Well, the first earnings season of 2026 is well and truly underway today with the release of the latest financials from the ASX 200 bank stock and blue-chip share, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA). CBA's earnings, and dividend announcements by extension, are always one of the most-watched events of any ASX earnings season. This is due to CBA's status as one of the largest (the largest until recently) S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) shares and, being Australia's largest bank, a litmus test of the broader health of our economy.
This morning, Commonwealth Bank did indeed drop its latest numbers, covering the six months to 31 December 2025. And they have delighted investors, judging by what CBA shares are up to right now.
As we went through this morning, it was a rather pleasant earnings report for investors to dive into. The bank reported a statutory net profit after tax (NPAT) of $5.41 billion, up 5% over the same period in 2024. Cash net profits rose by an even better 6% to $5.45 billion, while the bank claimed a return on equity (ROE) metric of 13.8%, up 10 basis points.
So it's perhaps no surprise that we are seeing CBA shares jump a healthy 6.77% at the time of writing to $169.49 a share – a three-month high.
But let's talk about what CBA had to say about its next dividend.
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CBA shares jump as record interim dividend revealed
The good news continues on this front, with CBA today unveiling a new interim dividend of $2.35 per share. This interim dividend, which will naturally come with full franking credits attached, represents a 4.44% increase over the interim dividend of $2.25 per share that investors enjoyed last year. It is also the largest interim dividend the bank has ever paid out.
Together with the final dividend of $2.60 per share from September, it takes CBA's 12-month dividend total to an all-time high of $4.95 per share.
This latest dividend represents a payout ratio of 74% of CBA's normalised net profits, right in the middle of the bank's 70% to 80% payout target.
It is set to arrive in eligible shareholders' bank accounts late next month on 30 March. However, if investors don't yet own CBA shares but wish to receive this payment, they will need to own shares by the end of trade on 17 February. That's before the bank trades ex-dividend on 18 February.
CBA is running its dividend reinvestment plan (DRP) for this payout too. So if any shareholders wish to receive additional CBA shares rather than the traditional cash payment, they can opt to do so by 20 February.
At the current CBA share price, this ASX 200 bank stock is trading on a trailing dividend yield of 2.86%. Factoring in this new dividend, though, we can give CBA a forward dividend yield of 2.92%.
