Who's Actually Paying Dividends?

The graph below was produced by Capital Market Labs.

As stock prices rise, all else being held equal, dividend yields will decline (the denominator goes up). If one takes all North American firms over $10 billion in market cap with dividend yields (in the last twelve months) greater than 4 percent, an interesting group appears.

Below, the chart details dividend yield (LTM) on the y-axis and two-year total revenue growth on the x-axis.

Of particular note: The companies in green have paid 5 percent or larger dividends in the prior twelve months. Also, larger revenue growth (the x-axis) does not really have a correlation with the dividend payout size.

Lastly, a 5 percent dividend payout in a zero interest rate environment is very different than when in a “normal” interest rate environment.

Ophir Gottlieb can be found on Twitter @ophirgottlieb.