- Pays: quarterly — usually going ex-dividend in early January, April, July, and October.
- Paying since: our chart runs from 1984 (the Bell breakup era) to today.
- The streak: roughly two decades of consecutive annual raises — small ones, about a penny per quarter each year, as dependable as the phone bill that funds them.
- Today's yield: around 6% — among the highest of any household-name blue chip.
- Why so high: the market prices in slow growth and a heavy debt load from spectrum auctions — you're being paid handsomely to own a giant toll collector that rarely surprises anyone.
Verizon's dividends are qualified for most U.S. investors; the high yield reflects the market's low growth expectations, not payment risk to date.
VZ pays quarterly. Each point below is one dividend since 1984. The staircase is shallow but remarkably steady — watch the yearly totals below.
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Each point is one payment; the line ends at the most recent payout. The table below totals them by year.
| Recent Ex-Dividend Dates | Dividend / Share |
|---|
"Next expected" is estimated from VZ'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 →
Verizon's dividend is funded by the most boring, dependable bill in America: tens of millions of monthly phone and internet payments that continue through every recession. That cash covers the dividend with room to spare, and management has raised the payout by roughly a penny per quarter, every year, for about twenty years. The market yawns — which is exactly why the yield sits near 6% while flashier companies pay 1%.
The honest risks: enormous debt (5G spectrum wasn't cheap), brutal competition capping growth, and a payout ratio that leaves less cushion than KO-style royalty. None have threatened the dividend yet. For a taxable account, VZ's qualified dividends at 6% beat most ordinary-income funds' 8% after taxes — run your bracket through our dividend tax calculator to see it.
| 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 VZ's Next Ex-Dividend Date?
VZ pays quarterly — usually going ex-dividend in early January, April, July, and October. 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 VZ's actual payment rhythm. Remember: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout.
Four Decades of Small Steps
Our chart opens in 1984 — the year the Bell System broke up — and shows a company that has treated its dividend like a utility bill in reverse: always paid, gently raised. From $2.47 per share in 2020 to $2.72 in 2025, the increases are almost comically consistent, about five cents a year. At today's price, that steadiness yields around 6% — a number that says more about the market's opinion of telecom growth than about payment risk.
Why the Market Pays You 6% to Own It
High yields on blue chips are always a message. Verizon's message: growth is scarce (everyone who wants a phone plan has one), competition is fierce, and the balance sheet carries heavy debt from spectrum auctions. Investors demand a big current payment to accept a stock going roughly sideways — and for income-first investors, that's precisely the deal on offer: high, qualified, slowly-growing income from a business nobody can easily disrupt.
Where VZ Fits
VZ is the classic income anchor: a high, tax-friendly yield with enough growth to blunt inflation. It pairs naturally with faster growers like SCHD or KO — they supply the raises, VZ supplies the current income — without the option-income machinery (and taxes) of funds like JEPI. Next expected date on the live calendar.
The Tax Rules Behind Every Payout
Qualified vs. ordinary income changes what you actually keep — often more than the yield does. Plain-English guide.
Read: How Are Dividends Taxed?