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