VOO Stock: What Is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF and Is It Worth Buying in 2026?

Last Updated: November 3, 2026

Quick Answer: VOO, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, closed at $691.32 on November 2, 2026, according to Vanguard’s FactSet quote, about 3.5% below its October 6 record of $716.11. It tracks the S&P 500, charges a 0.03% expense ratio ($3 a year per $10,000) and is the world’s largest ETF, with about $1.0 trillion in its ETF share class on September 30, 2026. It pays quarterly dividends: the latest was $1.8226 per share on September 30, and the last four payments give a trailing yield of about 1.07%. If you follow daily moves, our explainer on tomorrow share market predictions covers how short-term stock market forecasts are made.

Key Takeaways:

• Price: $691.32 at the November 2, 2026 close, down 0.50% on the day; 52-week range $580.89 (March 30) to $716.11 (October 6), according to Vanguard
• Cost: 0.03% a year, the same as iShares’ IVV and about a third of the 0.0945% charged by State Street’s SPY
• Size: about $1.0 trillion in the ETF share class and $1.7 trillion across all share classes of Vanguard 500 Index Fund (September 30, 2026); VOO passed SPY as the world’s largest ETF in February 2025, as ETF.com reported
• Holdings: 505 stocks; the 10 largest positions make up 39.1% of the fund, led by Nvidia (8.39%), Apple (7.38%) and Microsoft (5.78%)
• Returns: 11.76% so far in 2026 (to October 30), 12.09% over one year and 15.41% a year over 10 years, at market price to October 31, 2026
• Dividends: paid every quarter; the September 2026 payout of $1.8226 was 4.8% higher than a year earlier, and the December 2026 dividend has not been announced yet
• Outlook: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan target 8,000 for the S&P 500 at the end of 2026, while Vanguard’s own model expects US stocks to return 4.8% to 6.8% a year over the next decade

About $1.0 trillion in one ETF share class. A 0.03% expense ratio. Quarterly dividends. And 15.41% a year over the past decade. For a product with no active management, no stock-picking thesis and no narrative, those numbers command attention. VOO does not try to beat the market; it aims to be the market, minus a very small fee. In 2026, with crypto ETFs, AI stocks and active funds all competing for investor dollars, the case for holding the most boring product in finance is still easy to make, as long as investors understand what they own.

This guide covers what VOO is, what it costs, what it pays, how it has performed, what it holds, how it compares with SPY, IVV, VTI and QQQ, how it fits alongside crypto, what analysts expect for the S&P 500 and the honest trade-offs. It is not investment advice.

What Is VOO?

VOO is the ticker symbol for the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, an exchange-traded fund that Vanguard launched on September 7, 2010 and lists on NYSE Arca. It tracks the S&P 500 Index, the benchmark of about 500 large US companies maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, whose index committee chooses members using rules on market value, liquidity and profitability.

VOO is not a stand-alone fund. Vanguard describes it as the exchange-traded share class of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which is also sold as an Admiral Shares mutual fund. On September 30, 2026, the whole fund held about $1.7 trillion and the ETF share class about $1.0 trillion, according to Vanguard.

When you buy one share of VOO, you own a small slice of every company in the index, weighted by market value. Vanguard uses full replication, holding the index stocks in the same weights: on September 30, 2026 the fund held 505 stocks, against 503 securities in the index. Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet together made up about 30.8% of the fund, and the other holdings spread across all 11 sectors of the market.

The fund is passively managed. Vanguard’s Global Equity Index Management team does not decide which stocks to own; it follows the index and works to keep tracking error low. When S&P Dow Jones Indices adds or removes a company, VOO adjusts. That mechanical simplicity is the product’s entire point.

Full fund details, holdings and performance data are on Vanguard’s VOO page.

VOO Key Stats: November 2026

Source: Vanguard’s VOO page, read November 3, 2026. The November 2 price is Vanguard’s FactSet quote at the 4:00 p.m. ET close; the trailing yield is our calculation from Vanguard’s last four distributions.

Prices change throughout each trading session, so check Vanguard or your broker for a live quote before trading.

The 0.03% Expense Ratio: Why It Matters More Than It Looks

The single most important number for long-term VOO investors is not the dividend yield or the share price. It is the 0.03% expense ratio, and its compounding effect over time is large enough to deserve its own explanation.

Every ETF charges an annual fee expressed as a percentage of assets. VOO charges 0.03%, or $3 a year on every $10,000 invested, the same as iShares’ IVV. State Street’s SPY charges 0.0945%, or $9.45, and Invesco’s QQQ charges 0.18%, or $18. The fee is taken from the fund’s assets, so investors never see a bill, only slightly lower returns.

Take a $50,000 investment with an assumed 8% annual return before fees, held for 40 years. With VOO’s 0.03% fee, the net return is about 7.97% a year and the ending balance about $1.07 million. At 0.10%, still cheap by industry standards, the net return drops to 7.90% and the balance to about $1.05 million, roughly $27,500 less. At 1.0%, a fee level some actively managed funds charge, the balance is about $749,000, around $325,000 less than with VOO’s fee, assuming identical returns before costs.

The 8% return is an assumption for illustration, not a forecast, and the math simplifies by subtracting the fee from the return each year. It still shows why the expense ratio is the defining feature of passive index investing, not a footnote.

Does VOO Pay Dividends?

Yes. VOO pays quarterly dividends, passing on the dividends paid by the companies it holds, after fund expenses.

The most recent dividend was $1.8226 per share, with an ex-dividend and record date of September 28, 2026, paid on September 30. The last four payments add up to $7.4282 per share, a trailing yield of about 1.07% at the November 2 close of $691.32. Vanguard’s 30-day SEC yield, a standardized measure of current income, was 1.00% on September 30, 2026.

VOO Dividend History: 2025 and 2026

Sources: Vanguard and StockAnalysis. Record dates match the ex-dividend dates.

VOO paid $7.07 per share in 2025, up 5.4% from $6.70 in 2024 and up from $6.36 in 2023. The first three payments of 2026 total $5.66, about 6.8% more than the same three quarters of 2025. Dividends follow the earnings and payout decisions of the companies in the index, so they can fall as well as rise from one quarter to the next.

When Is VOO’s Next Dividend?

As of November 3, 2026, Vanguard had not announced VOO’s December 2026 dividend. In recent years the December payment went ex-dividend on December 23, 2024 and December 22, 2025, and was paid on December 26, 2024 and December 24, 2025. If that pattern holds, the next ex-dividend date would fall in the week before Christmas, with payment a few days later; treat that as an expectation based on past practice, not an announced date.

To receive a dividend, you must own shares before the ex-dividend date. VOO usually pays two to four days after that date, much faster than SPY, whose September 2026 dividend was paid six weeks after its ex-dividend date.

For investors who reinvest dividends, the compounding effect over long periods is meaningful. According to Vanguard, VOO’s cumulative total return from its September 2010 launch to October 31, 2026 was 827.73% at market price, which means $10,000 invested at launch, with all dividends reinvested, would have grown to about $92,800. Without reinvestment, the result would be lower.

VOO Performance: What the Historical Returns Actually Look Like

VOO’s average annual total return since its September 2010 launch is 14.79% through October 31, 2026, including dividends, according to Vanguard. Its returns trail the S&P 500 Index by only a few hundredths of a percentage point a year, roughly the size of its fee, which is what a well-run index fund should deliver.

Source: Vanguard. Returns include reinvested dividends; periods longer than one year are annualized.

The long-run average hides sharp swings. Vanguard’s calendar-year figures show how uneven the path has been:

Those years include the pandemic crash, when VOO lost 19.61% in the first quarter of 2020, and the 2022 bear market. In both cases the fund recovered its losses within two years. A $10,000 investment made 10 years before October 31, 2026 would have grown to about $41,900 with dividends reinvested, based on Vanguard’s cumulative 10-year return of 319.04%.

2026 so far: VOO lost 4.41% in the first quarter and hit its 52-week low of $580.89 on March 30, then gained 15.27% in the second quarter and 2.31% in the third, according to Vanguard. It set its record of $716.11 on October 6 before slipping back. On October 30 it fell 1.77%, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.82% to 7,580.07, on a day when the Nasdaq 100 had its worst session since June amid a sell-off in chip stocks, according to CoinDesk. VOO closed at $691.32 on November 2, about 5.2% above its price at our April 28 update.

Past performance does not predict future results. Vanguard’s own long-term forecast, covered below, expects much lower US stock returns over the next decade than VOO delivered over the last one.

How VOO Fits With Crypto and Alternative Assets in 2026

Crypto investors often ask whether VOO and bitcoin compete for the same money or belong in the same portfolio. They are different tools with different risk profiles. VOO is a low-cost, diversified stake in about 500 large US companies that report earnings and pay dividends. Crypto assets such as Bitcoin, Ether and Solana have no earnings or dividends, and their prices have historically swung far more than a broad stock index.

The investment wrapper is now shared. US spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs give the same brokerage-account access that made VOO popular, and the crypto ETF market had passed $170 billion in assets by November 2025, as we reported at the time. Some crypto platforms also offer tokenized stocks, blockchain tokens that track shares or funds, which carry different rights and risks than owning VOO through a regulated broker.

Some investors use a core-and-satellite approach, with a broad index fund such as VOO as the core and smaller, higher-risk positions, which can include crypto, around it. Whether any mix suits a given investor depends on goals, time horizon and risk tolerance; this is not a recommendation. Our latest market and crypto news follows both markets.

What VOO Actually Holds: The Top 10 Companies

Because VOO is weighted by market value, the largest companies in the S&P 500 dominate its returns. On September 30, 2026, the 10 largest positions made up about 39.1% of the fund, according to Vanguard:

Source: Vanguard, holdings as of September 30, 2026. Holdings change as the index changes.

Alphabet’s two share classes together account for 5.52% of the fund. By sector, information technology is by far the largest at 39.7%, followed by financials (11.4%), communication services (9.9%), health care (9.3%), consumer discretionary (8.6%) and industrials (8.0%). Compared with the list on this page in April, Micron Technology has entered the top 10 and Berkshire Hathaway is no longer in it.

The concentration in mega-cap technology is both VOO’s biggest strength and its biggest risk. From 2023 to 2025, gains in the largest technology companies pulled VOO’s returns well above its long-term average. If technology valuations compress, VOO would lag an equal-weight version of the index.

Is SpaceX in VOO?

No. SpaceX joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, 2026, so Nasdaq-100 funds such as QQQ hold it, but it is not in the S&P 500. In June 2026, S&P Dow Jones Indices said it would not change the entry rules for its main US indices, including the requirement that a company have positive earnings under US accounting rules (GAAP) in its latest quarter and over its past four quarters combined, Reuters reported. SpaceX reported a net loss of $4.94 billion for 2025. We found no later announcement adding SpaceX to the S&P 500 as of November 3, 2026.

VOO vs. the Alternatives

The most common comparison for investors considering VOO is against other S&P 500 trackers. Here is how the three biggest stack up, using each issuer’s latest published data.

VOO vs. SPY vs. IVV

Sources: Vanguard, iShares and State Street fund pages, read November 2 to 3, 2026. Dollar volume is our calculation from StockAnalysis share volumes and closing prices on October 30. VOO’s 10-year figure is Vanguard’s market price return; SPY’s NAV and market price returns were both 15.18%.

VOO vs. SPY: SPY, the State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, tracks the identical index but charges 0.0945%, more than three times VOO’s 0.03%. It is organized as a unit investment trust, an older fund structure, and it pays dividends later: its September 2026 dividend went ex-dividend on September 18 and was paid on October 30, according to StockAnalysis data. SPY’s real advantage is trading activity. On October 30 it traded more than eight times VOO’s dollar volume, which matters to institutions and active traders who move large amounts quickly. For long-term buy-and-hold investors, the fee matters more: over the 10 years to September 30, 2026, SPY returned 15.18% a year against 15.30% for VOO, about $430 less on a $10,000 investment. Our SPY stock price guide covers that fund in more detail.

VOO vs. IVV: The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) matches VOO’s 0.03% expense ratio, and over the 10 years to September 30, 2026 the two funds returned the same 15.30% a year, according to their issuers. The practical difference is negligible. VOO is the larger fund, IVV has a higher share price (NAV of $755.11 on November 2), and their dividend dates differ by a week or two. Some investors prefer Vanguard’s ownership structure: Vanguard says it is owned by its funds, and through them by the funds’ shareholders.

VOO vs. VTI

Source: Vanguard fund pages; portfolio data as of September 30, 2026, returns at market price to October 31, 2026.

VTI, now called the Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF, charges the same 0.03% but holds the whole US stock market, including mid, small and micro caps. Because large companies make up most of the market’s value, VTI’s biggest holdings are the same names as VOO’s in slightly smaller weights, and the two funds’ returns are usually close: over the year to October 31, 2026, VOO returned 12.09% and VTI 12.05%. Over five years VOO was ahead by about 1.1 percentage points a year, and over 10 years by about 0.5 points. VTI suits investors who want small and mid-sized companies included; VOO covers only large companies. Our VTI stock price guide has more on that fund.

VOO vs. QQQ

QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100, about 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on Nasdaq, rather than the S&P 500. It charges 0.18%, according to Invesco, and it is more concentrated: its 10 largest positions made up about 47% of the fund in late October 2026, against about 39% for VOO. QQQ has historically delivered higher returns than VOO in technology bull markets, with bigger swings in both directions, and it has held SpaceX since July 2026. A 100% QQQ portfolio is a concentrated bet on large growth companies; VOO spreads money across all sectors, including financials, which the Nasdaq-100 excludes. Our QQQ guide has its latest holdings and costs.

What Do Analysts Expect for the S&P 500?

We do not publish price targets for VOO. Because the fund tracks the S&P 500, the closest published forecasts are Wall Street strategists’ targets for the index and Vanguard’s own long-term return estimates. The S&P 500 closed at 7,580.07 on October 30, 2026, according to Yahoo Finance data.

Sources: TheStreet (Goldman Sachs), Bloomberg and Newsquawk (Morgan Stanley), Reuters (JPMorgan). The last column is our calculation. Most firms had not yet published year-end 2027 targets when we checked.

Not every bank is that optimistic. Bank of America had the lowest year-end target among the major banks in mid-2026, at 7,100 in June, as CNBC reported, and has since raised it to 7,400, which is still about 2.4% below the October 30 close.

Vanguard’s own view is more measured. Its capital markets model, run with data to September 30, 2026, puts the expected 10-year annualized return for US equities at 4.8% to 6.8%, up from 4.2% to 6.2% three months earlier, according to Vanguard’s return forecasts. That is far below the 15.41% a year VOO returned over the past decade. Forecasts can miss widely in both directions, so treat them as context rather than predictions to rely on.

The Honest Risk Assessment

VOO is about as diversified as a single US stock fund gets. It is not risk-free: Vanguard rates it 4 on its 1 to 5 risk scale, the “moderate to aggressive” category for funds that hold almost all of their assets in stocks.

Concentration risk: The 10 largest positions made up 39.1% of the fund, and information technology 39.7%, on September 30, 2026. A sustained decline in mega-cap technology, for reasons such as regulation, higher interest rates or slower AI spending, would pull VOO down more than an equal-weight index.

Market risk: VOO tracks the market. If the S&P 500 enters a bear market, VOO falls with it. It lost 18.15% in 2022 and 19.61% in the first quarter of 2020, according to Vanguard. Investors who had to sell during those periods locked in real losses; VOO rewards patience and long holding periods.

Valuation risk: The fund’s holdings traded at about 24.7 times earnings on September 30, 2026, according to Vanguard. Vanguard’s forecast of 4.8% to 6.8% a year for US stocks over the next decade is a reminder that returns like those of the last 10 years are not guaranteed.

Currency risk for international investors: VOO is priced in US dollars and holds US companies. For investors outside the United States, exchange-rate moves add a layer of return volatility that does not show up in the fund’s reported performance, and dividend withholding taxes may apply.

Limited income: At a trailing yield of about 1.07%, VOO is not an income investment. Investors who need regular cash flow must either hold a large position or plan to sell shares from time to time.

Who Should Buy VOO

VOO makes sense for a specific type of investor. It does not make sense for everyone, and this section is general information rather than a recommendation.

Good fit: Long-term investors who want diversified exposure to large US companies at minimal cost; Vanguard says funds in VOO’s risk category may suit investors with a horizon of 10 years or longer. Retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k) plans, where low costs compound over decades. Investors who want market returns without active management fees and the risk of trailing the index. Anyone building a core-and-satellite portfolio with a broad index fund as the base.

Less ideal fit: Investors seeking income well above VOO’s yield of about 1%, who may look at dividend-focused funds instead. Investors with a short time horizon who may need the money during a downturn. Investors who want small and mid-sized companies or international stocks, which VOO does not hold. Anyone whose plan requires beating the market: by design, VOO delivers the index return minus its 0.03% fee.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the VOO stock price today?
VOO closed at $691.32 on November 2, 2026, down 0.50% on the day, according to Vanguard’s FactSet quote. That is about 3.5% below its record of $716.11 on October 6 and 19% above its 52-week low of $580.89 on March 30. The price changes throughout each trading session, so check Vanguard or your broker for a live quote before trading.

What does VOO stand for?
VOO is the ticker symbol of the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, an exchange-traded fund listed on NYSE Arca since September 2010. It is the ETF share class of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which tracks the S&P 500 Index of about 500 large US companies. Investors buy and sell VOO shares through a brokerage account during market hours, just like shares of a single company.

What is VOO’s expense ratio?
VOO’s expense ratio is 0.03% a year, or $3 for every $10,000 invested, according to Vanguard. The fee is taken from the fund’s assets rather than billed separately. iShares’ IVV charges the same 0.03%, while State Street’s SPY charges 0.0945%. Investors may still pay broker commissions, currency conversion fees or a small bid and ask spread when they trade.

Does VOO pay dividends?
Yes. VOO pays a dividend every quarter from the dividends its holdings pay. The latest was $1.8226 per share, with an ex-dividend date of September 28, 2026, paid on September 30. The last four payments total $7.4282, a trailing yield of about 1.07% at the November 2 close of $691.32. VOO paid $7.07 per share in 2025.

How often does VOO pay dividends, and when is the next one?
VOO pays four times a year, around the end of March, June, September and December, usually two to four days after the ex-dividend date. Vanguard had not announced the December 2026 dividend as of November 3. In 2024 and 2025 the December ex-dividend dates were December 23 and December 22, so similar timing is likely but not confirmed.

What is the difference between VOO and SPY?
Both track the S&P 500, but VOO charges 0.03% a year and SPY 0.0945%. SPY, launched in 1993, is a unit investment trust and trades far more: on October 30, 2026 its dollar volume was more than eight times VOO’s. Over the 10 years to September 30, 2026, VOO returned 15.30% a year and SPY 15.18%, according to their issuers.

What is the difference between VOO and IVV?
VOO and iShares’ IVV both track the S&P 500 and both charge 0.03% a year, so their returns are almost identical: both returned 15.30% a year over the 10 years to September 30, 2026, according to their issuers. VOO is larger, with about $1.0 trillion in its ETF share class, against $867 billion for IVV. Differences in share price and dividend dates are minor.

Is VOO better than VTI?
Neither is better in every case. Both are Vanguard funds charging 0.03% a year. VOO holds about 500 large US companies, while VTI holds 3,519 stocks of every size, from mega caps to micro caps. Over the 10 years to October 31, 2026, VOO returned 15.41% a year and VTI 14.87%, according to Vanguard. The choice depends on whether you want small and mid caps included.

What are VOO’s top holdings?
On September 30, 2026, VOO’s largest holdings were Nvidia at 8.39%, Apple at 7.38%, Microsoft at 5.78%, Amazon at 3.71% and Alphabet’s two share classes at 5.52% combined, according to Vanguard. Broadcom, Meta Platforms, Micron Technology and Tesla complete the top 10 positions, which made up 39.1% of the fund. Information technology was the largest sector at 39.7%.

Is SpaceX in VOO?
No. SpaceX joined the Nasdaq-100 on July 7, 2026, so funds such as QQQ hold it, but it is not in the S&P 500. In June 2026, S&P Dow Jones Indices kept its entry rules, including the requirement of positive GAAP earnings in the latest quarter and over the past four quarters, Reuters reported. SpaceX lost $4.94 billion in 2025.

Is VOO a good long-term investment?
VOO has returned 14.79% a year since its 2010 launch and 15.41% a year over the past decade, including dividends, according to Vanguard. Past results do not guarantee future returns, and Vanguard’s own model expects US stocks to return 4.8% to 6.8% a year over the next 10 years. Suitability depends on your time horizon and risk tolerance. This is not financial advice.

How is VOO different from a mutual fund?
VOO trades on an exchange throughout the day at market prices, while traditional mutual funds are bought and sold once a day at the closing net asset value. VOO is itself a share class of Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which also offers Admiral Shares as a mutual fund. ETFs are generally more tax efficient because of in-kind creations and redemptions, and Vanguard lists a $1 minimum investment for VOO.

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. All investments carry risk, including the loss of principal. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Data sources: Vanguard VOO and VTI fund pages (price at the November 2, 2026 close via FactSet; returns to October 31, 2026; holdings, sectors, characteristics and assets as of September 30, 2026; distribution history), Vanguard return forecasts (model data as of September 30, 2026, page updated October 21, 2026), State Street SPY fund page (October 30 to November 2, 2026), iShares IVV fund page (November 2, 2026), StockAnalysis (dividend history and October 30, 2026 trading volume), Yahoo Finance (S&P 500 close, October 30, 2026), Reuters (June 4, 2026, and August 10, 2026), Bloomberg (May 13, 2026), TheStreet (May 27, 2026), CNBC (June 8, 2026), Newsquawk, ETF.com (February 2025), CoinDesk (November 2, 2026). Dividend yield, percentage changes and dollar amounts are our calculations. Checked November 3, 2026.