Dividend Yield Calculator
Turn an annual dividend per share into a percentage of the current share price. Use a manually entered annual total, not an unverified quote.
Per-share assumptions
Calculated locally from your assumptions.
$2 ÷ $50 × 100 = 4%
Annual yield on the current share price.
Reading this result
- What it shows
- The annual dividend per share you entered as a percentage of the share price you entered. Income per 100 shares is before tax.
- What changes it
- Only the annual dividend and the share price. Payments per year changes the equivalent payout per payment, not the yield.
- Not included
- Tax, fees, and future changes to the price or the dividend. Yield is not total return and does not predict future payments.
Yield sensitivity to share price
Holding the annual dividend at $2: when the price falls, yield rises; when it rises, yield falls.
Educational estimates from your inputs. Dividends, prices, and taxes can change. Not investment advice or guaranteed income.
The formula
Dividend yield = annual dividend per share ÷ current share price × 100.
Calculation conventions and limitationsA worked example
An annual dividend of $2 per share at a $50 share price gives a 4% yield. A quarterly dividend of $0.50 annualizes to $2 if all four payments are equal.
Trailing or forward yield: which dividend should you enter?
A trailing yield divides the dividends paid over the past 12 months by today’s price. A forward yield uses the dividends expected over the next 12 months, often estimated as the latest regular payment × the number of payments a year. The two differ when a dividend has recently been raised, cut or suspended.
The calculator uses whichever annual figure you enter. A trailing total records what was paid; a forward figure is an estimate that can change. Data providers label and calculate these differently, so check which one a quoted yield uses before comparing it with your own.
How do special dividends affect the yield?
A special dividend is an unscheduled payment outside a company’s regular schedule. Included in a trailing 12-month total, it raises the yield for as long as it stays in that window, even if it is never repeated.
To see the yield the regular dividend supports, enter the regular payments only and treat a special payment separately: a one-time $1 on a $50 share is 2% of the price, paid once.
Why does the yield go up when the share price falls?
Yield is a ratio, so a lower price raises it even when the dividend has not changed. With a $2 annual dividend, a fall from $50 to $40 lifts the yield from 4% to 5%. The sensitivity bars above show the same effect for prices 20% either side of yours.
A quoted trailing yield keeps counting the past year’s dividends, so after a sharp price fall it can look high just before a dividend cut is announced.
What can a high dividend yield tell you, and what can’t it?
It tells you how much income each dollar invested would produce if the dividend stayed the same. It does not tell you whether the dividend will be maintained, how the share price will move, or whether the business can afford the payment. A yield can be high because the dividend is generous or because the price has fallen.
When a projection on this site reaches an uncapped yield above 15%, the results flag it so the assumptions can be reviewed. The flag is a modeling check, not a judgment of any investment.
Compare the yield on what you paid with the Yield on Cost CalculatorDividend Yield Calculator questions
Should I use the dividend before or after tax?
Before tax. Dividend yield is normally quoted on the gross dividend, and this calculator’s yield and income per 100 shares are before tax. The Dividend Income Calculator applies a flat tax rate.
Why is my yield different from the one a website shows?
A quoted yield may use trailing or forward dividends or a different price, such as the previous close, and may include or leave out special dividends. Here the result follows only the dividend and price you enter.
Is an ETF’s yield calculated the same way?
The arithmetic is the same: annual distributions per share ÷ share price. Fund providers may also publish other measures, such as a 30-day SEC yield, that are calculated differently, so compare like with like.