QQQ Stock: Golden Cross (50/200 SMA) Backtest — +109.8% vs +135.0% Buy-and-Hold
Real backtest of the Golden Cross (50/200 SMA) strategy on QQQ over 5 years: +109.8% return vs +135.0% buy-and-hold, 2 trades, 100% win rate, 22.8% max drawdown. Computed on real historical data, not simulated — full trade log and verdict inside.
- Total return: +109.8% (trailed buy-and-hold at +135.0%)
- Win rate: 100% over 2 trades
- Max drawdown: 22.8%
- Sharpe ratio: 0.78
- Period: 5 years of real historical price data
What the numbers say
On QQQ, the Golden Cross (50/200 SMA) trailed buy-and-hold over the five years through Nov 2026: +109.8% against +135.0% for simply holding — a gap of 25.2 percentage points. The strategy took 2 completed trades (2 profitable, 0 not), a 100% win rate — a small sample, so read this as a clue about the rule, not proof.
It did not buy that return with less pain: the strategy's max drawdown was 22.8%, against 22.8% for buy-and-hold. Dollar-cost averaging into QQQ over the same window returned +58.9%. Best single trade: +60.8% (2023-03-10 to 2025-04-14); worst: +30.5% (2025-06-23 to 2026-11-12).
Computed by StratIQ's backtest engine on real daily prices through Nov 2026 (generated 2026-11-12). Fills are assumed at the close with a 5% stop-loss; slippage and commissions are not modeled. This is a historical study of a rule — not a pick, not a recommendation, and not financial advice.
One of the most widely cited trend-following signals: go long QQQ when the 50-day SMA crosses above the 200-day SMA (a 'golden cross'), exit when it crosses back below (a 'death cross').
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