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Canada Dividend yield calculator

Work out a stock's dividend yield, the income your holding pays each month and year, and your yield on cost — the dividend as a percentage of what you originally paid.

By Mitch Duncan Last reviewed Methodology

Share details

Use the total dividend paid per share over a year — sum the last four quarterly payments, or take the stated annual rate. A very high yield (say above 8–10%) is often a warning sign that the market expects the dividend to be cut, not a bargain.

Dividend yield
3.00%
Annual income
$300.00
Breakdown
Income per month
$25.00
Income per year
$300.00

Yield on cost compares the dividend to the price you originally paid, so it shows how your income has grown relative to your investment. Enter your purchase price to see it.

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Dividend & DRIP calculatorReinvestment & income growthRead the guideDividend Yield Explained (and What Counts as Too High)
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How dividend yield works

Dividend yield is the annual dividend a stock pays as a percentage of its current price: yield = annual dividend per share / share price. A $100 stock paying $3 a year yields 3%. It's the income return on your investment, separate from any change in the share price, and it lets you compare the income from very different stocks on a common basis.

Yield on cost

There's a second, more personal number: yield on cost — the dividend as a percentage of what you paid, not today's price. If you bought that $100 stock years ago at $60, your yield on cost is $3 ÷ $60 = 5%. As companies raise dividends over time, long-term holders build a yield on cost well above the current market yield.

Worked example

You own 100 shares trading at $100 that pay $3 per share a year. Your dividend yield is 3%, your annual income is $300, and your monthly income averages $25. Bought at $60, your yield on cost is 5% — the same dividend measured against your lower entry price.

When a high yield is a warning

A higher yield isn't automatically better. Yield rises when the price falls, so an unusually high yield — say above 8–10% — often means the market expects the dividend to be cut, not that you've found a bargain. Check the payout is covered by earnings and cash flow before chasing yield; a modest, growing dividend usually beats a high, fragile one.

To see how reinvesting dividends compounds, use the dividend & DRIP calculator.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate dividend yield?
Divide the annual dividend per share by the current share price. A stock trading at $50 that pays $2 a year in dividends has a yield of $2 ÷ $50 = 4%. Add up the last four quarterly payments to get the annual dividend, or use the company's stated annual rate.
What is a good dividend yield?
There's no single answer, but broad stock indexes typically yield around 1.5–3%, while income-focused stocks and funds often pay 3–6%. Be cautious with very high yields — above roughly 8–10% — which often signal the market expects a dividend cut. A sustainable, growing dividend usually beats a high one that may not last.
What's the difference between dividend yield and yield on cost?
Dividend yield uses the current share price, so it changes as the price moves. Yield on cost uses the price you originally paid, so it stays fixed to your purchase and rises as the company increases its dividend. Long-term holders of dividend growers often have a yield on cost far above the current market yield.

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