Dividends
Dividend Yield
Dividend yield is the cash income a share pays over a year, divided by the price you pay.
Yield is income relative to price, not a measure of how generous the company feels. A price drop raises the yield even when the dividend is unchanged. A price rally cuts the yield even when the dividend was just increased. Always check whether the yield moved because of the payout or because of the quote.
On Stocklytics, trailing yield uses dividends already declared. A forward yield uses the current payout run-rate against the live price. High yields need a payout-ratio check. A yield that consumes more than the business earns will be cut, and the cut usually arrives with another price drop.
Formula
Dividend yield = annual dividends per share ÷ share price
Live example
Apple Inc. (AAPL) last printed at $345.33 with a market cap of $5.04T. This quote has no dividend yield, which is itself the example: yield is blank when no dividend is being capitalized.
Related
Payout Ratio · Dividend Growth · Ex-Dividend Date
See it on a list: best stocks · screener
Questions
Is a higher yield always better income?
Not if it is unsupported. A 3% yield that grows for a decade often beats an 8% yield that is cut in year two.
Why does yield differ across pages?
Trailing, forward, and indicated yields use different dividend windows. Read the label before comparing two numbers.