Calculating from quarterly dividends
Most U.S. dividend stocks pay quarterly. The annualized dividend is the current quarterly rate × 4.
A stock paying $0.88 per quarter has a $3.52 annual dividend. At a $90 share price: Yield = $3.52 ÷ $90 = 3.9%.
Note: this assumes the current rate stays flat. Companies that raise dividends mid-year will actually pay more than four times the starting quarterly rate — the trailing twelve months figure captures actual payments, while the annualized current rate captures the forward expectation.
Trailing twelve months (TTM) vs annualized current rate
TTM dividend: Sum of the four most recent quarterly payments. Based on what actually happened.
Annualized current rate: Current quarterly × 4. Based on what will happen if the current rate is maintained.
For companies that raise dividends mid-year, the annualized current rate is slightly higher than TTM — it's more forward-looking. Both figures appear on financial data sites and serve slightly different purposes.
Income projections from a position
If you own 500 shares of an ETF with a $3.52 annual dividend per share, your projected annual income from that position is 500 × $3.52 = $1,760 before tax.
Multiply this across all dividend positions to estimate total annual portfolio income. This is the foundation of the retire-on-dividends calculator.
Related terms
- Dividend yield — annual dividend expressed as a percentage of price
- Payout frequency — how often payments arrive throughout the year
- Portfolio yield — your blended annual dividend yield across all positions