Dividend yield is the annual cash dividend as a percentage of the share price.
What it is
Dividend yield expresses a company's yearly cash dividend as a percentage of its stock price. It tells you the income return you receive from dividends alone, before any change in the share price. A stock priced at $100 paying $4 a year yields 4%.
Why it matters
It is a core figure for income-focused investors comparing the cash return of different stocks and against bonds. Pitfalls: a very high yield can signal a falling share price and a dividend at risk of being cut, the yield rises automatically when the price drops, and a high payout is only as safe as the company's cash flow supports.
How it's calculated
Divide the total annual dividend per share by the current share price, then multiply by 100 to get a percentage.
How Quintarthai uses it
Dividend yield appears in the Summary Key-metrics grid on a stock's company page and is a filterable field in the Stock Screener for income screens.
Cross-border note. US investors holding Canadian dividend stocks generally face a 15% Canadian withholding tax on dividends (often reduced or recoverable in retirement accounts under the Canada-US tax treaty), so the after-tax yield can differ from the headline figure.
FAQ
Is a higher dividend yield always better?
No; an unusually high yield often reflects a depressed share price and can warn of a dividend cut, so the sustainability of the payout matters more than the headline number.
Does dividend yield change with the stock price?
Yes; because price is in the denominator, the yield rises when the price falls and falls when the price rises, even if the dividend itself is unchanged.
Check your understanding
A stock's price falls sharply while its dividend per share stays the same. What happens to its dividend yield, and what should you keep in mind?
Because price is in the denominator, a falling price pushes the yield up even with an unchanged dividend; an unusually high yield often reflects a struggling stock and a payout that may not be sustainable.