Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares have had a topsy-turvy year, as the following chart demonstrates.
The ASX 200 airline share has lifted 7.15% in the year to date (YTD) compared to a 4.9% bump for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Qantas may have outperformed the ASX 200, but it's delivered lower capital growth than many other ASX 200 large-cap shares in 2025.
There are 60 large-caps in total (market caps above $10 billion) trading today and 32 have delivered positive capital growth this year.
Of those 32 ASX 200 large-caps, the best performer is ASX 200 gold stock Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) with 133.5% capital growth.
The large-cap with the lowest capital growth is Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Company Ltd (ASX: SOL) shares with 1.8% growth.
So, Qantas ranks towards the bottom of this list with 7.15%.
Image source: Getty Images
What about dividends?
Of course, dividends are an important part of total returns alongside capital growth.
Qantas paid a full-year FY25 dividend of 52.8 cents per share (cps).
Based on the current Qantas share price of $9.77, that's a trailing dividend yield of 5.4%.
The consensus estimate among analysts on CommSec is for Qantas to pay a full-year FY26 dividend of 42.9 cents per share.
This equates to a forward dividend yield of 4.4%.
That's quite a drop, but still higher than the average dividend for ASX 200 shares these days.
So, when will you find out for sure what Qantas shares will pay in dividends next year?
Helpfully, Qantas has released its financial calendar for 2026.
Get your diary out.
Looking ahead to 2026
Here are the dates for Qantas investors to note.
Qantas will release its 1H FY26 results and announce its interim dividend on 26 February.
The airline has not specified the ex-dividend dates for 2026, but they are usually one business day before the record dates.
The record date for the interim dividend will be 11 March.
Qantas will pay the dividend on 15 April.
The ASX 200 airline will announce its FY26 full-year results and final dividend on 27 August.
The record date for the final Qantas dividend will be 16 September.
Qantas will pay the dividend on 14 October.
The annual general meeting is scheduled for 6 November.
Should you buy Qantas shares?
UBS has a buy rating on Qantas shares with a 12-month price target of $11.50.
Morgan Stanley reiterated its buy rating last month but lowered its price target from $13.40 to $12.60.
Ord Minnett has a buy rating but also cut its price target last month from $13.80 to $13.
