HIMS vs HMYY: Which Is the Better Pick in 2026?

Overview

HIMS is the underlying healthcare stock—a telehealth and pharmaceutical company trading at $31.59 with no dividend. HMYY is a brand-new single-stock ETF launched in December 2025 that wraps HIMS in a weekly options-income strategy, selling put spreads to generate a 77.31% annualized distribution rate. The two offer fundamentally different investor profiles: one is a growth equity bet; the other is a synthetic-income vehicle built on short-term leverage and derivatives.

How they differ

HIMS is a direct equity stake in the underlying company, with beta of 2.415, meaning it moves more than twice as fast as the broad market. HMYY, by contrast, isolates you from HIMS's stock price movements—it has a beta of 0.0—by selling put spreads (options contracts) on leveraged instruments tied to HIMS, pocketing the premium and distributing it weekly. The core difference is strategy: HIMS captures any upside or downside in the business itself, while HMYY monetizes short-term volatility through structured options positions that are unrelated to HIMS's fundamentals or long-term performance.

The second major difference is yield. HIMS pays no dividend, so returns depend entirely on stock appreciation. HMYY generates a 77.31% distribution yield through options premiums, funded by the put spread collar structure—but this yield comes with an expense ratio of 1.07% and targets a microscopic AUM of $682,297, suggesting it's a niche product with minimal scale.

The third is leverage and principal risk. HMYY uses leverage (by selling puts on leveraged ETFs) to amplify income, which accelerates NAV erosion in down markets and introduces counterparty and liquidity risks embedded in the derivatives. HIMS carries only equity volatility risk—no synthetic leverage, no options complexity.

Who each is best for

HIMS: Fits growth-oriented investors with a long time horizon seeking exposure to telehealth trends and willing to tolerate high stock volatility (beta 2.415) in exchange for potential capital appreciation, with no income expectation.

HMYY: Designed for income-focused investors seeking weekly cash flow and willing to accept NAV decay, options-related complexity, and structural leverage in pursuit of a triple-digit distribution rate, on a very small fund with minimal liquidity and track record.

Key risks to know

• NAV erosion from super-high distribution yield. A 77.31% annualized distribution rate on HMYY almost certainly exceeds the underlying options premiums and volatility income the strategy can sustainably generate, meaning NAV is likely to erode over time as distributions pull from remaining capital, especially in lower-volatility environments.

• Options and leverage embedded in HMYY. The ETF sells put spreads on leveraged ETFs linked to HIMS, introducing derivative counterparty risk, volatility sensitivity, and embedded leverage that can amplify downside losses in a sharp market or HIMS-specific decline—a structure fundamentally different from holding HIMS stock.

• Extreme illiquidity and size constraints on HMYY. With $682,297 in AUM and a December 2025 inception date, HMYY has virtually no trading history or institutional following. Bid-ask spreads are likely wide, exits may be difficult, and the fund could face closure or restructuring if assets don't grow.

• High beta and business-specific volatility on HIMS. HIMS trades at 2.415 beta and operates in a competitive telehealth/pharmaceutical space subject to regulation, reimbursement changes, and consumer behavior shifts, making it a volatile equity with no income cushion.

• No diversification in either vehicle. Both HIMS and HMYY are single-name exposures; HMYY merely wraps that single name in an options overlay, so your fundamental bet on HIMS-the-company is unchanged in both cases.

Bottom line

HIMS is a straightforward equity holding with no income and significant volatility; HMYY offers weekly distributions but at the cost of NAV decay, options complexity, and minuscule scale. If you're after capital appreciation and can tolerate high stock volatility, HIMS aligns with a traditional equity approach; if you're chasing income from a single-name vehicle, understand that HMYY's 77.31% yield is a product of leverage and options tactics, not underlying earnings power, and comes with liquidity and principal-erosion risks that far exceed a standard dividend. Past performance of either vehicle cannot predict future results.