Much has been made of the recent share price performance of Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) stock. And fair enough. Over the 2025 financial year, CBA shares rose an astonishing 45%, rising from $127.38 a share to $184.75.
Over the past 12 months, CBA has gained a similarly impressive 38.1%. And that's despite a 7.6% slide in the bank's value since 25 June. Today, the bank is sitting at $176.51 a share at the time of writing, down 1.77% for the day thus far.
So it's been a wonderful time to have owned CBA shares, despite the decent drop. The longer one has owned this ASX bank, the more likely they have experienced large capital gains and a large dividend yield on cost.
However, the story is quite different when it comes to dividends if an investor wishes to buy this ASX 200 bank stock today.
Let's dig into why.
Over the past 12 months, CBA has paid out two dividends to its shareholders. The first was the final dividend from September last year, worth $2.50 a share. The second, the interim dividend from March, was worth $2.25 a share. Put together, we get a 12-month total of $4.75 in dividends per share. As is CBA's habit, both payments came with full franking credits attached.
What is the current dividend yield on CBA stock?
Each of these payments represents an increase on the prior CBA dividend. For example, that September final dividend was increased from 2023's corresponding payout of $2.40. Likewise, March's interim dividend represented an increase from the $2.15 per share that shareholders bagged in March of 2024.
So, at today's share price of $176.51, that $4.75 in dividends per share gives CBA stock a trailing yield of 2.69%.
That looks rather small compared to CBA's banking peers. To illustrate, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) currently has a yield of 4.52%, while ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ) has 5.46% on the table (although there is speculation as to how long that will last). It could be even worse, though. When CBA touched its current record high of $192 a share last month, its shares were on a yield of just 2.47%.
Expanding on that, it's important for income investors to remember that the yield one can enjoy on an ASX dividend share is directly proportional to the price they bought the shares.
For example, if an investor bought CBA stock two years ago at just $98 a share, they would have bagged a yield on cost of 4.85% over the past 12 months.
CBA stock continues to deliver for long-term investors. But as for new ones, they'd better hope that the bank continues to rise. After all, a yield of 2.69% doesn't provide good company for the investors who normally like to buy ASX bank stocks.
