The Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price is down 0.9% to $4.86 amid a great day for shareholders today.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is also in the red, down 0.1%, following a weak trading session in the US overnight.
Here's why it is a big day for Telstra shares investors today.
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Telstra share price in the red but investors are celebrating!
Shareholders have a bounce in their step on Thursday as the ASX 200 communications share will pay its next dividend today.
Investors will receive a fully franked final dividend of 9.5 cents per share for FY25.
Shareholders who have elected to participate in the dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) will also receive their new Telstra shares today.
As previously reported, the DRP share price this time around is $4.8777 per share, with no discount applied.
Telstra calculated its DRP share price by taking the arithmetic average of the daily volume-weighted average price of Telstra shares traded from 1 September to 5 September inclusive.
Dividend increases after higher earnings in FY25
Telstra reported a 4.6% lift in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) to $8.6 billion for FY25.
The underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) for shareholders grew 2.6% to $2.2 billion.
The underlying earnings per share (EPS) rose 3.2% to 19.1 cents.
The lift in earnings prompted the Telstra board to declare a higher final dividend for FY25, up 5.6% compared to FY24.
The full-year Telstra dividend for FY25 was 19 cents per share.
In terms of the dividend payout ratio, Telstra said its dividend represented 99% of the underlying EPS.
Based on today's share price, Telstra now has a trailing annual dividend yield of 3.9% plus full franking.
Telstra was one of a small group of companies to announce a share buyback during earnings season last month.
Telstra plans to buy back up to $1 billion in shares.
The telco said: "This has been enabled by growth in earnings, and the strength of our balance sheet."
The new buyback follows a $750 million on-market buyback completed in June.
What's news with Telstra?
There is no official news from Telstra today, but the daily buyback notices are now flowing through.
According to yesterday's notice, Telstra has already repurchased 25.2 million shares since the buyback began on 9 September.
Telstra will host its annual general meeting on 14 October.
Telstra share price snapshot
Telstra shares have risen 17% over the past six months and 24% over the past 12 months.
