Argo Investments Ltd (ASX: ARG) is one of the most popular listed investment companies (LICs) on the ASX. It is also one of the oldest, having first offered Argo shares to the public in 1946.
Ever since, Argo has painstakingly built up a reputation as a conservative steward of investor capital, investing its shareholders' money in blue-chip ASX investments.
With many shareholders across the country entrusting Argo with their capital, there would have been more than a few eyes on this LIC's latest financial results, unveiled this morning.
As we covered at the time, Argo had some decent numbers to show off for its half year ending 31 December 2025.
The company brought in a profit of $130.8 million, up 7.9% from the $121.2 million recorded for the same period in 2024. In some good news for investors, this enabled Argo to reduce its management expense ratio from 0.15% per annum to 0.14%.
Investors are reacting positively this session, with the Argo share price currently up a healthy 1.44% to $9.15 (at the time of writing).
But let's talk about dividends.
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Argo shares unveil record interim dividend
One of the most exciting bits of news in today's earnings was undoubtedly the new dividend that was revealed. Argo has elected to fund an interim dividend worth 18.5 cents per share for the first half of FY2026. As is Argo's habit, this dividend will come with full franking credits attached.
This 18.5-cent payout will be the largest interim dividend Argo has ever paid, exceeding last year's 17 cents per share interim dividend by 8.8%.
Together with last September's final dividend, worth 20 cents per share, this will take Argo's 12-month dividend total to 38.5 cents per share.
This latest interim dividend from Argo will be sent to shareholders on 20 March next month. For investors who don't yet own Argo shares but might wish to get a slice of this action, the ex-dividend date for this payout has been set for this Friday, 13 February. That means investors will need to have bought shares by market close on Thursday if they wish to bag a payment.
Argo is also offering a dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). If shareholders so choose, they can opt to receive this dividend as additional Argo shares rather than cash. The cutoff to nominate for the DRP is 17 February next week.
Argo shares currently trade on a trailing dividend yield of 4.04%. However, this new dividend will give the company a forward dividend yield of 4.21%.
