Dividend Yield Calculator

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Dividend yield is a year of dividends divided by the share price: annual dividend ÷ price. A $100 stock paying $1 every quarter pays $4 a year, a 4% yield. It's the income side of a stock expressed like an interest rate, which makes a $40 stock and a $400 stock comparable. For the S&P 500's 421 dividend payers the median yield is 1.76% as of September 21, 2026.

Because price sits underneath the fraction, yield moves every day even when the dividend doesn't. If that $100 stock falls 20% to $80 and keeps paying $4, its yield becomes 5%. Nothing about the income improved; the stock got cheaper, maybe for a reason. That's the single most useful thing to know before you sort any list by yield.

Trailing yield uses dividends actually paid in the last 12 months. Forward yield takes the latest regular check and assumes it repeats for a year. Coca-Cola on September 21, 2026: price $87.67, trailing 2.40%, forward 2.42%. Forward is a little higher because the most recent check includes this year's raise and the 12-month window still holds older, smaller checks.

When the two disagree by a lot, one of three things usually happened: the company cut its dividend (trailing still remembers the bigger checks), it paid a one-time special (trailing counts it, forward doesn't), or it changed how often it pays. The high dividend stocks table flags each case across the S&P 500. For the dividend math behind yield on cost and compounding, see how to calculate dividends.

What is a dividend yield?

The dividends a stock pays over a year divided by its share price, written as a percentage. A $100 stock paying $4 a year has a 4% dividend yield.

How do you calculate dividend yield?

Multiply the dividend per payment by the number of payments per year to get the annual dividend, then divide by the share price. $0.25 paid quarterly is $1 a year; on a $25 stock that's a 4% yield.

What is a good dividend yield?

There's no single answer, because a higher yield often means a lower price or a slower-growing dividend. As a reference point, the median dividend payer in the S&P 500 yields 1.76% as of September 21, 2026.

Why does dividend yield go up when a stock falls?

The dividend is divided by the price. If the price drops and the dividend stays the same, the fraction gets bigger. A 20% price drop on an unchanged dividend raises the yield by 25%, from 4% to 5% in the example above.

Is trailing or forward yield more accurate?

Neither is a forecast. Trailing is what was actually paid; forward assumes the latest check repeats. Looking at both, and at why they differ, tells you more than either one.