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- Pays: quarterly — usually going ex-dividend in March, June, September, and December.
- Paying since: our chart runs from 1970; Altria has raised its dividend more than 50 times across that span (a Dividend King, counting through the Kraft and Philip Morris spin-offs).
- Today's yield: among the highest of any large U.S. company — typically 6-8%.
- The uncomfortable engine: cigarettes. Fewer are sold every year; prices rise faster than volumes fall; nearly all profit is mailed to shareholders.
- The honest question: not whether MO pays (it always has) but how long a shrinking product can keep funding a growing check.
Our data feed shows the post-spin-off dividend path (Kraft 2007, Philip Morris International 2008 reduced the nominal payout without harming shareholders) — the official raise count runs through those events.
MO pays quarterly. Each point below is one dividend since 1970 — including the 2007-08 spin-off resets that look like cuts but weren't.
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Each point is one payment; the line ends at the most recent payout. The table below totals them by year.
- Trailing 12 months: $4.24 per share across 4 payments — up 4% from $4.08 in the 12 months before (split-adjusted, in today's share terms). What a change like that does to your income →
- Current pace: recent payments annualize to $4.16 — 2% below the trailing figure. When those two disagree, the trailing yield is quoting the past. Live cut & raise board →
- Share price, same 12 months: up 4% (dividends excluded) — income and principal are one story. Erosion Index →
- Record: 227 payments over 56 years; the largest single payment was $51.06 (Mar 2008), split-adjusted.
- Payment drops ≥20% below trend, last 24 months: none. Get one short email if that changes →
Every figure above is computed from MO's actual payment record and share-price history as of the date shown — not copied from a fact sheet. Recomputed regularly; the chart above always shows the live data.
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| Recent Ex-Dividend Dates | Dividend / Share |
|---|
"Next expected" is estimated from MO's recent payment rhythm — the fund announces exact dates shortly before each payout, and the data feed can lag a few days. You must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout; the cash typically arrives days later. See every fund's upcoming date on the live dividend calendar.
A real total-return estimate, assuming every payout was reinvested — including what happened to the share price. Before taxes and fees. Past performance does not predict the future.
Now Estimate Your Own Future
These are assumptions, not a prediction. Want the full chart and tax options? Open the full calculator →
Altria runs the strangest successful business model in the market: sell fewer cigarettes every year, raise prices faster than volumes fall, spend almost nothing on growth, and hand nearly all profit to shareholders. It has worked for fifty years — through lawsuits, regulation, and social exile — and the academic finding that tobacco was the best-performing U.S. stock of the entire 20th century comes from exactly this math plus reinvested dividends.
The risks are equally plain: the volume decline could steepen, smoke-free replacements might never match cigarette economics, and the payout ratio leaves little room for error. And plenty of investors simply won't own it — a legitimate choice no chart addresses. If you do evaluate it, the payout ratio guide is the lens that matters most.
| Year | Total Dividends / Share | Payments | Change vs Prior Year |
|---|
Data source: Yahoo Finance. Figures are per share; the current year may be partial and figures should be verified against official sources.
Calculated from complete calendar years in the data above. Past results don't guarantee future payments.
When Is MO's Next Ex-Dividend Date?
MO pays quarterly — usually going ex-dividend in March, June, September, and December. The exact date of each payout is announced by the fund only shortly beforehand, so no site can promise the next date — but the live schedule box above shows the most recent ex-dividend date and the expected window for the next one, computed from MO's actual payment rhythm. Remember: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout.
Five Decades of the Market's Strangest Streak
Split-adjusted, our chart shows Altria paying about a penny per share in 1970 and $4.16 in 2025 — with more than 50 raises along the way, counted through two giant spin-offs. The 2026 pace continues the pattern. No stock better illustrates that dividend investing is about cash flows, not popularity: this streak was built while the product was taxed, sued, restricted, and socially exiled.
The Math of Managed Decline
Cigarette volumes fall mid-single digits yearly; prices rise faster; costs are minimal; capital needs are nearly zero — so cash pours out, and management's stated policy is to mail most of it to shareholders. The payout ratio is the whole ballgame here: it runs high by design, which works perfectly while pricing outruns decline and becomes fragile the moment it doesn't. That's why MO yields 7% while KO yields 3% — the market is pricing the endgame's uncertainty.
Where MO Fits — For Those Who'll Own It
For income investors without ethical objections, MO is the maximum-yield corner of the qualified-dividend world — often out-earning covered-call funds after tax despite the smaller headline. It pairs with growth-side holdings like SCHG rather than more high-yield. And for those who won't own it, VZ and ET are the nearest high-yield alternatives. Next expected date on the live calendar.
Payout Ratios, Explained
The single number that decides whether a big dividend is durable or doomed — with a calculator to check any stock.
Read: Payout Ratio Guide