COWZ ETF Up 14.81% in a Year With Zero Apple Shares
The Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF is beating the market without owning Apple, raising questions about what true cash generation looks like.
The Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF (CBOE: COWZ) is delivering strong returns in 2026 without a single share of Apple — one of the most celebrated cash-generating companies on earth. Through July 6, the fund has climbed 6.4% year to date and 14.81% over the trailing twelve months, a performance that challenges the assumption that owning mega-cap tech is essential to capturing corporate America's best cash flows.
COWZ is built around a deliberate methodology: it targets the 100 US companies that generate the strongest free cash flow relative to their enterprise value, screened from the Russell 1000. That screen, rather than chasing brand-name recognition or market capitalization, is precisely why Apple — despite producing tens of billions in annual free cash flow — does not make the cut. The ETF's framework penalizes companies whose valuations have grown so large that even massive cash generation looks modest on a yield basis.
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The fund's outperformance carries a clear analytical message for investors. Absolute cash flow numbers alone do not determine inclusion; it is the efficiency of that cash flow relative to what the market charges you to own it that matters. In an environment where richly valued growth stocks have faced renewed pressure, COWZ's valuation-sensitive approach has provided a meaningful edge over passive indexes dominated by the largest-cap names.
The irony is that Apple's very success — its towering market capitalization — works against it in a cash-flow-yield framework. Investors willing to look beyond household names and index heavyweights may find that disciplined, valuation-aware cash flow investing can produce competitive returns without the concentration risk that comes with mega-cap dependence.
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