Dividend yield

Dividend yield is the annual dividend of a holding divided by its current price, stated as a percentage. At portfolio level it is the total expected income over the next twelve months divided by the current value of everything you hold. Both versions describe what the position pays relative to what it is worth now, not relative to what you paid for it.

Why it matters

The figure has two moving parts, and a change in it does not say which one moved. A yield that climbs from three percent to five can mean the payment was raised by two thirds, or that the price fell by forty percent while the payment stayed still, and those are opposite pieces of news wearing the same number. Portfolio yield moves for a third reason as well: buying more of a holding that pays nothing lowers the average without anything having changed inside the holdings themselves.

How BullBenchmark shows it

We show the expected income of your current holdings against their current value, both computed from your own positions and refreshed as prices update, hourly while markets are open and settling on official closing prices after the American close. Because the same page carries received dividends and cost basis, the current yield can be read next to the payment history rather than on its own. The figures are populated on the live demo.

Related terms

Yield on cost · Projected dividend income · Market value

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