The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) dividend is probably one of the most anticipated passive income payments on the ASX. Shareholders may be wondering when the imminent FY25 final payment will hit bank accounts and what the FY26 payout may be.
CBA usually has a generous dividend payout ratio to reward shareholders for holding onto their shares for the long term. It had an FY25 full-year dividend payout ratio of 79%, which was towards the upper end of its target payout ratio, reflecting its aim to pay strong and sustainable fully franked dividends.
The ASX bank share decided to increase its full-year payout by 4.3% to $4.85 per share.
It also said it will continue to target a full-year payout ratio of between 70% to 80% of cash net profit after tax (NPAT).
The next CBA dividend that investors will see hit their bank account is the FY25 final dividend.
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FY25 final dividend
When the ASX bank share announced its FY25 result, the board of directors declared a final dividend of $2.60 per share, representing a 4% increase compared to the FY24 second half payout.
This payment has already passed the ex-dividend date. In other words, prospective investors have missed out on the upcoming CBA dividend payment. However, owners of CBA shares who held before the ex-dividend date are very close to receiving the upcoming payment.
The payment of $2.60 from CBA is scheduled to be paid on 29 September 2025, so there is just over a week to go.
What about the FY26 CBA dividend?
Some investors may already be looking ahead to what the payouts could be in the 2026 financial year. Only the board of directors can decide what the actual dividends per share will be, but analysts have made projections.
Forecasts are certainly not guaranteed to become reality, but analysts are regularly quite close to what ultimately gets reported.
The (independent) forecasts on Commsec suggest the business could generate $6.66 of earnings per share (EPS) in the 2026 financial year, which could fund an annual dividend per share of $5.25. If that happens, it would represent an 8.2% year-over-year increase.
At the time of writing, the CBA grossed-up dividend yield for FY26 could be approximately 4.5%, including franking credits.
It's certainly not the biggest yield in the sector, but it is expected to steadily rise in FY26 and increase by a further 4.75% to $5.50 per share in FY27.
CBA isn't the first ASX share I'd buy for passive income, but shareholders can be pleased with the direction the payouts are going.
