# What is my dividend yield?

Computes a stock’s dividend yield from the dividend per payment, the payments a year and the share price, with your yearly dividend income and your yield on cost.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/dividend-yield-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/dividend-yield-calculator.json
- Version: 9fff2280dc9e

## Default answer

Example with the default inputs (Share price $50.00, Dividend per payment $0.50, Payments a year Quarterly, Shares you own 100): A $50.00 share paying $2.00 a year has a dividend yield of 4%.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| price | Share price | The price of one share today, as you type it (no live quotes). |
| div | Dividend per payment | The dividend paid on one share each time it pays. |
| freq | Payments a year | How often the dividend is paid: monthly (12), quarterly (4), twice a year (2) or yearly (1). |
| shares | Shares you own | How many shares you own, for your yearly income. Fractions of a share are allowed. |
| cost | Price you paid per share | Your average cost per share, for the yield on cost. Leave empty to skip it. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| yield | Dividend yield | The yearly dividend per share divided by the share price, as a percent. |
| annual | Yearly dividend per share | The dividend per payment times the payments a year. |
| income | Your yearly dividend income | The yearly dividend per share times your shares, before tax. |
| monthly | Your income per month | Your yearly dividend income divided by 12. |
| value | Value of your shares | The share price times your shares. |
| yoc | Yield on cost | The yearly dividend per share divided by the price you paid, as a percent. |

## Method

yield = dividend per payment × payments a year ÷ share price × 100%.

## Assumptions

- The dividend stays the same for the next year (a forward yield from the latest payment).
- You type the share price; the page fetches no prices.
- Income is before tax. Dividends are not guaranteed: a company can cut or stop them.

## Worked examples

1. price = $50.00, div = $0.50, freq = 4, shares = 100 gives yield = 4%, annual = $2.00, income = $200.00, monthly = $16.67, value = $5,000.00. Source: FINRA, Evaluating Performance: for stocks, yield is the year’s dividend divided by the stock’s market price (https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investing-basics/evaluating-performance, retrieved 2026-10-02).
2. price = $187.43, div = $0.26, freq = 4, shares = 35, cost = $120.00 gives yield = 0.5549%, annual = $1.04, income = $36.40, monthly = $3.03, yoc = 0.8667%. Source: FINRA, Evaluating Performance: for stocks, yield is the year’s dividend divided by the stock’s market price (https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investing-basics/evaluating-performance, retrieved 2026-10-02).
3. price = $24.80, div = $0.16, freq = 12 gives yield = 7.5%, annual = $1.86. Source: FINRA, Evaluating Performance: for stocks, yield is the year’s dividend divided by the stock’s market price (https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investing-basics/evaluating-performance, retrieved 2026-10-02).
4. price = $80.00, div = $0.00, freq = 1 gives yield = 0%, annual = $0.00. Source: FINRA, Evaluating Performance: for stocks, yield is the year’s dividend divided by the stock’s market price (https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investing-basics/evaluating-performance, retrieved 2026-10-02): a stock that pays no dividend has no yield.

## FAQ

### How do I calculate dividend yield?

Divide the yearly dividend per share by the share price and multiply by 100. A $50 share that pays $0.50 a quarter pays $2.00 a year, so its yield is 2 ÷ 50 = 4%.

### What if the stock pays dividends quarterly or monthly?

Multiply one payment by the number of payments a year to get the yearly dividend first: 4 for quarterly, 12 for monthly. A fund paying $0.155 a month pays $1.86 a year.

### Why does the yield change when the price changes?

The dividend is on top of the fraction and the price is below it. If the price falls and the dividend stays the same, the yield rises; if the price rises, the yield falls. FINRA notes this for stocks, bonds and funds.

### What is yield on cost?

The yearly dividend per share divided by the price you paid, not today’s price. If you bought at $120 and the stock now pays $1.04 a year, your yield on cost is 0.8667%, even though the current yield at $187.43 is 0.5549%.

### Is a high dividend yield always good?

No. A very high yield often means the price has fallen because investors expect a cut. Dividends are not guaranteed, and yield measures income only, not the change in the share price.

### Does this use live stock prices?

No. You type the share price and the dividend, for example from your broker or the company’s announcement. The page makes no requests for quotes.

### Are dividends taxed?

In a taxable US account, yes: qualified dividends at long-term capital gains rates, others at your income tax rate (IRS Topic 404). The income shown is before tax.

## Sources

- FINRA, Evaluating Performance (for stocks, yield is the year’s dividend divided by the market price; a stock that pays no dividend has no yield), retrieved 2026-10-02. https://www.finra.org/investors/investing/investing-basics/evaluating-performance
- Internal Revenue Service, Topic no. 404, Dividends (ordinary dividends are ordinary income; qualified dividends are taxed at capital gain rates), retrieved 2026-10-02. https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc404