One of the first ASX 200 shares to report its latest financials this earnings season is automotive classifieds stock Car Group Ltd (ASX: CAR).
The owner of carsales.com.au delivered its numbers for the first half of FY2026 this morning. As we covered at the time, these numbers were quite pleasing. Revenues came in at $626 million for the six months to 31 December 2025, up 8% over the prior corresponding period in 2024.
Reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) came in at $324 million, up 11%, while reported net profits after tax (NPAT) hit $143 million, a rise of 16%.
Investors seem delighted with these numbers, as Car Group shares are currently up an exciting 8.74% to $26.62 each at the time of writing. Saying that, the company remains down by a painful 30.76% over the past 12 months and has lost nearly 14% of its value in 2026 to date.
But let's talk about something that often gets overlooked with this stock: Car Group's latest dividend.
Image source: Getty Images
Car Group shares rise as interim dividend surges 10%
Car Group has one of the best dividend track records on the ASX. Investors have enjoyed more than a decade of uninterrupted annual dividend increases. That includes over COVID-ravaged 2020 and 2021.
This impressive track record continues in 2026. This morning, Car Group revealed that its next interim dividend will be 42.5 cents per share.
That represents a 10.4% rise over the interim dividend of 38.5 cents per share that investors saw last year. As well as a 2.4% rise over 2025's final dividend of 41.5 cents per share.
This dividend will come partially franked at 30%. It is scheduled to hit investors' bank accounts on 13 April later this year. However, if investors wish to secure payment of this dividend, they will need to own Car Group shares before the company trades ex-dividend on 13 March next month.
Investors can also choose to receive additional Car Group shares instead of a traditional cash payment by participating in the optional dividend reinvestment plan (DRP). Shareholders can elect to participate in the company's DRP by 17 March. There will be no discount for doing so, though.
At current pricing, Car Group shares are trading on a trailing dividend yield of 3%. However, with today's dividend announcement, the stock now has a forward dividend yield of 3.16%.
