Most of the blue-chip stocks on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) are well-known dividend payers, and as such, can be found in many a dividend investor's income portfolio. That's certainly the case when it comes to Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) shares.
Woolworths has often enjoyed quite a premium from ASX investors, thanks, at least in part, to its defensive, consumer staples nature and dominant position in the Australian grocery market. As a result, Woolies has never really had the kind of yield that other blue chips, particularly the big four banks, have offered investors.
Even so, Woolworths has historically been a reliable dividend payer, and one that typically attaches full-franking credits to its payouts.
Let's go through what kind of dividend yield investors can expect if they buy Woolworths shares today.
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What kind of dividends do Woolworths shares pay?
At the time of writing, Woolworths shares are trading at $34.54 each, up 0.95% for the day thus far. At this pricing, Woolworths is trading on a trailing dividend yield of 2.61%.
That 2.61% comes from the grocer's last two dividends. The most recent of these was the 2026 interim dividend, which arrived in investors' bank accounts on 1 April last month. It was worth 45 cents per share and came with full-franking credits attached. Before that, Woolies doled out a final dividend in September last year, which was also worth a fully-franked 45 cents per share. That 90 cents per share gives the company that 2.61% yield at current pricing.
These two dividends were a bit of a mixed bag. The interim payment did come in 15.4% above last year's equivalent dividend of 39 cents per share. Saying that, 2025's final dividend was well below the 57 cents per share that investors bagged in September of 2024. And that's not even factoring in the special 40-cent-per-share dividend either.
However, none of this means much for investors wondering how much income they will bag if they buy Woolworths shares today. After all, a trailing yield merely reflects the past; it does not tell us anything about the future.
What's next for this dividend stock?
Fortunately for anyone eyeing off Woolworths shares today, analysts predict the company will boost its income over the next few years. Earlier this month, my Fool colleague Grace looked at the consensus on Woolworths' future dividends.
She found that analysts are pencilling in 99.5 cents per share in dividends from Woolies over FY 2026, rising to $1.13 in FY 2027, and then to $1.28 in FY 2028. That would equate to a forward yield of 2.88%, 3.27%, and 3.71%, respectively, at current pricing.
That will no doubt get some investors excited. But we shall have to wait and see if these estimates are on the money.
