Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) shares are a go-to investment for investors looking for passive income.
The banking giant is a cyclical stock, but it has strong defensive qualities.
Scarcity of quality stocks on the ASX also means investors tend to put major players, like CBA, on a pedestal. The bank's sheer size and market dominance means investors generally consider it a safe haven, even when markets are choppy.
We've seen this play out throughout 2026 so far.
Regardless of the business fundamentals and analyst outlooks, many investors buy into CBA purely because it is Australia's largest bank.
After all, the banking giant is the largest ASX bank on the Australian sharemarket, and the second-largest ASX 200 stock behind BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) by market capitalisation.
The ASX bank shares are also trading close to an all time high, at the time of writing.
That's one of the benefits of cyclical stocks. They tend to outperform during economic recoveries.
Another benefit of CBA shares is that its huge scale and operational performance mean it can pay shareholders a regular passive income.
But what exactly does that passive income look like?
Let's take a look.
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How many CBA shares can I get for $10,000?
At the time of writing, CBA shares are trading at $178.66 each. That means a $10,000 investment will buy you around 56 shares.
What dividend does CBA pay its shareholders?
CBA has a long history of paying regular fully-franked dividends dating back to 1992. These are typically paid out every six months, in March and September.
The bank most recently paid its shareholders a fully-franked interim dividend of $2.35 per share in late-March.
Looking ahead, the bank is forecast to pay a total dividend of $5.15 per share to shareholders in FY26. It is then expected to pay around $5.45 per share in FY27.
At the time of writing, this translates to a forward dividend yield of around 2.9% for FY26. For FY27, the forward dividend yield is about 3%.
So, what's the estimated passive income off of a $10,000 investment for FY27?
Using the estimated dividend payout figures above, we can calculate roughly how much passive income investors can expect from a $10,000 investment in CBA shares.
If the banking giant pays the expected $5.15 per-share dividend in FY26, your 56 shares would generate around $288 in passive income.
Assuming CBA then pays the forecasted $5.45 dividend in FY27, those 56 shares would generate around another $305 in passive income for the year.
