The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price has outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) in almost every month over the past year.
And August was no exception.
Shares in the ASX 200 bank stock closed out a strong July trading for $137.49. On Friday, 30 August, shares ended the day trading for $139.50 apiece.
This put the CBA share price up 1.5% in July, despite the broader market sell-off in the early days of the month dragging CommBank stock down with it.
To put this seemingly modest gain in perspective, the ASX 200 closed the month right where it started, at 8,091 points.
And let's not forget that on 21 August, CBA traded ex-dividend.
When the big four bank reported its FY 2024 earnings results on 14 August, management pleased passive income investors with an all-time high, fully franked final dividend of $2.50 a share.
That won't be paid until 27 September. But with the stock trading ex-dividend on 21 August, investors buying shares on or after this date were no longer eligible to receive that payout. Instead, that CBA dividend goes to investors who held the stock at market close on 20 August.
So, let's add that $2.50 back into the closing share price of $139.50 on 30 August.
At an accumulated value of $142.00 a share, we see that the CBA stock returned a solid 3.3% in July, with some potential tax benefits from those franking credits.
And part way through the first trading day of September, the CBA share price is again schooling the ASX 200. CommBank stock is up 0.8%, trading for $140.57 a share, while the ASX 200 is down 0.2%.
Over the year then, CBA has gained 37.8% (not including the two dividend payouts) compared to a 10.4% gain posted by the benchmark index.
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CBA share price gains on FY 2024 results
Among the tailwinds helping boost Australia's biggest bank stock in August were CBA's full-year results, reported on 14 August.
Highlights of the FY 2024 results included operating income of $27.17 billion, in line with FY 2023.
Operating expenses increased by 3% during the year to $12.22 billion. This led to a 2% year on year decline in cash net profit after tax (NPAT) to $9.84 billion. And, as mentioned up top, there was the record-high final dividend.
ASX 200 investors were clearly pleased with the results, with the CBA share price closing up 1.3% on the day.
Commenting on the bank's FY 2024 performance, CEO Matt Comyn said:
We have retained strong loan loss provision coverage, with surplus capital and conservative funding metrics.
Our disciplined approach to managing our balance sheet settings positions us with flexibility and capacity for a range of economic scenarios, while continuing to deliver sustainable returns.
