When it comes to dividend-paying ASX shares, chances are one's mind doesn't immediately spring to the tech sector. There are many sectors on the ASX renowned for their hefty dividend payments. ASX bank shares? Of course. Resources? Definitely. But ASX tech shares? Not so much.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has many famous names in its tech sector. But few are famous for paying dividends. This is not unique to the ASX. Some of the largest tech companies in the world don't pay dividends, despite some having mountains of cash on their balance sheet.
Giants like Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN), Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) and Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG)(NASDAQ: GOOGL) have never paid a dividend, despite all being valued at over US$1 trillion at various points in time.
But that doesn't mean the ASX has no dividend-paying tech shares. So let's embark on a mission to find the highest-yielding tech share on the ASX today.
So yes, plenty of ASX tech shares have never paid out a dividend. This includes Xero Limited (ASX: XRO), Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) and Block Inc (ASX: SQ2). Block's Afterpay didn't fund any dividends when it was an ASX share either.
But plenty of others do. Some ASX tech shares that currently pay dividends include Altium Limited (ASX: ALU), Appen Ltd (ASX: APX) and WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC).
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Dicker Data dividend dominates the ASX tech sector
But these companies are not even close to being the highest-yielding ASX tech dividend share. That honour probably goes to Dicker Data Ltd (ASX: DDR).
Dicker Data is a company that provides a range of hardware, software and cloud-based technology services. It is probably best known for its hardware, which includes selling data storage, servers, networking equipment and more.
This company has spent the past few years cultivating what is now a fairly impressive dividend record. Dicker Data has been paying dividends consistently for over a decade now.
What's more, it has managed to deliver a dividend pay rise every single year since 2012. That includes through the COVID-ravaged year of 2020.
In 2011, the company paid out a total of 9 cents per share in dividends. But this year, Dicker Data has doled out a total of 26 cents per share in dividends, all fully franked.
That gives this company a dividend yield of 4.87% at the market close share price on Friday, or 6.96% grossed-up with the full franking.
That is a decent dividend yield by any ASX standards, even coming in above what Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is offering right now. And compared to other ASX tech shares, it is certainly a sector leader.
