The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has put on a stellar performance over the last five years.
It's gained 45.8% in that time. Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lifted just 29%.
Today, CBA shares trade for $111.15 each – mere cents off their all-time high of $111.43 hit on Friday.
Glancing to the past, however, an investor could have bought 65 CBA shares for $5,000 in February 2018, paying $76.25 apiece and walking away with nearly $44 in change.
That holding would now be worth $7,224.75. But what about the big four bank's dividends?
Let's consider the total return those invested in the ASX 200 bank share have likely seen over the last five years.
All the dividends CBA shares have offered since 2018
Here are all the dividends on offer from CBA shares over the last half-decade:
| CBA dividends' pay date | Type | Dividend amount |
| September 2022 | Final | $2.10 |
| March 2022 | Interim | $1.75 |
| September 2021 | Final | $2 |
| March 2021 | Interim | $1.50 |
| September 2020 | Final | 98 cents |
| March 2020 | Interim | $2 |
| September 2019 | Final | $2.31 |
| March 2019 | Interim | $2 |
| September 2018 | Final | $2.31 |
| March 2018 | Interim | $2 |
| Total: | $18.95 |
As the chart above shows, CBA shares have each yielded $18.95 in passive income since early 2018.
That means a 65-share-strong parcel probably would have handed an investor $1,231.75 in dividends over that time – bumping the potential return on investment (ROI) to a notable 70.6%.
And that's before we consider the compounding benefits those dividends may have brought had they been reinvested, perhaps through the bank's dividend reinvestment plan (DRP).
Not to mention, the franking credits attached to each of the bank's offerings during that time. Certainly, they may have brought some shareholders extra benefits come tax time.
Right now, CBA shares trade with a 3.46% dividend yield.
