Buying ASX shares for passive income? Here's how Woodside, Fortescue and CBA shares stack up

Do Woodside, CBA, or Fortescue shares pay the most passive income?

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Buying ASX shares to secure some welcome extra passive income?

Then you've likely considered S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) dividend powerhouses like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS), and Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG).

All three ASX shares pay fully-franked dividends. Meaning you may be able to hold onto more of that passive income when the ATO comes knocking for its annual pound of flesh.

But which company offers the best yield?

We'll dive into that in a tick.

But first, a reminder that the dividend yields you generally see quoted are trailing yields. Future yields may be higher or lower depending on a range of company-specific and macroeconomic factors.

In the case of Woodside, Fortescue, and CBA shares, key factors influencing both their share prices and dividends are oil and gas prices, the iron ore price, and the trajectory of interest rates.

With that in mind…

Tapping into Woodside, CBA, and Fortescue shares for passive income

Starting with CBA, Australia's biggest bank paid out a record amount of passive income over the past year.

CBA paid a fully-franked interim dividend of $2.25 a share on 28 March. And eligible investors will have seen the final dividend of $2.60 a share hit their bank accounts on 29 September, for a full-year payout of $4.85 a share.

At the current CBA share price of $149.49, the ASX 200 bank stock trades on a fully-franked trailing dividend yield of 3.2%.

Despite paying record dividends, CBA's dividend yield has fallen over the past few years following the outsized share price gains from late 2023 through to mid-2025. Despite the CBA share price falling 7.1% over the past 12 months, shares remain up 52.6% since 27 October 2023.

Moving on to the passive income on offer from Fortescue, the ASX 200 iron ore giant paid a fully-franked interim dividend of 50 cents per share on 27 March. Fortescue paid the final dividend of 60 cents per share on 26 September for a full-year payout of $1.10 per share.

While that's the lowest payout in six years, at the current share price of $20.94, Fortescue trades on a fully-franked trailing dividend yield of 5.3%.

Fortescue shares have gained 9.4% over the last 12 months.

Rounding out our list of ASX passive income shares, Woodside paid a fully-franked interim dividend of 84.9 cents per share on 2 April. Eligible stockholders will have received the final dividend of 81.8 cents per share on 24 September.

That equates to a full-year dividend payout of $1.677 per share.

At the current Woodside share price of $25.37, the ASX 200 energy share trades on a fully-franked trailing dividend yield of 6.6%, leading this pack.

Woodside shares have gained 2.6% over the past full year.

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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