recover?
14.9 years. QQQ first closed above its Mar 2000 high again on February 20, 2015.
Was QQQ riskier than the S&P 500?
Over the same years, QQQ’s worst drop was 83.0% against 55.2% for the S&P 500 (SPY), and its worst 12 months were −69.7% against −47.4%.
Compare with
Daily adjusted closes from Yahoo Finance, March 11, 1999 through October 13, 2026, dividends reinvested. Historical facts, not a forecast and not investment advice.